Dual Action Ru(II) Complexes With Bulky p-Expansive Ligands: Photototoxicy Without DNA Intercalation Nicholas P. Toupin, Sandeep Nadella, Jeremy J. Kodanko,
Department of Chemistry, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Sean J. Steinke, Claudia Turro
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
These authors contributed equally to this work
Introduction
Ruthenium complexes have broad applications in solar energy capture, photocaging, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and photochemotherapy (PCT). For biological applications including PDT and PCT, Ru(II) complexes show many attractive properties, including cell permeability, low inherent toxicity, efficient photodissociation of ligands, and high dark
to light ratios for cancer cell death. Long-standing efforts in the development of Ru(II)-based photosensitizers have led to recent success in the achievement of a major milestone. The compound TLD-1433, which is first Ru(II)-based photosensitizer to enter the clinic, advanced to Phase II clinical trials for the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer due to promising results in preclinical development and earlier trials.