Electrochemical Characterization of Carboplatin at Unmodified Platinum Electrodes and Its Application to Drug Uptake Studies in Ovarian Cancer Cells

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) has the highest mortality rate among gynecological cancers and affects patients on all continents. Primary treatments involve surgery and the administration of chemotherapeutics, such as carboplatin, which is listed by the World Health Organization as an essential medication for the treatment of human cancers. Unfortunately, due to high rates of drug resistance of EOC towards carboplatin, cancer relapse rates are devastating, and the mechanisms of chemoresistance to carboplatin have not been adequately identified. Consequently, there is a dire need for innovative strategies that are able to detect carboplatin resistance in cancer and to further our understanding of the fundamental nature of chemoresistance towards carboplatin. The presented work describes the thorough electrochemical characterization of carboplatin. We quantify the uptake of carboplatin by ovarian cancer cells by electrochemistry to better understand mechanisms of carboplatin chemoresistance. Results emerging from this research will be important for future medical research developing novel agents to combat chemoresistance.