Dicationic Ruthenium(II)-Arene-Curcumin Complexes Containing Methylated 1,3,5-Triaza-7-phosphaadamantane: Synthesis, Structure, and Cytotoxicity

Dicationic ruthenium(II)-p-cymene complexes containing curcumin ligands (curcH = curcumin, bdcurcH = bisdemethoxycurcumin) and ionic N-methyl-1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane [PTA-Me]X (X = BF4 or I) have been synthesized and fully characterized for the first time. The solid-state structure of [Ru(p-cym)(curc)(PTA-Me)][SO3CF3][BF4] has also been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Modest antiproliferative activities of the complexes were observed against cis-platin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant human ovarian carcinoma cells (A2780 and A2780cisR, respectively) and nontumorigenic human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells.