Ruthenium Complex Induce Cell Death in G-415 Gallbladder Cancer Cells.

PURPOSE: In this work, we present a recently developed ruthenium complex that shows anticancer activity in gallbladder cancer cells. METHODS: After the synthesis of the new ruthenium complexes, the antiproliferative, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis activities were evaluated in vitro by the triple assay ApoTox-Glo. Then, the transcription levels of genes related to apoptosis were evaluated by real-time PCR (q-PCR). RESULTS: The ruthenium complex, called Ru-UCN3, inhibits the proliferation of gallbladder cancer cells G-415 by means of apoptosis, which was demonstrated by the overexpression of the pro-apoptotic genes Puma, Diablo, and Caspasa-9 together with the repression of the anti-apoptotic genes Bcl-xL and Bcl-2. In addition, we found strong caspase 3/7 activity in the cells at 24 h of the Ru-UCN3 exposure, which was evaluated by the triple ApoTox-Glo assay. CONCLUSION: The new ruthenium complexes evaluated had an inhibitory effect on G-415 cells. We think that Ru-UCN3 could be a promising anticancer agent, which should be explored with more in vitro and in vivo assays and probably with the chemical modulation of this molecule.

Effect of pH in the photoluminescence of a ruthenium complex featuring a derivative of the ligand pyrazine[2,3-f][1,10]-phenanthroline.

A new ruthenium complex, [Ru(bpy)2(dbe-ppl)](PF6)2 (bpy=2,2'-bipyridine and dbe-ppl=dimethyl 4,4'-(pyrazino[2,3-f][1,10]phenanthroline-2,3-diyl)dibenzoate, has been synthesized and characterized by (1)H NMR spectroscopy, UV-Vis, IR, and cyclic voltammetry. Irradiation on the MLCT band results in photoluminescence in both protic and aprotic solvents. The photoluminescence in water is pH dependent, it shows a behavior which can be described by the Henderson-Hasselbalch assuming the protonation/deprotonation of the excited state with a pKa of 2.40±0.01.

Interfacial charge-transfer switch: ruthenium-dppz compounds anchored to nanocrystalline TiO2.

The compound Ru(bpy)2(dppz-R)(PF6)2, where bpy is 2,2'-bipyridine and dppz-R is 11-(diethoxyphosphorylmethyl)dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine, was prepared and anchored to mesoporous nanocrystalline (anatase) TiO2 thin films as a probe of the effects of interfacial water on excited-state charge transfer processes at semiconductor interfaces. In nitrogen-saturated fluid acetonitrile, the Ru(bpy)2(dppz-R)(PF6)2 compound was found to be highly photoluminescent. Water was found to quench the excited state by a mechanism adequately described by the Perrin model, from which the radius of quenching was abstracted, 75 +/- 2 A. The Ru(bpy)2(dppz-R)(PF6)2 compounds were found to bind to the TiO2 thin films in high surface coverages, 5 x 10(-8) mol cm(-2). When these films were immersed in acetonitrile, long-lived excited states (tau = 825 ns) that were quenched by the addition of water were observed. About 30% of the excited states could not be quenched by water. Efficient electron injection, phi(inj) = 0.8, was observed after light excitation of Ru(bpy)2(dppz-R)/TiO2 in a 0.1 M LiClO4/acetonitrile solution. The addition of large concentrations of water, >0.5 M, was found to decrease the injection yield to phi(inj) = 0.3.

Dinuclear asymmetric ruthenium complexes with 5-cyano-1,10-phenanthroline as a bridging ligand.

New dinuclear asymmetric ruthenium complexes of the type [(bpy)(2)Ru(5-CNphen)Ru(NH(3))(5)](4+/5+) (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; 5-CNphen = 5-cyano-1,10-phenanthroline) have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic, electrochemical, and photophysical techniques. The structure of the cation [(bpy)(2)Ru(5-CNphen)Ru(NH(3))(5)](4+) has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The mononuclear precursor [Ru(bpy)(2)(5-CNphen)](2+) has also been prepared and studied; while its properties as a photosensitizer are similar to those of [Ru(bpy)(3)](2+), its luminescence at room temperature is quenched by a factor of 5 in the mixed-valent species [(bpy)(2)Ru(II)(5-CNphen)Ru(III)(NH(3))(5)](5+), pointing to the occurrence of intramolecular electron-transfer processes that follow light excitation. From spectral data for the metal-to-metal charge-transfer transition Ru(II) --> Ru(III) in this latter complex, a slight electronic interaction (H(AB) = 190 cm(-1)) is disclosed between both metallic centers through the bridging 5-CNphen.