Issue 36, 2017

Antiproliferative activity of (η6-arene)ruthenacarborane sandwich complexes against HCT116 and MCF7 cell lines

Abstract

Three [(η6-arene)RuC2B9H11] complexes (arene = p-cymene (2), biphenyl (3) and 1-Me-4-COOEt-C6H4 (4)) were synthesised according to modified literature procedures and fully characterised. 2–4 were found to be moderately active against two types of tumour cell lines (HCT116 and MCF7), with IC50 values in the low micromolar range. However, viability of normal, healthy cells (MRC-5 cell line, MLEC and mouse macrophages) was not affected by treatment with 2–4, indicating high selectivity of the metallacarborane complexes towards tumour cell lines, compared to the unselective antitumour agent cisplatin and other potential RuII drugs. Moreover, flow cytometric analysis suggested that 4 induces cell death via a caspase-dependent apoptotic mechanism. DFT calculations of the frontier molecular orbitals showed that the HOMO–LUMO gap in 2–4 is smaller than in the corresponding cyclopentadienyl complexes 2-Cp–4-Cp (e.g. 5.47 (2) vs. 6.31 eV (2-Cp)). In order to assess the stability of 2–4, particularly the ruthenium–dicarbollide bond, energy decomposition analysis (EDA) of 2–4, together with the respective cyclopentadienyl analogues 2-Cp–4-Cp, was performed. EDA suggests that the ruthenium(II)–dicarbollide bond in the three complexes is mostly ionic and far stronger than the ruthenium(II)–arene bond.

Graphical abstract: Antiproliferative activity of (η6-arene)ruthenacarborane sandwich complexes against HCT116 and MCF7 cell lines

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 juin 2017
Accepted
29 juil. 2017
First published
31 juil. 2017

Dalton Trans., 2017,46, 12067-12080

Antiproliferative activity of (η6-arene)ruthenacarborane sandwich complexes against HCT116 and MCF7 cell lines

M. Gozzi, B. Schwarze, M. Sárosi, P. Lönnecke, D. Drača, D. Maksimović-Ivanić, S. Mijatović and E. Hey-Hawkins, Dalton Trans., 2017, 46, 12067 DOI: 10.1039/C7DT02027A

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