Ruthenium(III) Chloride Complex with a Tridentate Bis(arylimino)pyridine Ligand: Synthesis, Spectra, X-ray Structure, 9-Ethylguanine Binding Pattern, and In Vitro Cytotoxicity

The synthetic, spectroscopic, structural, and biological studies of a bis(arylimino)pyridine Ru(III) chloride compound containing the ligand, 2,6-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyliminomethyl)pyridine are reported. The bis(arylimino)pyridine ligand, with three donor nitrogen atoms, was synthesized by condensation of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxaldehyde with 2,4,6-trimethylaniline. The Ru(III) complex, with formula [RuCl3(L1)](H2O) (RuL1), where L1 = 2,6-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyliminomethyl)pyridine, was structurally determined on the basis of analytical and spectroscopic (IR, UV−vis, ESI-MS) studies. A straightforward strategy to fully characterize the paramagnetic compound using advanced 1H NMR is reported. This new complex is a prototype for a series of new anticancer Ru(III) and Ru(II) compounds with improved cytostatic properties; likely to be modified in a desirable manner due to the relatively facile ligand modification of the bis(imino)pyridines and their molecular architecture. The present Ru(III) complex is the first example of this family of Ru(III)/Ru(II) anticancer compounds with the aimed physicochemical characteristics. Although the ligand itself is moderately active in selected cell lines (EVSA-T and MCF-7), the activity of the [Ru(L1)Cl3] complex has increased significantly for a broad range of cancer cell lines tested in vitro (IC50 values = 11∼17 μM). Reaction of the RuL1 species with the DNA model base 9-ethylguanine (9EtGua) was found to produce in a redox reaction the species trans-[Ru(II)(L1)(9EtGua)2(H2O)](ClO4)2 (abbreviated as RuL1−9EtGua), which was studied in solution and also in the solid state, by X-ray crystallography. The structure comprises the as yet unknown trans-bis(purine)Ru(II) unit.