Adding Diversity to a Diruthenium Biscyclopentadienyl Scaffold via Alkyne Incorporation: Synthesis and Biological Studies

[Image: see text] We report the synthesis and the assessment of the anticancer potential of two series of diruthenium biscyclopentadienyl carbonyl complexes. Novel dimetallacyclopentenone compounds (2–4) were obtained (45–92% yields) from the thermal reaction (PhCCPh exchange) of [Ru(2)Cp(2)(CO)(μ-CO){μ-η(1):η(3)-C(Ph)=C(Ph)C(=O)}], 1, with alkynes HCCR [R = C(5)H(4)FeCp (Fc), 3-C(6)H(4)(Asp), 2-naphthyl; Cp = η(5)-C(5)H(5), Asp = OC(O)-2-C(6)H(4)C(O)Me]. Protonation of 1–3 by HBF(4) afforded the corresponding μ-alkenyl derivatives 5–7, in 40–86% yields. All products were characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopy; moreover, cyclic voltammetry (1, 2, 5, 7) and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (5, 7) analyses were performed on representative compounds. Complexes 5–7 revealed a cytotoxic activity comparable to that of cisplatin in A549 (lung adenocarcinoma), SW480 (colon adenocarcinoma), and ovarian (A2780) cancer cell lines, and 2, 5, 6, and 7 overcame cisplatin resistance in A2780cis cells. Complexes 2, 5, and 7 (but not the aspirin derivative 6) induced an increase in intracellular ROS levels. Otherwise, 6 strongly stabilizes and elongates natural DNA (from calf thymus, CT-DNA), suggesting a possible intercalation binding mode, whereas 5 is less effective in binding CT-DNA, and 7 is ineffective. This trend is reversed concerning RNA, and in particular, 7 is able to bind poly(rA)poly(rU) showing selectivity for this nucleic acid. Complexes 5–7 can interact with the albumin protein with a thermodynamic signature dominated by hydrophobic interactions. Overall, we show that organometallic species based on the Ru(2)Cp(2)(CO)(x) scaffold (x = 2, 3) are active against cancer cells, with different incorporated fragments influencing the interactions with nucleic acids and the production of ROS.