How does cisplatin work in chemotherapy?

Question

I get that it’s supposed to stop the cells from duplicating, but how does it achieve this effect?

In: Biology

Answer 1

It binds to the DNA inside the cells and makes sort of a “molecular bridge” between different parts of a DNA strand that aren’t supposed to be connected. This makes it impossible for the DNA to replicate or repair itself. It the DNA can’t replicate, the cell can’t divide and thus can’t make more cancer cells.