Recent Advances in Mitochondria‐Localized Luminescent Ruthenium(II) Metallodrugs as Anticancer Agents

Abstract

Presently, the most effective way to transport drugs specifically to mitochondria inside the cells is of pharmacophoric interest as mitochondria are recognized as one of the most important targets for new drug design in cancer diagnosis. To date, there are many reviews covering the photophysical, photochemical, and anticancer properties of ruthenium(II) based metallodrugs owing to their high interest in biological applications. There are, however, no reviews specifically covering the mitochondria‐localized luminescent Ru(II) complexes and their subsequent mitochondria‐mediated anticancer activities. Therefore, this mini‐review will describe the physicochemical basis for the mitochondrial accumulation of ruthenium complexes, their synthetic strategies to localize and monitor the mitochondria in living cells, and their related underlying anticancer results. Finally, we review the related areas from previous works describing the mitochondria‐localized ruthenium complexes for the treatment of cancer‐related diseases. Along with this, we also deliberate the perspectives and future directions for emerging more bifunctional Ru(II) complexes that can target, image, and kill tumors more efficiently in comparison with the existing mitochondria‐targeted cancer therapeutics.

Neutral rhenium(i) tricarbonyl complexes with sulfur-donor ligands: anti-proliferative activity and cellular localization

“…This result suggested that there is slow partial substitution of the negatively charged thiolato ligand in 1a with an uncharged ligand or ligands to produce positively charged complexes, since lipophilic positively charged drugs are known to target the mitochondria. 62,63 Unlike for cytotoxic Re( i ) isonitrile complexes, 28,29 prolonged treatment with 1a did not affect the mitochondrial morphology (middle row in Fig. 12b).…”

Synthesis, Structure, Biological Activity, and Luminescence Properties of a “Butterfly”-Type Silver Cluster with 3-Benzyl-4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazol-5-thiol

“…The previously studied silver complexes with 1,2,4-triazole derivatives exhibit luminescent properties [ 52 , 53 , 54 ], which are very important in the design of promising metal-containing drugs [ 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. It was also previously shown that silver has a high affinity for the sulfur atom, forming strong linear compounds or layers [ 59 , 60 , 61 ].…”