Half-Sandwich Cyclopentadienylruthenium(II) Complexes: A New Antimalarial Chemotype.

A small library of "half-sandwich" cyclopentadienylruthenium(II) compounds of the general formula [(η-CR)Ru(PPh)(N-N)][PF], a scaffold hitherto absent from the toolbox of antiplasmodials, was screened for activity against the blood stage of CQ-sensitive 3D7-GFP, CQ-resistant Dd2, and artemisinin-resistant IPC5202 strains and the liver stage of . The best-performing compounds displayed dual-stage activity, with single-digit nanomolar IC values against blood-stage malaria parasites, nanomolar activity against liver-stage parasites, and residual cytotoxicity against HepG2 and Huh7 mammalian cells. The parasitic absorption/distribution of 7-nitrobenzoxadiazole-appended fluorescent compounds and was investigated by confocal fluorescence microscopy, revealing parasite-selective absorption in infected erythrocytes and nuclear accumulation of both compounds.

Co Cryptates Convert CO into CO and CH under Visible Light.

Three Co octaazacryptates, with different substituents on the aromatic rings (Br, NO , CCH), were synthesised and characterised. These and the already published non-substituted cryptate catalysed CO photoreduction to CO and CH under blue visible light at room temperature. Although CO was observed after short irradiation times and a large range of catalyst concentrations, CH was only observed after longer irradiation periods, such as 30 h, but with a small catalyst concentration (25 nm).