Ru(ii)-(PTA) and -mPTA complexes with N2-donor ligands bipyridyl and phenanthroline and their antiproliferative activities on human multiple myeloma cell lines

A series of novel ruthenium(ii) 2,2′-bipyridyl (bpy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) derivatives containing PTA (1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane) or mPTA (N-methyl-1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane cation) have been synthesized and fully characterized. Three types of complexes have been obtained, neutral [Ru(N-N)(PTA)2Cl2] (1, N-N = bpy and 4, N-N = phen), monocationic [Ru(N-N)(PTA)3Cl][Cl] (2, N-N = bpy and 5, N-N = phen) and dicationic [Ru(N-N)(mPTA)Cl2][BF4]2 (3, N-N = bpy and 6, N-N = phen). The solid-state structures of four complexes have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The cytotoxicity of the complexes has been evaluated in vitro against U266 and RPMI human multiple myeloma cells.