Bombesin-Targeted Delivery of β-Carboline-Based Ir(III) and Ru(II) Photosensitizers for a Selective Photodynamic Therapy of Prostate Cancer.

Despite advances in Ir(III) and Ru(II) photosensitizers (PSs), their lack of selectivity for cancer cells has hindered their use in photodynamic therapy (PDT). We disclose the synthesis and characterization of two pairs of Ir(III) and Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes bearing two β-carboline ligands (N^N') functionalized with -COOMe () or -COOH (), resulting in PSs of formulas [Ir(C^N)(N^N')]Cl ( C^N = ppy, N^N' = ; C^N = ppy, N^N' = ) and [Ru(N^N)(N^N')](Cl) ( N^N = bpy, N^N' = N^N = bpy, N^N' = ). To enhance their selectivity toward cancer cells, and were coupled to a bombesin derivative (), resulting in the metallopeptides and .

Hybrid Hydroxyapatite-Metal Complex Materials Derived from Amino Acids and Nucleobases.

Calcium phosphates (CaPs) and their substituted derivatives encompass a large number of compounds with a vast presence in nature that have aroused a great interest for decades. In particular, hydroxyapatite (HAp, Ca(OH)(PO)) is the most abundant CaP mineral and is significant in the biological world, at least in part due to being a major compound in bones and teeth. HAp exhibits excellent properties, such as safety, stability, hardness, biocompatibility, and osteoconductivity, among others.

Photostable Iridium(III) Cyclometallated Complex is an Efficient Photosensitizer for Killing Multiple Cancer Cell Lines and 3D Models under Low Doses of Visible Light.

Photodynamic therapy delivers more targeted cell killing than classical chemotherapy. It uses light-absorbing compounds, photosensitizers (PSs), to generate lethal reactive oxygen species (ROS) at sites of localized irradiation. Transition metal complexes are attractive PSs due to their photostability, visible-light absorption, and high ROS yields.

Insights into the anticancer photodynamic activity of Ir(III) and Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes bearing β-carboline ligands.

Ir(III) and Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes are promising photosensitizers (PSs) for photodynamic therapy (PDT) due to their outstanding photophysical properties. Herein, one series of cyclometallated Ir(III) complexes and two series of Ru(II) polypyridyl derivatives bearing three different thiazolyl-β-carboline N^N' ligands have been synthesized, aiming to evaluate the impact of the different metal fragments ([Ir(C^N)] or [Ru(N^N)]) and N^N' ligands on the photophysical and biological properties. All the compounds exhibit remarkable photostability under blue-light irradiation and are emissive (605 < λ < 720 nm), with the Ru(II) derivatives displaying higher photoluminescence quantum yields and longer excited state lifetimes.

Towards efficient Ir(III) anticancer photodynamic therapy agents by extending π-conjugation on N^N ligands.

In this work we disclose a new family of biscyclometallated Ir(III) complexes of the general formula [Ir(C^N)(N^N)]Cl (IrL1-IrL5), where HC^N is 1-phenyl-β-carboline and N^N ligands (L1-L5) are different diimine ligands that differ from each other in the number of aromatic rings fused to the bipyridine scaffold. The photophysical properties of IrL1-IrL5 were thoroughly studied, and theoretical calculations were performed for a deeper comprehension of the respective variations along the series. All complexes exhibited high photostability under blue light irradiation.