biostudies-literatureUnknown10Ma XThe development of heteronuclear metal complexes as potent anticancer agents has received increasing attention in recent years. In this study, two new heteronuclear Ru(Ⅱ)-Re(Ⅰ) metal complexes, [Ru(bpy)₂LRe(CO)₃(DIP)](PF₆)₃ and [Ru(phen)₂LRe(CO)₃(DIP)](PF₆)₃ [<b>RuRe-1</b> and <b>RuRe-2</b>, L = 2-(4-pyridinyl)imidazolio[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, DIP = 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline], were synthesized and characterized. Cytotoxicity assay shows that <b>RuRe-1</b> and <b>RuRe-2</b> exhibit higher anticancer activity than cisplatin, and exist certain selectivity toward human cancer cells over normal cells. The anticancer mechanistic studies reveal thaFrontiers in chemistry890925https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9196629biostudies-literatureSynthesis, Characterization and Antitumor Mechanism Investigation of Heterometallic Ru(Ⅱ)-Re(Ⅰ) Complexes.PMC9196629Lu JYe RMa XYang PLi RHuang BfalseSynthesis, Characterization and Antitumor Mechanism Investigation of Heterometallic Ru(Ⅱ)-Re(Ⅰ) Complexes.The development of heteronuclear metal complexes as potent anticancer agents has received increasing attention in recent years. In this study, two new heteronuclear Ru(Ⅱ)-Re(Ⅰ) metal complexes, [Ru(bpy)₂LRe(CO)₃(DIP)](PF₆)₃ and [Ru(phen)₂LRe(CO)₃(DIP)](PF₆)₃ [<b>RuRe-1</b> and <b>RuRe-2</b>, L = 2-(4-pyridinyl)imidazolio[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, DIP = 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline], were synthesized and characterized. Cytotoxicity assay shows that <b>RuRe-1</b> and <b>RuRe-2</b> exhibit higher anticancer activity than cisplatin, and exist certain selectivity toward human cancer cells over normal cells. The anticancer mechanistic studies reveal tha2022-01-01T00:00:00Z20222025-04-22T05:59:25.959Z2025-04-05T21:32:29.421ZS-EPMC91966293571195510.3389/fchem.2022.890925