Metal-based antibody drug conjugates. Potential and challenges in their application as targeted therapies in cancer

Antibody drug conjugates have emerged as a very attractive type of targeted therapy in cancer. They combine the antigen-targeting specificity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with the cytotoxic potency of chemotherapeutics. This review focuses on antibody drug conjugates based on metal-containing cytotoxic payloads. We will also describe antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) in which a metal-based component (mostly metallic nano particles) exerts a relevant function in the ADC (for photodynamic or photothermal therapy, as air-plasma enhancer or chemo-sensitizer, as carrier of other cytotoxic payloads or as an integral part of the linker structure). Challenges and opportunities to increase the translational potential of these ADCs will be discussed.