Improving Cytotoxicity against Breast Cancer Cells by Using Mixed-Ligand Ruthenium(II) Complexes of 2,2'-Bipyridine, Amino Acid, and Nitric Oxide Derivatives as Potential Anticancer Agents

Abstract

The viability assays revealed that complex IV, bearing a NO group and a modified lysine residue, was able to release NO and cross tumor cell membranes. In this work, Complex IV was observed to be the most active ruthenium bipyridine complex against the mammalian breast cancer cells MCF-7 and MDA-MB231: it was approximately twice as active as cisplatin, whilst complexes I-III proved to be less cytotoxic than complex IV. Additional tests using healthy MCF 10A cells showed that complexes II-IV were three- to sixfold less toxic than cisplatin, which suggested that complex IV was selective against cancer cells.