Abstract
Ruthenium compounds are highly regarded as potential drug candidates. The compounds offer the potential of reduced toxicity and can be tolerated in vivo. The various oxidation states, different mechanism of action, and the ligand substitution kinetics of ruthenium compounds give them advantages over platinum-based complexes, thereby making them suitable for use in biological applications. Several studies have focused attention on the interaction between active ruthenium complexes and their possible biological targets. In this paper, we review several ruthenium compounds which reportedly possess promising cytotoxic profiles: from the discovery of highly active compounds imidazolium [trans-tetrachloro(dmso)(imidazole)ruthenate(III)] (NAMI-A), indazolium [trans-tetrachlorobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)](KP1019), and sodium trans-[tetrachloridobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)] (NKP-1339) to the recent work based on both inorganic and organometallic ruthenium(II) compounds. Half-sandwich organometallic ruthenium complexes offer the opportunity of derivatization at the arene moiety, while the three remaining coordination sites on the metal centre can be functionalised with various coordination groups of various monoligands. It is clear from the review that these mononuclear ruthenium(II) compounds represent a strongly emerging field of research that will soon culminate into several ruthenium based antitumor agents.
Highlights
The compound cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) has been an established antineoplastic agent in the treatment of various cancer cells since its accidental discovery by Rosenberg in the 1960s [1, 2]
These limitations have provided an incentive for further research into other transition metal complexes in an attempt to develop novel drugs that would overcome the disadvantages associated with cisplatin therapy
Cytotoxicity of the compounds was much higher than that found in cisplatin against human HL-60 cells, thereby indicating that, for these type of ruthenium compounds, Deoxyribonucleic acid NMR (DNA) is possibly one of the targets of their action inside the cells [48]
Summary
The compound cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (cisplatin) has been an established antineoplastic agent in the treatment of various cancer cells since its accidental discovery by Rosenberg in the 1960s [1, 2]. Cytotoxicity of the compounds was much higher than that found in cisplatin against human HL-60 (leukemia cancer) cells, thereby indicating that, for these type of ruthenium compounds, DNA is possibly one of the targets of their action inside the cells [48].
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