Increasing the bioavailability of Ru(III) anticancer complexes through hydrophobic albumin interactions.

A series of pyridine-based derivatives of the clinically successful Ru(III)-based complexes indazolium [trans-RuCl4(1H-indazole)2] (KP1019) and sodium [trans-RuCl4(1H-indazole)2] (KP1339) have been synthesized to probe the effect of hydrophobic interactions with human serum albumin (hsA) on anticancer activity. The solution behavior and protein interactions of the new compounds were characterized by using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and UV/Vis spectroscopy. These studies have revealed that incorporation of hydrophobic substituents at the 4'-position of the axial pyridine ligand stabilizes non-coordinate interactions with hsA. As a consequence, direct coordination to the protein is inhibited, which is expected to increase the bioavailability of the complexes, thus potentially leading to improved anticancer activity. By using this approach, the lifetimes of hydrophobic protein interactions were extended from 2 h for the unsubstituted pyridine complex, to more than 24 h for several derivatives. Free complexes were tested for their anticancer activity against the SW480 human colon carcinoma cell line, exhibiting low cytotoxicity. Pre-treatment with hsA improved the solubility of every compound and led to some changes in activity. Particularly notable was the difference in activity between the methyl- and dibenzyl-functionalized complexes. The former shows reduced activity after incubation with hsA, indicating reduced bioavailability due to protein coordination. The latter exhibits little activity on its own but, following treatment with hsA, exhibited significant cytotoxicity, which is consistent with its ability to form non-coordinate interactions with the protein. Overall, our studies demonstrate that non-coordinate interactions with hsA are a viable target for enhancing the activity of Ru(III)-based complexes in vivo.

Pyridine analogues of the antimetastatic Ru(III) complex NAMI-A targeting non-covalent interactions with albumin.

A series of pyridine-based derivatives of the antimetastatic Ru(III) complex imidazolium [trans-RuCl(4)(1H-imidazole)(DMSO-S)] (NAMI-A) have been synthesized along with their sodium-ion compensated analogues. These compounds have been characterized by X-ray crystallography, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), NMR, and electrochemistry, with the goal of probing their noncovalent interactions with human serum albumin (hsA). EPR studies show that the choice of imidazolium ligands and compensating ions does not strongly influence the rates of ligand exchange processes in aqueous buffer solutions. By contrast, the rate of formation and persistence of interactions of the complexes with hsA is found to be strongly dependent on the properties of the axial ligands. The stability of noncovalent binding is shown to correlate with the anticipated ability of the various pyridine ligands to interact with the hydrophobic binding domains of hsA. These interactions prevent the oligomerization of the complexes in solution and limit the rate of covalent binding to albumin amino acid side chains. Electrochemical studies demonstrate relatively high reduction potentials for these complexes, leading to the formation of Ru(II) species in aqueous solutions containing biological reducing agents, such as ascorbate. However, EPR measurements indicate that while noncovalent interactions with hsA do not prevent reduction, covalent binding produces persistent mononuclear Ru(III) species under these conditions.