Synthesis, structures, antiproliferative activity of a series of ruthenium(II) arene derivatives of thiosemicarbazones ligands

•We report the controlled synthesis of Ru-arene complexes with N4-phenyl-TSC ligands.•The molecular structures have been characterized.•The complexes have been evaluated for their in vitro antiproliferative activities.•The complex-HSA interactions have been followed by fluorescence spectrometry studies.

A series of [(p-cymene)Ru(TSC)Cl]Cl compounds ([1]Cl, [2]Cl and [3]Cl) and their corresponding [(p-cymene)Ru(TSC)Cl][(p-cymene)RuCl3] derivatives ([1][(p-cymene)RuCl3], [2][(p-cymene)RuCl3] and [3][(p-cymene)RuCl3]) have been synthesized and characterized by H1 NMR, elemental analysis and HR-ESI-mass spectrometry. The molecular structures of [2]Cl, [3]Cl, [1][(p-cymene)RuCl3], [2][(p-cymene)RuCl3] and [3][(p-cymene)RuCl3] have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The complexes have been further evaluated for their in vitro antiproliferative activities against the SGC-7901 human gastric cancer, BEL-7404 human liver cancer and HEK-293T noncancerous cell lines. Furthermore, the interactions of the complexes [1]Cl and [1][(p-cymene)RuCl3] with HSA have been followed by fluorescence spectrometry studies.

Graphical abstractA series of [(p-cymene)Ru(TSC)Cl]Cl complexes and their corresponding [(p-cymene)Ru(TSC)Cl][(p-cymene)RuCl3] derivatives have been synthesized and structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. Investigation of the antiproliferative activity of the compounds has showed the [(p-cymene)RuCl3]− anion in the compounds has positive effect on the biological activities.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide