Synthesis, Characterization and Antitumor Mechanism Investigation of Heterometallic Ru(Ⅱ)-Re(Ⅰ) Complexes.

The development of heteronuclear metal complexes as potent anticancer agents has received increasing attention in recent years. In this study, two new heteronuclear Ru(Ⅱ)-Re(Ⅰ) metal complexes, [Ru(bpy)LRe(CO)(DIP)](PF) and [Ru(phen)LRe(CO)(DIP)](PF) [ and , L = 2-(4-pyridinyl)imidazolio[4,5-f][1,10]phenanthroline, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, DIP = 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline], were synthesized and characterized. Cytotoxicity assay shows that and exhibit higher anticancer activity than cisplatin, and exist certain selectivity toward human cancer cells over normal cells. The anticancer mechanistic studies reveal that and can induce apoptosis through the regulation of cell cycle, depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), and caspase cascade. Moreover, and can effectively inhibit cell migration and colony formation. Taken together, heteronuclear Ru(Ⅱ)-Re(Ⅰ) metal complexes possess the prospect of developing new anticancer agents with high efficacy.