Metabolization of [Ru(eta(6)-C (6)H (5)CF (3))(pta)Cl (2)]: a cytotoxic RAPTA-type complex with a strongly electron withdrawing arene ligand

Ruthenium(II)-Tris-pyrazolylmethane Complexes Inhibit Cancer Cell Growth by Disrupting Mitochondrial Calcium Homeostasis

While ruthenium arene complexes have been widely investigated for their medicinal potential, studies on homologous compounds containing a tridentate tris(1-pyrazolyl)methane ligand are almost absent in the literature. Ruthenium(II) complex 1 was obtained by a modified reported procedure; then, the reactions with a series of organic molecules (L) in boiling alcohol afforded novel complexes 2–9 in 77–99% yields. Products 2–9 were fully structurally characterized. They are appreciably soluble in water, where they undergo partial chloride/water exchange. The antiproliferative activity was determined using a panel of human cancer cell lines and a noncancerous one, evidencing promising potency of 1, 7, and 8 and significant selectivity toward cancer cells. The tested compounds effectively accumulate in cancer cells, and mitochondria represent a significant target of biological action. Most notably, data provide convincing evidence that the mechanism of biological action is mediated by the inhibiting of mitochondrial calcium intake.

Anticancer ruthenium(ii) tris(pyrazolyl)methane complexes with bioactive co-ligands

New anticancer RuII-tpm complexes are presented, including a synthetic strategy to tether bioactive molecules to the metallic scaffold.

Tunable Anticancer Activity of Furoylthiourea-Based RuII -Arene Complexes and Their Mechanism of Action

Fourteen new Ru^II -arene (p-cymene/benzene) complexes (C1-C14) have been synthesized by varying the N-terminal substituent in the furoylthiourea ligand and satisfactorily characterized by using analytical and spectroscopic techniques. Electrostatic potential maps predicted that the electronic effect of the substituents was mostly localized, with some influence seen on the labile chloride ligands. The structure-activity relationships of the Ru-p-cymene and Ru-benzene complexes showed opposite trends. All the complexes were found to be highly toxic towards IMR-32 cancer cells, with C5 (Ru-p-cymene complex containing C₆ H₂ (CH₃ )₃ as N-terminal substituent) and C13 (Ru-benzene complex containing C₆ H₄ (CF₃ ) as N-terminal substituent) showing the highest activity among each set of complexes, and hence they were chosen for further study. These complexes showed different behavior in aqueous solutions, and were also found to catalytically oxidize glutathione. They also promoted cell death by apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, the complexes showed good binding ability with the receptors Pim-1 kinase and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2, commonly overexpressed in cancer cells.

Towards Identification of Essential Structural Elements of Organoruthenium(II)-Pyrithionato Complexes for Anticancer Activity

An organoruthenium(II) complex with pyrithione (2-mercaptopyridine N-oxide) 1 a has previously been identified by our group as a compound with promising anticancer potential without cytotoxicity towards non-cancerous cells. To expand the rather limited research on compounds of this type, an array of novel chlorido and 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (pta) organoruthenium(II) complexes with methyl-substituted pyrithiones has been prepared. After thorough investigation of the aqueous stability of these complexes, their modes of action have been elucidated at the cellular level. Minor structural alterations in the ruthenium-pyrithionato compounds resulted in fine-tuning of their cytotoxicities. The best performing compounds, 1 b and 2 b, with a chlorido or pta ligand bound to ruthenium, respectively, and a methyl group at the 3-position of the pyrithione scaffold, have been further investigated. Both compounds trigger early apoptosis, induce the generation of reactive oxygen species and G1 arrest in A549 cancer cells, and show no strong interaction with DNA. However, only 1 b also inhibits thioredoxin reductase. Wound healing assays and mitochondrial function evaluation have revealed differences between these two compounds at the cellular level.

Locked and Loaded: Ruthenium(II)-Capped Cucurbit[n]uril-Based Rotaxanes with Antimetastatic Properties

We report here the first coupling of Ru(II) units with cucurbit[6/7]uril-based pseudorotaxane ligands meant for biological application. The resulting ruthenium-capped rotaxanes were fully characterized, and a structure of one supramolecular system was determined by X-ray diffraction. Because the biological properties of Ru-based metallodrugs are tightly linked to the ligand-exchange processes, the effect of salt concentration on the hydrolysis of chlorides from the Ru(II) center was monitored by using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The biological activity of Ru(II)-based rotaxanes was evaluated for three selected mammalian breast cell lines, HBL-100, MCF-7, and MDA-MB-231. The antimetastatic activity of the assembled cationic Ru(II)-rotaxane systems, evaluated in migration assays against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines, is notably enhanced compared to that of RAPTA-C, a reference that was used. The indicated synergistic effect of combining Ru(II) with a pseudorotaxane unit opens a new direction in searching for anticancer supramolecular metallodrugs.

Side Reactions with an Equilibrium Constraint: Detailed Mechanism of the Substitution Reaction of Tetraplatin with dGMP as a Starting Step of the Platinum(IV) Reduction Process

Two possible pathways of the substitution reaction within the reduction process of the Pt^IV(DACH)Cl₄ by dGMP are compared: associative reaction course and autocatalytic Basolo-Pearson mechanisms. Since two forms: single-protonated and fully deprotonated phosphate group of dGMP are present in equilibrium at neutral and mildly acidic solutions, consideration of a side reactions scheme with acido-basic equilibrium-constraint is a very important model for obtaining reliable results. The examined complexes are optimized at the B3LYP-GD3BJ/6-31G(d) level with the COSMO implicit solvation model and Klamt's radii used for cavity construction. Energy characteristics and thermodynamics for all reaction branches are determined using the B3LYP-GD3BJ/6-311++G(2df,2pd)/IEF-PCM/scaled-UAKS level with Wertz's entropy corrections. Rate constants are estimated for each individual branch according to Eyring's transition state theory (TST), averaged according to equilibrium constraint and compared with available experimental data. The determined reaction barriers of the autocatalytic pathway fairly correspond with experimental values. Furthermore, autocatalytic reaction of tetraplatin and its two analogues complexes [Pt^IV(en)Cl₄ and Pt^IV(NH₃)₂Cl₄] are explored and compared with measured data in order to examined general reaction descriptors.

Kinetico-mechanistic Studies on the Substitution Reactivity on the {Ru(II)(bpy)2} Core with Nucleosides and Nucleotides at Physiological pH

The kinetico-mechanistic study of the substitution reactions of the aquo ligands in cis-[Ru(bpy)2(H2O)2](2+) by different nucleotides and nucleosides has been conducted at pH close to the physiological value. The concentration dependence and thermal and pressure activation parameters have been measured to ascertain the activation via which reactions take place. Substitution processes are found associatively activated for nitrogen-bonded nucleosides or nucleotides, with outer-sphere hydrogen-bonded aggregates being determinant. For reactions leading to oxygen-bonded nucleotides, the process is clearly dissociatively activated. A selectively induced lability of the inert {Ru(II)(bpy)2} core is observed on the formation of nitrogen(amide)-bonded complexes at relatively low pH values, which might be relevant for the effective intercalation of designed, ruthenium(II)-bonded, aromatic rings.

Unusual mode of protein binding by a cytotoxic π-arene ruthenium(ii) piano-stool compound containing an O,S-chelating ligand

A new π-arene Ru(ii) piano-stool compound, showing significant cytotoxic activityin vitro, was synthesized. The X-ray structure of this compound and that of its complex with RNase A were determined.

Development of ruthenium-based complexes as anticancer agents: toward a rational design of alternative receptor targets

In the search for novel anticancer agents, the development of metal-based complexes that could serve as alternatives to cisplatin and its derivatives has received considerable attention in recent years. This becomes necessary because, at present, cisplatin and its derivatives are the only coordination complexes being used as anticancer agents in spite of inherent serious side effects and their limitation against metastasized platinum-resistant cancer cells. Although many metal ions have been considered as possible alternatives to cisplatin, the most promising are ruthenium (Ru) complexes and two Ru compounds, KP1019 and NAMI-A, which are currently in phase II clinical trials. The major obstacle against the rational design of these compounds is the fact that their mode of action in relation to their therapeutic activities and selectivity is not fully understood. There is an urgent need to develop novel metal-based anticancer agents, especially Ru-based compounds, with known mechanism of actions, probable targets, and pharmacodynamic activity. In this paper, we review the current efforts in developing metal-based anticancer agents based on promising Ru complexes and the development of compounds targeting receptors and then examine the future prospects.

Reduction Process of Tetraplatin in the Presence of Deoxyguanosine Monophosphate (dGMP): A Computational DFT Study

The reduction mechanism of [Pt(IV) (dach)Cl4 ] (dach=diaminocyclohexyl) in the presence of dGMP was studied. The first step is substitution of a chloro ligand by dGMP, followed by nucleophilic attack of a phosphate or sugar oxygen atom to the C8-position of guanine. Subsequent reduction forms the [Pt(II) (dach)Cl2 ] complex. The whole process is completed by a hydrolysis. Two different pathways for the substitution reaction were examined: a direct associative and a Basolo-Pearson autocatalytic mechanism. All the explored structures were optimized at the B3LYP-D3/6-31G(d) level and by using the COSMO solvation model with Klamt's radii. Single-point energetics was determined at the B3LYP-GD3BJ/6-311++G(2df,2pd)/PCM/scaled-UAKS level. Activation barriers were used for an estimation of the rate constants and these were compared with experimental values. It was found that the rate-determining step is the nucleophilic attack with a slightly faster performance in the 3'-dGMP branch than in the case of 5'-dGMP with activation barriers of 21.1 and 20.4 kcal mol(-1) (experimental: 23.8 and 23.2 kcal mol(-1) ). The reduction reaction is connected with an electron flow from guanine. The product of the reduction reaction is a chelate structure, which dissociates within the last reaction step, that is, a hydrolysis reaction. The whole redox process (substitution, reduction, and hydrolysis) is exergonic by 34 and 28 kcal mol(-1) for 5'-dGMP and 3'-dGMP, respectively.

Structure-Related Mode-of-Action Differences of Anticancer Organoruthenium Complexes with β-Diketonates

A series of organoruthenium(II) chlorido complexes with fluorinated O,O-ligands [(η(6)-p-cymene)Ru(F3C-acac-Ar)Cl] (1a-6a) and their respective 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (pta) derivatives [(η(6)-p-cymene)Ru(F3C-acac-Ar)pta]PF6 (1b-6b) were synthesized and fully characterized in both solution and solid state. All complexes were inactive against nonmalignant keratinocytes but displayed variable activity against cancer cell models (ovarian, osteosarcoma). Compounds with a ligand containing the 4-chlorophenyl substituent (6a and 6b) exhibited the strongest anticancer effects. Despite a marginally lower cellular Ru accumulation compared to the chlorido complexes, pta analogues showed higher activity especially in the osteosarcoma model. Reduction of glutathione levels by buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) significantly enhanced the activity of all compounds with the most pronounced effects being observed for the pta series resulting in IC50 values down to the nanomolar range. While all chlorido complexes potently induce reactive oxygen species, DNA damage, and apoptosis, the respective pta compounds widely lacked ROS production but blocked cell cycle progression in G0/G1 phase.

Computational studies of the electronic, conductivities, and spectroscopic properties of hydrolysed Ru(II) anticancer complexes

The mechanism of activation of metal-based anticancer agents was reported to be through hydrolysis. In this study, computational method was used to gain insight to the correlation between the chemistry of the hydrolysis and the anticancer activities of selected Ru(II)-based complexes. Interestingly, we observed that the mechanism of activation by hydrolysis and their consequential anticancer activities is associated with favourable thermodynamic changes, higher hyperpolarizability (β), lower band-gap and higher first-order net current. The Fermi contact (FC) and spin dipole (SD) are found to be the two most significant Ramsey terms that determine the spin-spin couplings (J(HZ)) of most of the existing bonds in the complexes. Many of the computed properties give insights into the change in the chemistry of the complexes due to hydrolysis. Besides strong correlations of the computed properties to the anticancer activities of the complexes, using the quantum theory of atoms in a molecule (QTAIM) to analyse the spectroscopic properties shows a stronger correlation between the spectroscopic properties of Ru atom to the reported anticancer activities than the sum over of the spectroscopic properties of all atoms in the complexes.

An insight into the anticancer activities of Ru(II)-based metallocompounds using docking methods

Unlike organic molecules, reports on docking of metal complexes are very few; mainly due to the inadequacy of force fields in docking packages to appropriately characterize the metal atoms that consequentially hinder the rational design of metal-based drug complexes. In this study we have made used Molegro and Autodock to predict the anticancer activities of selected Ru(II) complexes against twelve anticancer targets. We observed that introducing the quantum calculated atomic charges of the optimized geometries significantly improved the docking predictions of these anticancer metallocompounds. Despite several limitations in the docking of metal-based complexes, we obtained results that are highly correlated with the available experimental results. Most of our newly proposed metallocompounds are found theoretically to be better anticancer metallocompounds than all the experimentally proposed RAPTA complexes. An interesting features of a strong interactions of new modeled of metallocompounds against the two base edges of DNA strands suggest similar mechanisms of anticancer activities similar to that of cisplatin. There is possibility of covalent bonding between the metal center of the metallocompounds and the residues of the receptors DNA-1, DNA-2, HDAC7, HIS and RNR. However, the general results suggest the possibility of metals positioning the coordinated ligands in the right position for optimal receptor interactions and synergistic effects, rather than forming covalent bonds.

Comparing the suitability of autodock, gold and glide for the docking and predicting the possible targets of Ru(II)-based complexes as anticancer agents

In cancer chemotherapy, metal-based complexes have been recognized as the most promising means of inhibiting cancer growth due to the successful application of cis-platin and its derivatives above many of the existing organic anticancer agents. The limitations in their rational design can be traced to the complexity of the mechanism of their operations, lack of proper knowledge of their targets and lack of force fields in docking packages to appropriately define the metal centre of the organometallic complexes. In this paper, some of the promising anticancer complexes of Ru(II) such as the rapta-based complexes formulated as [Ru(η6-p-cymene)L2(pta)] and those with unusual ligands are considered. CatB and kinases which have been experimentally confirmed as possible targets of the complexes are also predicted by the three methods as one of the most targeted receptors while TopII and HDAC7 are predicted by two and one of the methods as best targets. The interesting features of the binding of the complexes show that some of the complexes preferentially target specific macromolecules than the others, which is an indication of their specificity and possibility of their therapeutic combination without severe side effects that may come from competition for the same target. Also, introduction of unusual ligands is found to significantly improve the activities of most of the complexes studied. Strong correlations are observed for the predicted binding sites and the orientation of the complexes within the binding site by the three methods of docking. However there are disparities in the ranking of the complexes by the three method of docking, especially that of Glide.

Insights into the Intramolecular Properties ofη6-Arene-Ru-Based Anticancer Complexes Using Quantum Calculations

The factors that determine the stability and the effects of noncovalent interaction on theη6-arene ruthenium anticancer complexes are determined using DFT method. The intramolecular and intra-atomic properties were computed for two models of these half-sandwich ruthenium anticancer complexes and their respective hydrated forms. The results showed that the stability of these complexes depends largely on the network of hydrogen bonds (HB), strong nature of charge transfer, polarizability, and electrostatic energies that exist within the complexes. The hydrogen bonds strength was found to be related to the reported anticancer activities and the activation of the complexes by hydration. The metal–ligand bonds were found to be closed shell systems that are characterised by high positive Laplacian values of electron density. Two of the complexes are found to be predominantly characterised by LMCT while the other two are predominately characterised by MLCT.

Photocontrolled DNA binding of a receptor-targeted organometallic ruthenium(II) complex

A photoactivated ruthenium(II) arene complex has been conjugated to two receptor-binding peptides, a dicarba analogue of octreotide and the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) tripeptide. These peptides can act as "tumor-targeting devices" since their receptors are overexpressed on the membranes of tumor cells. Both ruthenium-peptide conjugates are stable in aqueous solution in the dark, but upon irradiation with visible light, the pyridyl-derivatized peptides were selectively photodissociated from the ruthenium complex, as inferred by UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy. Importantly, the reactive aqua species generated from the conjugates, [(η(6)-p-cym)Ru(bpm)(H(2)O)](2+), reacted with the model DNA nucleobase 9-ethylguanine as well as with guanines of two DNA sequences, (5')dCATGGCT and (5')dAGCCATG. Interestingly, when irradiation was performed in the presence of the oligonucleotides, a new ruthenium adduct involving both guanines was formed as a consequence of the photodriven loss of p-cymene from the two monofunctional adducts. The release of the arene ligand and the formation of a ruthenated product with a multidentate binding mode might have important implications for the biological activity of such photoactivated ruthenium(II) arene complexes. Finally, photoreactions with the peptide-oligonucleotide hybrid, Phac-His-Gly-Met-linker-p(5')dCATGGCT, also led to arene release and to guanine adducts, including a GG chelate. The lack of interaction with the peptide fragment confirms the preference of such organometallic ruthenium(II) complexes for guanine over other potential biological ligands, such as histidine or methionine amino acids.

Cationic ruthenium(III) maltolato–imidazole complexes — Synthesis, characterization, and antiproliferatory activity*Adapted from the Ph.D. thesis of D.C. Kennedy (see the References section)

The cationic RuIII complexes, trans-[Ru(ma)2(L)2]CF3SO3, where Hma = maltol = 3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyrone; L = imidazole (Im) (complex 2), 1(N)-methylimidazole (N-MeIm) (3), 2-methylimidazole (2-MeIm) (4), and 4-methylimidazole (4-MeIm) (5), were synthesized via the known L = EtOH (complex 1a), and characterized by elemental analysis, 1H NMR and IR spectroscopies, mass spectrometry, cyclic voltammetry, and (for 3 and 4) by X-ray crystallography. The trans-[Ru(ma)2(H2O)2]CF3SO3 complex (1b) was inadvertently isolated and characterized crystallographically, and the monomaltolato species [Ru(ma)(N-MeIm)4][CF3SO3]2 (6) was also isolated and characterized. In vitro antiproliferatory activity of complexes 2−6 against human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-435S) was tested using an MTT assay: 4 and 5 exhibit the lowest IC50 values, ~5 and ~15 µmol/L, respectively, whereas cisplatin exhibits an IC50 value of ~35 µmol/L against this cell line.

Is the reactivity of M(II)-arene complexes of 3-hydroxy-2(1H)-pyridones to biomolecules the anticancer activity determining parameter?

Hydroxypyr(id)ones are versatile ligands for the synthesis of organometallic anticancer agents, equipping them with fine-tunable pharmacological properties. Herein, we report on the preparation, mode of action, and in vitro anticancer activity of Ru(II)- and Os(II)-arene complexes with alkoxycarbonylmethyl-3-hydroxy-2-pyridone ligands. The hydrolysis and binding to amino acids proceed quickly, as characterized by NMR spectroscopy and ESI mass spectrometry. However, the reaction with amino acids causes cleavage of the pyridone ligands from the metal center because the amino acids act as multidentate ligands. A similar behavior was also observed during the reactions with the model proteins ubiquitin and cytochrome c, yielding mainly [protein + M(eta(6)-p-cymene)] adducts (M = Ru, Os). Notably the ligand cleavage of the Os derivative was significantly slower than of its Ru analogue, which could explain its higher activity in in vitro anticancer assays. Furthermore, the reaction of the compounds to 5'-GMP was characterized and coordination to the N7 of the guanine moiety was demonstrated by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. CDK2/Cyclin A protein kinase inhibition studies revealed potent activity of the Ru and Os complexes.