Synthesis, surface activity, self-aggregation and cytotoxicity of ruthenium(II) and Oxovanadium(IV) based metallo-surfactants

Metallosurfactant aggregates: Structures, properties, and potentials for multifarious applications

Metallosurfactants offer important scientific and technological advances due to their novel interfacial properties. As a special class of structures formed by the integration of metal ions into amphiphilic surfactant molecules, these metal-based amphiphilic molecules possess both organometallic and surface chemistries. This review critically examines the structural transitions of metallosurfactants from micelle to vesicle upon metal coordination. The properties of a metallosurfactant can be changed by tuning the coordination between the metal ions and surfactants. The self-assembled behavior of surfactants can be controlled by selecting transition-metal ions that enhance their catalytic efficiency in environmental applications by applying a hydrogen evolution reaction or oxygen evolution reaction. We present the different scattering techniques available to examine the properties of metallosurfactants (e.g., size, shape, structure, and aggregation behavior). The utility of metallosurfactants in catalysis, the synthesis of nanoparticles, and biomedical applications (involving diagnostics and therapeutics) is also explored.

Self-Assembling Metallocomplexes of the Amphiphilic 1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane Derivative as a Platform for the Development of Nonplatinum Anticancer Drugs

New 1-cetyl-4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane bromide complexes with copper(II) bromide and lanthanum(III) nitrate were characterized using dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy, with self-assembly and the morphological behavior elucidated. For the lanthanum(III) nitrate complex, the 3D crystal structure was characterized using X-ray diffractometry. These metallosurfactants were tested as antitumor agents, and a high cytotoxic effect comparable with doxorubicin was revealed against the M-HeLa and A-549 cell lines. Both complexes were 2 times more active toward the MCF-7 cell line than the breast cancer drug tamoxifen. The cytotoxic mechanism of complexes is assumed to be related to the induction of apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway.