Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Vienna, Waehringer Str. 42, Vienna, Austria.
Chemistry. 2009 Nov 16;15(45):12283-91. doi: 10.1002/chem.200901939.
Organometallic ruthenium-arene compounds bearing a maltol ligand have been shown to be nearly inactive in in vitro anticancer assays, presumably due to the formation of dimeric Ru(II) species in aqueous solutions. In an attempt to stabilize such complexes, [Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)(XY)Cl] (XY=pyrones or thiopyrones) complexes with different substitution pattern of the (thio)pyrone ligands have been synthesized, their structures characterized spectroscopically, and their aquation behavior investigated as well as their tumor-inhibiting potency. The aquation behavior of pyrone systems with electron-donating substituents and of thiopyrone complexes was found to be significantly different from that of the maltol-type complex reported previously. However, the formation of the dimer can be excluded as the primary reason for the inactivity of the complex because some of the stable compounds are not active in cancer cell lines either. In contrast, studies of their reactivity towards amino acids demonstrate different reactivities of the pyrone and thiopyrone complexes, and the higher stability of the latter probably renders them active against human tumor cells.
含有麦芽酚配体的有机金属钌-芳族化合物在体外抗癌测定中几乎没有活性，这可能是由于在水溶液中形成了二聚的 Ru(II)物种。为了稳定这些配合物，已经合成了具有不同（硫）吡喃酮配体取代模式的[Ru(eta(6)-p-cymene)(XY)Cl]（XY=吡喃酮或噻喃酮）配合物，通过光谱法对其结构进行了表征，并研究了其水合行为及其肿瘤抑制活性。具有给电子取代基的吡喃酮体系和噻喃酮配合物的水合行为与以前报道的麦芽酚型配合物明显不同。然而，不能将二聚体的形成作为复合物无活性的主要原因，因为一些稳定的化合物在癌细胞系中也没有活性。相反，对它们与氨基酸的反应性的研究表明，吡喃酮和噻喃酮配合物具有不同的反应性，后者的更高稳定性可能使它们对人肿瘤细胞具有活性。
