Effect of the Piperazine Unit and Metal-Binding Site Position on the Solubility and Anti-Proliferative Activity of Ruthenium(II)- and Osmium(II)- Arene Complexes of Isomeric Indolo[3,2-c]quinoline—Piperazine Hybrids

[Image: see text] In this study, the indoloquinoline backbone and piperazine were combined to prepare indoloquinoline–piperazine hybrids and their ruthenium- and osmium-arene complexes in an effort to generate novel antitumor agents with improved aqueous solubility. In addition, the position of the metal-binding unit was varied, and the effect of these structural alterations on the aqueous solubility and antiproliferative activity of their ruthenium- and osmium-arene complexes was studied. The indoloquinoline–piperazine hybrids L(1–3) were prepared in situ and isolated as six ruthenium and osmium complexes [(η(6)-p-cymene)M(L(1–3))Cl]Cl, where L(1) = 6-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-N-(pyridin-2-yl-methylene)-11H-indolo[3,2-c]quinolin-2-N-amine, M = Ru ([1a]Cl), Os ([1b]Cl), L(2) = 6-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-N-(pyridin-2-yl-methylene)-11H-indolo[3,2-c]quinolin-4-N-amine, M = Ru ([2a]Cl), Os ([2b]Cl), L(3) = 6-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-N-(pyridin-2-yl-methylene)-11H-indolo[3,2-c]quinolin-8-N-amine, M = Ru ([3a]Cl), Os ([3b]Cl). The compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy, ESI mass spectrometry, IR and UV–vis spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The antiproliferative activity of the isomeric ruthenium and osmium complexes [1a,b]Cl–[3a,b]Cl was examined in vitro and showed the importance of the position of the metal-binding site for their cytotoxicity. Those complexes containing the metal-binding site located at the position 4 of the indoloquinoline scaffold ([2a]Cl and [2b]Cl) demonstrated the most potent antiproliferative activity. The results provide important insight into the structure–activity relationships of ruthenium- and osmium-arene complexes with indoloquinoline–piperazine hybrid ligands. These studies can be further utilized for the design and development of more potent chemotherapeutic agents.