Rhenium Complexes with Red-Light-Induced Anticancer Activity.

Rhenium(I) pyridocarbazole complexes with photoinduced antiproliferative activity are reported. The substitutionally inert complexes induce cell death by singlet oxygen generation upon irradiation with red light (λ ≥ 620 nm), while only weak background cytotoxicity is observed in the dark. Due to their ability to inhibit protein kinases (nanomolar IC50 values against Pim1 at 10 µM ATP), this class of rhenium complexes point into the direction of dual function antiproliferative therapy with a single drug in which photodynamic therapy is combined with the inhibition of cancer related protein kinases.

Rhenium complexes with visible-light-induced anticancer activity.

Shedding light on the matter: Rhenium(I) indolato complexes with highly potent visible-light-triggered antiproliferative activity (complex 1: EC50 light=0.1 µM vs EC50 dark=100 µM) in 2D- and 3D-organized cancer cells are reported and can be traced back to an efficient generation of singlet oxygen, causing rapid morphological changes and an induction of apoptosis.