Nuclease-like metalloscissors: Biomimetic candidates for cancer and bacterial and viral infections therapy

• Metal complexes as nuclease-like metalloscissors. • Mechanistic concepts of nucleic acids cleavage by metalloscissors. • Model substrates and instrumentations employed in DNA/RNA cleavage studies. • Nuclease-like metalloscissors as novel therapeutic agents in cancer and bacterial and viral infections therapy. • Nuclease-like metalloscissors as novel photosensitizers in cancer and microbial photodynamic therapy. Despite the extensive and rapid discovery of modern drugs for treatment of cancer, microbial infections, and viral illnesses; these diseases are still among major global health concerns. To take inspiration from natural nucleases and also the therapeutic potential of metallopeptide antibiotics such as the bleomycin family, artificial metallonucleases with the ability of promoting DNA/RNA cleavage and eventually affecting cellular biological processes can be introduced as a new class of therapeutic candidates. Metal complexes can be considered as one of the main categories of artificial metalloscissors, which can prompt nucleic acid strand scission. Accordingly, biologists, inorganic chemists, and medicinal inorganic chemists worldwide have been designing, synthesizing and evaluating the biological properties of metal complexes as artificial metalloscissors. In this review, we try to highlight the recent studies conducted on the nuclease-like metalloscissors and their potential therapeutic applications. Under the light of the concurrent Covid-19 pandemic, the human need for new therapeutics was highlighted much more than ever before. The nuclease-like metalloscissors with the potential of RNA cleavage of invading viral pathogens hence deserve prime attention.