Cisplatin was first synthesized in 1844 by M. Peyrone, and its structure was elucidated in 1893 by Alfred Werner, who later earned a Nobel Prize for his work. It was serendipitously rediscovered in 1965 by Dr. Barnett Rosenberg at Michigan State University, who was studying mitosis in E. coli bacteria. Noticing that cisplatin inhibited cell division, Rosenburg reasoned that it could potentially be a very effective anticancer drug. After several years of testing, cisplatin was approved for use as an anticancer drug (chemotherapy) in 1978. Cisplatin is an alkylating agent that is thought to kill cancer cells by binding to its DNA. In doing so, it interferes with the repair mechanisms of the cell, which ultimately results in cell death.
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