Andrographolide coordinated ruthenium(II) arene complexes: Synthesis, spectral characterization, antioxidant assays, in vitro cytotoxicity, and apoptosis investigation

Abstract

Two new ruthenium(II)-complexes, [Ru(Ang)((benzene)Cl2] (RuB-Ang) and [Ru(Ang)((p-cymene)Cl2] (RuC-Ang), were synthesized using andrographolide (Ang) as a ligand with [RuCl2(arene)]2 (arene = benzene or p-cymene) and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques. These techniques ascertained the formation of the complexes. An assessment of the antioxidant activity of the compounds indicated better scavenging activity against ABTS•+, DPPH•, O2−, NO• and OH− radicals. The cytotoxic activities of RuB-Ang and RuC-Ang have been evaluated against A549 (human lung) and HeLa (human cervical) cancer cell lines. The complexes exhibited superior anticancer activity to cisplatin and was non-toxic towards human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVEC) cells. The morphological changes of the HeLa and A549 cells with the complexes have been studied by AO-EB and DAPI staining methods. The cytotoxic nature of the compounds was RuC-Ang > RuB-Ang > cisplatin > ligand.