Metal-Based Drugs 
Volume 8 (2001), Issue 1, Pages 9-18
doi:10.1155/MBD.2001.9

Novel Unsymmetrical Ru(III) and Mixed-valence Ru(III)/Ru(II) Dinuclear Compounds Related to the Antimetastatic Ru(III) Drug NAMI-A

B. Serli,1 E. Iengo,1 T. Gianferrara,2 E. Zangrando,1 and E. Alessio1

 1Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 1, Trieste 34127, Italy
2Dipartimento di Scienze Farmaceutiche, University of Trieste, Piazzale Europa 1, Trieste 34127, Italy

Abstract

In this paper we report the stepwise preparation and the characterization of new unsymmetrical monoanionic Ru(III) dinuclear compounds, [NH4][{trans-RuCl4(Me2SO-S)}(μ-L){mer-RuCl3(Me2SO-S)(Me2SO-O)}] (L = pyz (1), pym (2)). By a similar synthetic approach we also prepared new mixed-valence Ru(III)/Ru(II) dinuclear compounds of formula [NH4][{trans-RuCl4(Me2SO-S)}(μ-pyz){cis,cis,cis-RuCl2(Me2SO-S)2(CO)}] (L = pyrazine (pyz, 3), pyrimidine (pym, 4)). Moreover, we describe the chemical behavior of compounds 1-4 in physiological solution, also after complete reduction (with ascorbic acid) to the corresponding Ru(II)/Ru(II) species. Overall, the chemical behavior of 1 and 2 after reduction resembles that of the corresponding dianionic and neutral dinuclear species, [{trans-RuCl3(Me2SO-S)}2(μ-L)]2− and [{mer-RuCl3(Me2SO-S)(Me2SO-O)}2 (μ-L)]. On the other hand, the mixed-valence dinuclear compounds 3 and 4, owing to the great inertness of the cis,cis,cis-RuCl2(Me2SO-S)2(CO)(1/2μ-L) fragment, behave substantially like the mononuclear species [trans-RuCl4(Me2SO-S)(L)]− in which the terminally bonded L ligand can be considered as bearing a bulky substituent on the other N atom.