Turkish Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, cilt.10, sa.2, ss.193-204, 2013 (Scopus)
In recent years, ruthenium (II) complexes have increasingly attracted the interest of researchers because of their high antitumor activities that are usually related to DNA binding. Here, we synthesized two ruthenium (II) complexes, using imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline (ip) and 2-phenylimidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline (pip) that were characterized by spectroscopic and elemental analyses. First of all, we investigated the ability of these complexes to produce lethal effects in human lung carcinoma, A549 cells. The cytotoxicity results evaluated by the MTT assay, revealed that the IC50for Ru(II) complexes ofimidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline [Ru(ip)3](PF6)2 and 2-phenylimidazo[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline [Ru(pip) 3](PF6) 2 after 24 h of incubation with A549 cells was approximately 32 and 46 Mg/ml, especttvely. Interestingly,i was observed that these complexes showed weak cytotoxic effects in normal human lung cells (IC50 > 80 ug/ml). [Ru(pip)3](PF6)2 has a potent inhibitory effects on A549 compared to other cells as measured by BrdU labeling assay Treatment of DNA with [Ru(pip)3]PF6)2inducedDNA binding activity, which was demonstrated by a viscosity assay. In summary, Ru(II) complexes of [Ru(pip)3](PF6)2 showed significant cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects on A549 cells, suggesting that this complex may have potential therapeutic agent, and therefore this must be further investigated by other in vitro bioassaysfor the development of therapeutic agents.