Towards new boron carriers for boron neutron capture therapy: metallacarboranes bearing cobalt, iron and chromium and their cholesterol conjugates.

A method for the synthesis of cholesterol-metallacarborane conjugates bearing cobalt, iron and chromium was developed. Effective incorporation of the cholesterol conjugate bearing cobalt into liposome membrane was revealed. Using the metallacarborane-encrusted liposomes as boron delivery system in vivo biodistribution experiments in tumor-bearing mice, high accumulation and selective delivery of boron into tumor tissues was observed. The results demonstrate that the cholesterol-metallacarborane conjugates can be considered as a potential candidate for boron delivery vehicle in BNCT.