Combined arene ruthenium porphyrins as chemotherapeutics and photosensitizers for cancer therapy

Mononuclear5-(4-pyridyl)-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin and 5-(3-pyridyl)-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin as well as tetranuclear 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin (tetra-4-pp) and 5,10,15,20-tetra(3-pyridyl)porphyrin) (tetra-3-pp) arene ruthenium(II) derivatives (areneisC6H5Me or p-Pr i C6H4Me) were prepared and evaluated as potential dual photosensitizers and chemotherapeutics in human Me300 melanoma cells. In the absence of light, all tetranuclear complexes were cytotoxic (IC50≤20μM), while the mononuclear derivatives were not (IC50≥100μM). Kinetic studies of tritiated thymidine and tritiated leucine incorporations in cells exposed to a low concentration (5μM) of tetranuclear p-cymene derivatives demonstrated a rapid inhibition of DNA synthesis, while protein synthesis was inhibited only later, suggesting arene ruthenium-DNA interactions as the initial cytotoxic process. All complexes exhibited phototoxicities toward melanoma cells when exposed to laser light of 652nm. At low concentration (5μM), LD50 of the mononuclear derivatives was between 5 and 10J/cm2, while for the tetranuclear derivatives LD50 was approximately 2.5J/cm2 for the [Ru4(η6-arene)4(tetra-4-pp)Cl8] complexes and less than 0.5J/cm2 for the [Ru4(η6-arene)4(tetra-3-pp)Cl8] complexes. Examination of cells under a fluorescence microscope revealed the [Ru4(η6-arene)4(tetra-4-pp)Cl8] complexes as cytoplasmic aggregates, whereas the [Ru4(η6-arene)4(tetra-3-pp)Cl8] complexes were homogenously dispersed in the cytoplasm. Thus, these complexes present a dual synergistic effect with good properties of both the arene ruthenium chemotherapeutics and the porphyrin photosensitize

Organometallic boxes built from 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin panels and hydroxyquinonato-bridged diruthenium clips

Self-assembly of 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrin (tpp-H2) tetradentate panels with dinuclear arene ruthenium clips [Ru2 (η6-arene)2 (dhbq)Cl2] (arene = C6H5Me, p-PriC6H4Me, C6Me6; dhbq = 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinonato) affords the cationic organometallic boxes [Ru8 (η6-C6H5Me)8 (tpp-H2)2 (dhbq)4]8+ ([1]8+), [Ru8 (η6-p-PriC6H4Me)8 (tpp-H2)2(dhbq)4]8+ ([2]8+) and [Ru8 (η6-C6Me6)8 (tpp-H2)2 (dhbq)4]8+ ([3]8+). These octanuclear cations have been isolated as their triflate salts and characterised by mass spectrometry, NMR and IR spectroscopy. The molecular structure of these systems was deduced by one-dimensional and two-dimensional NMR experiments (ROESY, COSY, HSQC)