Highly Cytotoxic Ruthenium(II)-Arene Complexes from Bulky 1-Pyrenylphosphane Ligands.

In the present study, the potential anti-neoplastic properties of a series of ruthenium half-sandwich complexes of formula [Ru(η6-arene)Cl2(PR1R2(1-pyrenyl))] (η6-arene = p-cymene and R1 = R2 = methyl for 1; η6-arene = methylbenzoate and R1 = R2 = methyl for 2; η6-arene = p-cymene and R1 = R2 = phenyl for 3; η6-arene = methylbenzoate and R1 = R2 = phenyl for 4; η6-arene = p-cymene, R1 = methyl and R2 = phenyl for 5; η6-arene = methylbenzoate, R1 = methyl and R2 = phenyl for 6) have been investigated. The six structurally related organoruthenium(II) compounds have been prepared in good yields and fully characterized; the X-ray structures of three of them, i.e., 1, 2, and 4, were determined. Although the piano-stool compounds contain a large polycyclic aromatic moiety, viz. a 1-pyrenyl group, they do not appear to interact with DNA. However, all the piano-stool complexes show significant cytotoxic properties against five human cell lines, namely, lung adenocarcinoma (A549), melanoma (A375), colorectal adenocarcinoma (SW620), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7), and nontumorigenic epithelial breast (MCF10A), with IC50 values in the micromolar range for most of them. In addition, the most active compound, i.e., 2, induces a remarkable decrease of cell viability, that is in the nanomolar range, against two human neuroblastoma cell lines, namely, SK-N-BE(2) and CHLA-90. Complexes 1-6 are all capable of inducing apoptosis, but with various degrees of magnitude. Whereas 1, 3, 5, and 6 have no effect on the cell cycle of A375 cells, 2 and 4 can arrest it at the G2/M phase; furthermore, 2 (which is the most efficient compound of the series) also stops the cycle at the S phase, behaving as the well-known anticancer agent cisplatin. Finally, 2 is able to inhibit/reduce the cell migration of neuroblastoma SK-N-BE(2) cells.

Ruthenium complexes of P-stereogenic phosphines with a heterocyclic substituent.

The synthesis via phosphine-boranes of 13 new optically pure P-stereogenic diarylphosphines P(Het)PhR (Het = 4-dibenzofuranyl (DBF), 4-dibenzothiophenyl (DBT), 4-dibenzothiophenyl-S,S-dioxide (DBTO2) and 1-thianthrenyl (TA); R = OMe, Me, i-Pr, Fc (ferrocenyl)) following the Jugé-Stephan method is described. The ligands were designed with the aim of having a heteroatom in a position capable of interacting with a metal upon coordination. The ligands and their precursors have been fully characterised, including the determination of two crystal structures of phosphine-boranes. Ru neutral complexes of the type [RuCl2(η(6)-arene)(κP-P)] (arene = p-cymene and methyl benzoate) have been prepared and characterised, including three crystal structure determinations. Treatment of solutions of the complexes with TlPF6 allowed the preparation of well-defined cationic complexes [RuCl(η(6)-arene)(κ(2)P,S-P)]PF6 for DBT- and TA-based phosphines. The complexes possess a stereogenic Ru atom and in most of the cases they are present as a single isomer in solution. All the Ru complexes have been used in the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone in refluxing 2-propanol, with good activities and up to 70% ee.