The special ability of organometallic complexes to catalyze various transformations might offer new effective mechanisms for the treatment of cancer. Studies that report both the biological properties and the ability of metallic complexes to promote therapeutically relevant catalytic reactions are limited. Herein, we report the anticancer activity and catalytic potential of some ruthenium(II)-arene complexes bearing bidentate Schiff base ligands (2a and 2b) and their reduced analogues (5a and 5b, respectively). In comparison to their Schiff base counterparts 2a and 2b, we demonstrate that amine complexes 5a and 5b display (i) a higher in vitro antiproliferative activity on different human cancer cell lines, (ii) a lower rate of hydrolysis, and (iii) an improved initial catalytic rate for the reduction of NAD to NADH. In contrast to their imine analogues 2a and 2b, we also show that amine complexes 5a and 5b induce the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Our results highlight the impact that a simple ligand modification such as the reduction of an imine moiety can have on both the catalytic and biological activities of metal complexes. Moreover, the ruthenium complexes reported here display some antiproliferative activity against T47D breast cancer cells, known for their cis-platin resistance.

In this study, the in vitro antiproliferative activity and the in vivo toxicity of ruthenium arene complexes bearing fluorene bidentate ligands was assessed in human breast cancer cells and on the development of zebrafish embryos, respectively.