Naphthoquinone-derived tridentate Ru(II) and Os(II) organometallics with exceptional cytotoxicity: synthesis, characterization, stability in aqueous solution and biological <i>in vitro</i> evaluation.

ABSTRACT: In this work, a panel of twelve ruthenium(II) and osmium(II) derived N,O,O-tridentate complexes (1a-2f) with a variation of longer, branched and unbranched alkyl substituents was synthesized and characterized via NMR, HRMS, elemental analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis. Resilience to dissociation in biologically relevant solution was determined over 72 hours, revealing most stable complexes to derive from naphthoquinones bearing tert-butyl- and neopentyl-substituents. Osmium derived complexes were found to be generally more inert than their ruthenium counterparts. Cytotoxicity was examined, revealing IC₅₀ values in the nanomolar to lower micromolar range for derivatives 1a-2f in three human cancer lines and a typical pattern of selec

SUBMITTER: Rosner A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12818348 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature