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Synthesis, antiproliferative activity and apoptosis-promoting effects of arene ruthenium(II) complexes with N, O chelating ligands

Accepted Manuscript Synthesis, antiproliferative activity and apoptosis-promoting effects of arene ruthenium(II) complexes with N, O chelating ligands Nanjan Mohan, Mohamed Kasim Mohamed Subarkhan, Rengan Ramesh PII: S0022-328X(18)30022-6 DOI: 10.1016/j.jorganchem.2018.01.022 Reference: JOM 20260 To appear in: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry Received Date: 31 October 2017 Revised Date: 8 January 2018 Accepted Date: 16 January 2018 Please cite this article as: N. Mohan, M.K. Mohamed Subarkhan, R. Ramesh, Synthesis, antiproliferative activity and apoptosis-promoting effects of arene ruthenium(II) complexes with N, O chelating ligands, Journal of Organometallic Chemistry (2018), doi: 10.1016/j.jorganchem.2018.01.022. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 Synthesis, antiproliferative activity and apoptosis-promoting effects of 2 arene ruthenium(II) complexes with N, O chelating ligands 3 Nanjan Mohan, Mohamed Kasim Mohamed Subarkhan and Rengan Ramesh* 4 Centre for Organometallic Chemistry, School of Chemistry, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620 024, 5 Tamil Nadu, India 7 RI PT 6 ABSTRACT New half sandwich arene ruthenium(II) complexes of the type [Ru(arene)Cl(L)] 9 (where arene= benzene and p-cymene, L = thiophene benzhydrazone ligands) have been 10 synthesized from the reactions of the neutral precursor [Ru(arene) (µ-Cl) Cl]2 and the 11 corresponding benzhydrazone ligand. All the complexes were completely characterized by 12 elemental analysis and additionally by IR, UV-Vis, 1H NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopic 13 methods. The solid state structures of the complexes 6 and 7 were determined by single- 14 crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, which exhibit typical pseudo-octahedral geometry around 15 the metal center. The antiproliferative activity of the complexes was evaluated on cancerous 16 (HeLa, MDA-MB-231, and Hep G2) and noncancerous (NIH3T3) cell lines. In general, 17 complexes containing electron releasing OCH3 substituent have potential anticancer activity 18 than those incorporating H, Cl and Br substituents. Moreover, the p-cymene complexes show 19 more cytotoxicity than benzene derivatives, suggesting that the substituent at arene plays a 20 vital role in the biological activity of the compounds. Further, an apoptotic mechanism of 21 cell death in MDA-MB-231 was confirmed by AO-EB, Hoechst 33258 staining and annexin- 22 V/PI double-staining techniques. In addition, the extent of DNA fragmentation in cancer cells 23 was studied by comet assay. EP TE D M AN U SC 8 AC C 24 25 Keywords: 26 Benzhydrazone; η6-arene ruthenium(II) complex; Crystal structure; Cytotoxicity; Apoptosis 27 28 29 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 431 2407053; fax: +91 431 2407045. 30 E-mail address: ramesh_bdu@yahoo.com, rramesh@bdu.ac.in (R. Ramesh). 31 32 Page | 1 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 33 1. Introduction Although platinum-based drugs cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin have been 35 widely used for anticancer agents for the past few decades, the problems of high toxicity, 36 platinum resistance and undesirable side-effects are appealing the search for different 37 transition metal anticancer drugs. It is to note that ruthenium-complexes have attracted 38 significant attention among the other various metal complexes for their potential anticancer 39 activity. In this regard ruthenium complexes exhibit evidence of low toxicity compared to 40 traditional cisplatin agents. The ruthenium(III) complexes particularly [imiH2] [trans-Ru(N- 41 imiH)(S-dmso)Cl4] NAMI-A and [indH2][trans-Ru(N-indH)2Cl4] KP1019 [1,2] and its 42 sodium analogue Na[trans-Ru(N-indH)2Cl4] (NKP-1339 or IT-139) are the most promising 43 ruthenium complexes reaching clinical trials [3]. Notably, the activation method depends on 44 the redox potential of the Ru(III)/Ru(II) oxidation states, which in turn strongly depends on 45 the ligands coordinated to the metal centre. The activation by reduction results in a reactive 46 ruthenium(II) complex, which can react with numerous biomolecules [4-7]. M AN U SC RI PT 34 Particular attention has been paid to half sandwich arene ruthenium complexes 48 because of the π-ligated arene which confers great stability to Ru in the +2 oxidation state 49 and influences the hydrophobicity and interaction with biomolecules [8-10]. Substitutions at 50 arene moiety and variations in the chelating ligands will be able to fine tune their biological 51 properties [11]. Tocher et al. have reported that cytotoxicity was enhanced by coordinating 52 the antibacterial agent metronidazole [1-β-(hydroxyethyl)-2-methyl-5-nitro-imidazole] to a 53 benzene ruthenium dichloro fragment [12]. At first, the prototype arene ruthenium(II) 54 complexes 55 [3.3.1.1]decane), termed RAPTA-C [13] which displays pH dependent DNA damage due to 56 the hypoxic (low pH) nature of cancer cells, and [(C6H5Ph)RuCl(N,N-en)][PF6] (en = 1,2- 57 ethylenediamine) exhibits selective binding to guanine bases on DNA, forming 58 monofunctional adducts [14] , though many various categories have since been reported [15]. 59 Hydrazones are versatile ligands with fascinating ligation properties with many transition 60 metals. Moreover, these ligands represent an important class of compounds for new drug 61 development because hydrazone moiety was selected for its high stability at physiological pH 62 and lability under strongly acidic and basic conditions as incontestable by drug delivery 63 agents in tumor targeting. Thus, all the hydrazones possess the azomethine (-CONHN=CH-) 64 group have been revealed to exhibit antiproliferative activities and act as cytotoxic agents EP TE D 47 (pta = 1,3,5-triaza- 7-phospha-tricyclo- AC C [(p-MeC6H4Pri)RuCl2(P-pta)] Page | 2 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT with the ability to stop cell progression in cancerous cells through different mechanisms [16]. 66 Aroylhydrazones are magnificent multidentate ligands for transition metals. They have been 67 exhibit to reveal a variety of biological e.g. antiamoebic activity [17] and DNA synthesis 68 inhibition or antiproliferative behaviour [18-20]. Herein, we present a systematic 69 investigation of half-sandwich Ru(II) complexes bearing benzhydrazone ligands (Fig. 1) 70 with respect to their antiproliferative activity on human cancer cells. 71 72 Fig. 1 Design of arene ruthenium(II) benzhydrazone complexes. 73 2. Results and discussion TE D 74 M AN U SC RI PT 65 The benzhydrazones were obtained by condensation of equimolar amounts of 76 thiophene-2-carboxyaldehyde and substituted benzhydrazide [21]. The arene complexes of 77 the type [Ru(arene)Cl(L)] (arene= benzene and p-cymene and L = thiophene benzhydrazone 78 ligands) (Scheme 1) have been synthesised from the reactions of the ligands and ruthenium 79 arene dimers [Ru(arene) (µ-Cl)Cl]2 in a 2 : 1 molar ratio in benzene for 5h at reflux 80 temperature in the presence of triethylamine as a base. The isolated complexes were yellow, 81 brown in colour, air stable solids, partially soluble in water and completely soluble in polar 82 organic solvents like methanol, ethanol, acetone, chloroform, dichloromethane, acetonitrile, 83 dimethylformamide and dimethylsulfoxide. The elemental analysis of all the ruthenium(II) 84 complexes are in good agreement with the molecular formula of the proposed structure. AC C EP 75 85 Page | 3 RI PT ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 86 87 Scheme 1. Synthesis of arene ruthenium(II) benzhydrazone complexes. SC 88 FT-IR spectra of the ligands and the complexes (1-8) furnished significant 90 information about coordination of the ligand to metal. A medium to strong band in the range 91 3191-3280 cm-1 was assigned to the N-H functional group of the ligand. The ligands also 92 exhibit absorptions due to νC=N and νC=O within the range 1632-1649 cm-1. 93 complexation the bands associated with νN–H and νC=O stretching vibrations are disappeared 94 and indicating that the ligands undergo tautomerization and consequent coordination of the 95 imidolate oxygen. The appearance of new bands in the range 1259-1272 and 1594-1620 cm-1 96 attributed to the C–O and C=N–N=C fragments which give further support for the 97 coordination of the ligand. Hence, the coordination through imine nitrogen and the imidolate 98 oxygen of the ligand to ruthenium was confirmed by IR spectra of all the complexes [22]. All 99 the complexes show three bands in the region 234-366 nm in acetonitrile at room 100 temperature. Bands due to ligand-centered (LC) transitions are appeared around 234-304 nm 101 and have been designated as π–π* and n–π* transitions. The lowest energy bands that 102 appeared in the region 360-366 nm were attributed to the charge transfer due to metal to 103 ligand transitions [23]. The pattern of the electronic spectra of all the complexes is very 104 similar to other previously reported octahedral complexes. Fig. S1-S8 (ESI†). EP TE D Upon AC C 105 M AN U 89 The binding of the benzhydrazone ligand to the ruthenium(II) ion is further verified 106 by NMR spectra of the complexes. All the complexes show multiplets in the region δ 6.7- 8.1 107 ppm and have been assigned to the aromatic protons of benzhydrazone ligands. A sharp 108 singlet in the region δ 8.8-8.9 ppm is assigned to azomethine proton which shifted to 109 downfield on comparison with those of the free ligands, indicating deshielding of the 110 azomethine proton upon coordination to ruthenium. In addition, the absence NH proton of the Page | 4 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT free ligands in all the complexes confirmed the coordination to Ru(II) ion via imidolate 112 oxygen. An upfield shift of η6-C6H6 protons of 1-4 has been observed in the region of δ 5.5 113 ppm. Two sets of doublets have been observed in the region δ 1.0-1.3 ppm for the methyl 114 protons of isopropyl group in p-cymene moiety. The methine proton of the isopropyl group 115 appears as a septet in the range of δ 2.5-2.6 ppm. Further, a singlet at δ 2.2 ppm is attributed 116 to the methyl protons of the p-cymene moiety. Moreover, four sets of doublets in the range 117 of δ 4.6-5.3 ppm were assigned to the aromatic protons of the p-cymene ligand. In addition, 118 for complexes 4 and 8 the methoxy signals of the benzhydrazone ring were observed as a 119 singlet at δ 3.8 and δ 3.7 ppm. Thus the 1H NMR spectra of all the complexes confirm the 120 coordination mode of the benzhydrazone ligand to the ruthenium(II) ion through the 121 azomethine nitrogen and the imidolate oxygen Fig. S9-S16 (ESI†). SC RI PT 111 122 2.1 Crystal structures M AN U 123 Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the complexes 6 and 7 were grown from 125 CH2Cl2/ Pet .ether by slow evaporation method. The ORTEP diagrams for the two structures 126 are shown in Fig. 2, crystallographic data and selected bond parameters are listed in Table 1 127 and 2. Both complexes 6 and 7 crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21/c. In the 128 complex 6, the (ɳ6-p-cymene) ligand occupying three coordination sites in ɳ6-fasion and the 129 remaining coordination sites are occupied by N, O donor atoms from chelating ligand and 130 one chloride. Thus the crystallographic structure of complex confirms pseudo octahedral 131 geometry around the ruthenium metal [24]. The Ru-N, Ru-O and Ru–Cl bond lengths are 132 2.107(4), 2.056(3) and 2.398(13) Å, respectively. The Ru-C (p-cymene) bond lengths ranging 133 from 2.157-2.221 Å and p-cymene ring C-C bond lengths ranging from 1.398-1.432 Å. Bond 134 angles of 86.18(11)⁰, 85.73(11)⁰ and 76.23(13)⁰ are observed for Cl-Ru-O, Cl-Ru-N, and N- 135 Ru-O respectively. A similar structural feature has been found in complex 7 with marginal 136 changes in bond lengths and bond angles. 138 EP AC C 137 TE D 124 Page | 5 RI PT ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT SC 139 140 Fig. 2 Molecular structures of complexes 6 and 7; thermal ellipsoids are drawn at the 30% probability level. All 141 hydrogen atoms were omitted for clarity. M AN U 142 143 144 145 Table 1 Selected Bond Lengths (Å) and Angles (deg) for the Complexes 6 and 7 146 6 Bond lengths (Å) N(1)-N(2) 1.413(5) N(1)-Ru(1) 2.107(4) O(1)-Ru(1) 2.056(3) Cl(1)-Ru(1) 2.398(13) C(7)-O(1) 1.305(5) C(7)-N(2) 1.299(6) C(8)-N(1) 1.288(6) Bond angles (⁰) N(2)-N(1)-Ru(1) 113.5(3) C(7)-N(2)-N(1) 110.9(4) C(7)-O(1)-Ru(1) 112.6(3) O(1)-Ru(1)-N(1) 76.23(13) O(1)-Ru(1)-Cl(2) 86.18(11) N(1)-Ru(1)-Cl(2) 85.73(11) ESD in parenthesis. 7 TE D N(1)-N(2) N(2)-Ru(1) O(1)-Ru(1) Cl(1)-Ru(1) C(7)-O(1) C(7)-N(1) C(8)-N(2) 147 148 AC C EP N(1)-N(2)-Ru(1) C(7)-N(1)-N(2) C(7)-O(1)-Ru(1) O(1)-Ru(1)-N(2) O(1)-Ru(1)-Cl(1) N(2)-Ru(1)-Cl(1) 1.410(6) 2.107(4) 2.053(3) 2.400(15) 1.300(6) 1.300(6) 1.296(6) 113.7(3) 110.9(4) 112.9(3) 76.09(15) 85.76(12) 85.80(12) 149 150 151 152 153 Page | 6 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Table 2 Crystal data and structure refinement for complexes 6 and 7 Compound 6 7 C22 H22 Cl2 N2 O2 Ru S 550.45 C22 H22 Br Cl N2 O2 Ru S 594.91 Temperature 296(2) K 296(2) K Wavelength Crystal system 0.71073Å Monoclinic 0.71073 Å Monoclinic Space group Unit cell dimensions P21/c a = 13.9604(5)Å alpha = 90 deg. P21/c a = 13.9337(6)Å alpha = 90 deg. b = 17.0717(6) Å beta = 100.359(2) deg. b = 17.2743(8)Å beta = 101.267(2) deg. RI PT Empirical formula Formula weight SC 154 c = 10.2549(4)Å gamma = 90 deg. c = 10.3593(4) Å gamma = 90 deg. Volume 2404.19(15) Å3 2445.38(18)Å3 Z, Calculated density 4, 1.521Mg/m3 Absorption coefficient 0.981 mm-1 F(000) Crystal size 1112 0.30 x 0.30 x 0.25 mm 1184 0.35 x 0.30 x 0.30mm Theta range for data collection Limiting indices 1.48 to 28.35 deg. -18 ≤ h ≤ 12, -22 ≤ k ≤ 22, -13 ≤ l ≤ 13 19987 / 5955 [R(int) = 0.0291] 1.49 to 28.32 deg. -17 ≤ h ≤ 18, -19 ≤ k ≤ 22, -13 ≤ l ≤ 10 19409 / 5975 [R(int) = 0.0324] 99.2 % Semi-empirical from equivalents 98.3 % Semi-empirical from equivalents 0.7915 and 0.7573 0.5221 and 0.4761 Completeness to theta = 28.44 Absorption correction Refinement method M AN U EP Max. and min. transmission 2.490 mm-1 TE D Reflections collected / unique 4, 1.616 Mg/m3 Full-matrix least-squares on F 2 Full-matrix least-squares on F2 5955 / 0 / 271 5975 / 0 / 271 Goodness-of-fit on F2 Final R indices [I>2sigma(I)] 1.124 R1 = 0.0505, wR2 = 0.1655 1.088 R1 = 0.0505, wR2 = 0.1631 R indices (all data) R1 = 0.0679, wR2 = 0.1888 R1 = 0.0765, wR2 = 0.1816 Largest diff. peak and hole 2.583 and -0.677 e.Å-3 2.342 and -0.753 e.Å-3 AC C Data / restraints / parameters 155 156 157 158 Page | 7 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 159 2.2 Stability of the complexes (time-dependent spectra) Stability of compounds in solution is an essential requirement for drug candidates. 161 The stability of complexes (1-8) in a solution of buffer-DMSO was explored using UV-Vis 162 spectroscopy Fig.S9-S16 (ESI†). The spectra did not exhibit any noticeable changes during a 163 period of 24 hour indicate the stability of the complexes. Further, ESI-MS spectral studies of 164 the complexes confirm the composition. All the complexes showed the characteristic peaks at 165 m/z 410.00 (1, M-Cl+), 444.96 (2, M−Cl+), 486.89 (3, M – Cl+), 439.00 (4, M−Cl+), 465.05 166 (5, M−Cl+), 499.06 (6, M−Cl+), 544.96 (7, M−Cl+), and 495.06 (8, M−Cl+) Fig. S25-S32 167 (ESI†). The results strongly indicate that the chlorine atom in these complexes is highly labile 168 and the resulting species easily interacts with biomolecules [25]. 2.3 Partition Coefficient Determination M AN U 170 SC 169 RI PT 160 Hydrophobicity is the basic physiochemical parameters in the design of drugs and 172 their biological processes [26] and is determined by the n-octanol/water partition coefficient 173 (P) method [27]. Moreover, Log P, were measured to explain the permeability of complexes 174 (1-8) through a biological system [28] based on solubility of a given compound in a two- 175 phase system [29]. The log P results are presented in Table S1(ESI†). The partition 176 coefficient values (log P) of the complexes suggested that hydrophobicity can be arranged in 177 the order 8 > 4 > 6 > 7 > 5 > 2 > 3 > 1. 178 2.4 Cytotoxicity studies EP 179 TE D 171 The cytotoxicities of the metallic precursors, ligands and complexes were 181 determined by spectrofluorimetric MTT assay. The plot of percentage of cell death versus 182 concentration is illustrated in Fig. S33&34 (ESI†). The cytotoxicity of the complexes was 183 expressed by IC50 values and are reported in Table 3. It is to be noted that the precursor and 184 the ligand did not show any inhibition even up to 100 µM and the observed cytotoxicity of 185 the complexes is mainly due to chelation of the ligand to ruthenium. The in vitro anticancer 186 activity of the Ru-arene complexes 1-8 towards several human cancer cell lines (HeLa, 187 MDA-MB-231, and Hep G2) and a normal human cell line (NIH3T3) were determined after 188 24 h inhibition and cisplatin was used as a positive control. Based on IC50 values obtained, in 189 vitro anticancer activity of the complexes follows the order: 8>4>6>7>5cisplatin = 1>2>3. 190 These results are also consistent with hydrophobicity of the complexes [30]. Complexes 1–8 191 show markedly increased cytotoxic potencies compared with the respective hydrazone AC C 180 Page | 8 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT ligands. A comparison of the IC50 values of these complexes against MDA-MB-231cells 193 indicates that complexes 4 and 8 exhibits comparatively better than the other complexes 194 under same experimental conditions. The complexes containing methoxy substituent exhibit 195 higher hydrophobicity and enables permeation of complexes across cell membranes [31]. 196 Further, the arene group plays significant role in the antiproliferative activity of these 197 complexes. In general p-cymene complexes show higher cell killing activities which may be 198 due to the higher hydrophobic interactions between p-cymene complexes and the 199 biomolecules. Thus, the in vitro anticancer activity of the complex towards NIH-3T3 (non- 200 cancerous cells) was determined to be above 221 µM, confirms that these complexes are 201 specific for cancer cells. 202 203 Table 3 The cytotoxic activity of arene ruthenium(II) benzhydrazone complexes after 24 h exposure Complexes L1 >100 L2 >100 L3 >100 L4 >100 [(benzene)RuCl2]2 TE D HeLa IC50 values (µM) M AN U a MDA-MB-231 Hep G2 NIH3T3 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 >100 32.5 ± 0.3 19.6 ± 0.3 26.9 ± 0.1 223.7 ± 0.8 28.6 ± 0.4 18.7 ± 0.2 21.3 ± 0.5 232.4 ± 0.3 31.2 ± 0.2 19.1 ± 0.3 22.0 ± 0.2 236.1 ± 0.3 10.2 ± 0.5 9.8 ± 0.2 12.0 ± 0.3 272.9 ± 0.4 5 22.9 ± 0.5 16.8 ± 0.2 21.9 ± 0.6 261.3 ± 0.9 6 15.4 ± 0.3 10.5 ± 0.1 18.4 ± 0.3 242.6 ± 0.2 7 17.2 ± 0.5 11.8 ± 0.2 18.5 ± 0.2 243.6 ± 0.3 8 9.4 ± 0.2 8.3 ± 0.4 10.9 ± 0.2 288.0 ± 0.5 Cisplatin 22.6 ± 0.8 14.9 ± 0.5 21.3 ± 0.9 221.3 ± 0.6 1 2 3 AC C 4 EP [(p-Cymene)RuCl2]2 204 205 SC RI PT 192 a IC50 = concentration of the drug required to inhibit growth of 50% of the cancer cells (µM). The sign (>) indicates that IC50 value was not obtained up to given concentration. 206 207 208 Page | 9 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 209 2.5 Morphological changes in AO and EB dual staining An Acridine Orange–Ethidium Bromide (AO–EB) dual fluorescent staining method 211 was used to investigate apoptosis in a MDA-MB-231cell line treated with complex 4 and 8. 212 After treatment of cells with the complexes 4 and 8 for 24 h and irradiated with visible light 213 showed significant reddish-orange emission with condensed chromatin and membrane 214 blebbing. In the control, the cells of MDA-MB-231 were stained bright green in spots. 215 Henceforth, the morphological changes clearly indicate that the complexes induce cell death 216 through apoptosis. 217 218 Fig. 3 Morphological assessment of AO and EB dual staining of MDA-MB-231cells treated with complex 4 & 8 219 (IC50 concentration) for 24 h. The scale bar 20 mm. M AN U SC RI PT 210 220 221 2.6 Morphological changes in Hoechst 33258 staining To investigate the nuclear morphologic characteristics, MDA-MB-231 cells were 223 stained with Hoechst 33258 and treated with complexes 4 and 8 using fluorescence 224 microscopy. After 24 h, complexes treated cells showed fragmented nuclei and chromatin 225 condensation which are features of apoptosis different from control cells (Fig.4). EP AC C 226 TE D 222 227 228 Fig. 4 Morphology of the nuclei of MDA-MB-231 cells observed by fluorescence microscopy (Hoechst 33258 229 staining, 24 h incubation at IC50 concentrations) after treatment with control complexes 4 and 8. 230 231 232 Page | 10 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 233 2.7 Evaluation of apoptosis – Flow cytometry As shown in Fig. 5 and 6, MDA-MB-231cells were treated with complex 4 and 8 at 235 two different concentrations for 24 h. The increase of annexin V+/PI+ (Q2) population from 236 3.7% to 6.7% for 4 and 5.0% to 8.2% for 8 at 50 and 100 µM concentrations of the 237 complexes respectively represent cells undergoing apoptosis. Taken together, these results 238 indicate that cell death induced by complexes is mainly caused by induction of apoptosis. RI PT 234 239 M AN U SC 240 241 242 243 Fig. 5 Annexin V/propidium iodide assay of MDA-MB-231cells treated by complex 4 (50 and 100 µM concentration) measured by flow cytometry. 245 246 247 AC C EP TE D 244 Fig. 6 Annexin V/propidium iodide assay of MDA-MB-231cells treated by complex 8 (50 and 100 µM concentration) measured by flow cytometry. 248 249 2.8 Comet assay 250 The comet assay was used to detect the DNA strand breaks with high sensitivity at the 251 single-cell level [32]. As shown in Fig. 7, MDA-MB-231cells treated with IC50 concentration Page | 11 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 252 of the complexes 4 and 8 for 24h show the increase in the length of the comet tail and 253 illustrate that the complexes induce a remarkable DNA damage in a time-dependent manner, 254 the percentage of DNA damage presented in Fig.S35 (ESI†). Further, the results of comet 255 assay demonstrate that the complexes are capable of eliciting DNA damaging effects, as 256 evidenced by the comet assays on MDA-MB-231 cells SC RI PT 257 259 M AN U 258 Fig. 7 Comet assay of EB-stained control, complex 4 and 8 treated breast cancer cells at 24h incubation. 260 261 262 3. Conclusions In summary, we have described the synthesis of a series of arene ruthenium(II) benzhydrazone complexes. All the complexes have been completely characterized by 264 analytical techniques and spectroscopic methods. Crystallographic studies of the complexes 6 265 and 7 have shown that the benzhydrazone ligands are coordinated to Ru(II) in a bidentate 266 fashion via azomethine nitrogen and imidolate oxygen atoms. Besides, all the complexes 267 were tested for anticancer activity against HeLa, MDA-MB-231, and Hep G2 cancer cell 268 lines, and they were found to show excellent cytotoxicity to cancer cells without affecting the 269 normal NIH 3T3 cells. Remarkably, complexes 4 and 8 display high cytotoxicity against 270 cancer cell lines tested with very low IC50 values. Moreover, fluorescence staining 271 techniques, flow cytometry and comet assays demonstrated that complexes induce apoptosis 272 in MDA-MB-231 cells. Hence, confirming that these arene ruthenium(II) benzhydrazone 273 complexes have promising biological properties and are worth investigating further. AC C EP TE D 263 274 275 4. Experimental 276 4.1 Reagents and materials 277 RuCl3.3H2O was purchased from Loba Chemie Pvt. Ltd. and used as received. 278 Aldehydes and benzhydrazide derivatives were obtained from Aldrich. All other chemicals Page | 12 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 279 were purchased from commercial sources and used without further purification. The 280 Solvents were distilled following the standard procedures [33] and degassed prior to use. 281 [Ru(arene) (µ-Cl)Cl]2 (arene= benzene and p-cymene) was prepared by reported procedure 282 [34]. 283 4.2 Physical measurements RI PT 284 FT-IR spectra in KBr pellets were recorded on a JASCO 400 plus spectrometer. 286 Microanalysis of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur were carried out by Vario EL III 287 CHNS elemental analyzer. UV- visible spectra was recorded on a CARY 300 Bio UV- Vis 288 spectrometer. The 1H NMR spectra were carried out with Bruker 400 MHz instruments. 289 Melting points were determined on a Boetius micro-heating table and are corrected. ESI-MS 290 spectra were obtained by micro mass Quattro II triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The 291 annexin V-FITC kit (APOAF-20TST) from Sigma-Aldrich was used based on manufacturer 292 instructions. M AN U SC 285 293 294 4.3 Preparation of thiophene benzhydrazone ligands A solution of thiophene-2-carboxyaldehyde (5 mmol) in ethanol (10mL) was added 296 drop wise to the ethanol solution (10 mL) of 4-substituted benzhydrazide (5 mmol) and the 297 reaction mixture was refluxed for about 3 h. The solution was concentrated to 5 ml and 298 cooled to room temperature. The cream or pale brown solid formed was filtered, washed 299 with cold methanol (5mL) and dried in air. Yield 83-88%. 301 EP 300 TE D 295 4.4 Synthesis of arene ruthenium(II) benzhydrazone complexes A mixture of [Ru (ɳ6-C6H6) (µ-Cl)Cl]2 or [Ru (ɳ6-p-cymene) (µ-Cl)Cl]2 (0.04 mmol) 303 and benzhydrazone ligand (0.08 mmol) was refluxed in benzene in the presence of 304 triethylamine (0.5 mL) for 5 h. After removing the triethylammonium chloride by filtration, 305 the solution was concentrated and light petroleum ether (bp 60-80 ⁰C) was added whereby the 306 solid separated out. The resulted solids were recrystallized from CH2Cl2/petroleum ether and 307 dried under vacuum. AC C 302 308 309 4.4.1 [Ru(η6-C6H6)(Cl)(L1)] (1). Colour: Brown; Yield: 80%; M.p.: 165 ⁰C; Anal. Calc. For 310 C18 H15 Cl N2 O Ru S: C, 48.70; H, 3.40; N, 6.31; S, 7.22%. Found: C, 48.52; H, 3.45; N, 311 6.30; S, 7.25%. IR (KBr, cm-1):1598 ν(C=N-N=C), 1265 ν(C-O). UV–Vis (CH3CN, λ max/nm; Page | 13 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 312 ε/dm3 mol-1 cm-1): 354(3415), 274(4254), 236(6652). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) (δ ppm): 313 8.9 (s, 1H, N=CH), 7.1–8.1 (m, 8H, aromatic), 5.5(s, 6H). ESI-MS (CH3CN): calcd for C18 314 H15 Cl N2 O Ru S m/z 443.96; found [M - Cl]+ :410.00. 315 4.4.2 [Ru(η6-C6H6)(Cl)(L2)] (2). Colour: Brown; Yield: 77%; M.p.: 163 ⁰C; Anal. Calc. For 317 C18 H14 Cl2 N2 O Ru S: C, 45.19; H, 2.94; N, 5.85; S, 6.70%. Found: C, 45.35; H, 2.90; N, 318 5.88; S, 6.72%. IR (KBr, cm-1):1620 ν(C=N-N=C), 1260 ν(C-O). UV–Vis (CH3CN, λ max/nm; 319 ε/dm3 mol-1 cm-1): 366(1855), 281(2394), 238(4473). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) (δ ppm): 320 8.9 (s, 1H, N=CH), 7.1–8.1 (m, 7H, aromatic), 5.5 (s, 6H). ESI-MS (CH3CN): calcd for C18 321 H14 Cl2 N2 O Ru S m/z 477.92; found [M - Cl]+ :444.96. SC RI PT 316 322 4.4.3 [Ru(η6-C6H6)(Cl)(L3)] (3). Colour: Brown; Yield: 74%; M.p.: 161 ⁰C; Anal. Calc. For 324 C18 H14 Br Cl N2 O Ru S: C, 41.35; H, 2.69; N, 5.35; S, 6.13%. Found: C, 41.58; H, 2.67; N, 325 5.36; S, 6.19%. IR (KBr, cm-1):1612 ν(C=N-N=C), 1256 ν(C-O). UV–Vis (CH3CN, λ max/nm; 326 ε/dm3 mol-1 cm-1): 361(7045), 273(8836), 244(12972). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) (δ ppm): 327 8.9 (s, 1H, N=CH), 7.1–8.1 (m, 7H, aromatic), 5.5(s, 6H). ESI-MS (CH3CN): calcd for C18 328 H14 Br Cl N2 O Ru S m/z 521.87; found [M - Cl]+ :486.89. M AN U 323 329 4.4.4 [Ru(η6-C6H6)(Cl)(L4)] (4). Colour: Brown; Yield: 72%; M.p.: 157 ⁰C; 331 For C19 H17 Cl N2 O2 Ru S: C, 48.15; H, 3.61; N, 5.91; S, 6.76%. Found: C, 48.25; H, 3.67; 332 N, 5.95; S, 6.71%. IR (KBr, cm-1):1594 ν(C=N-N=C), 1272 ν(C-O). UV–Vis (CH3CN, λ max/nm; 333 ε/dm3 mol-1 cm-1): 360(5095), 279(5742), 253(7314). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) (δ ppm): 334 8.9 (s, 1H, N=CH), 6.8–8.1 (m, 7H, aromatic), 5.5(s, 6H), 3.8 (s, 3H, OCH3). ESI-MS 335 (CH3CN): calcd for C19 H17 Cl N2 O2 Ru S m/z 473.97; found [M + H]+ :474.98, [M - Cl]+ 336 :439.00. EP Anal. Calc. AC C 337 TE D 330 338 4.4.5 [Ru(η6-p-cymene)(Cl)(L1)] (5). Colour: Yellow; Yield: 85%; M.p.: 188 ⁰C; Anal. 339 Calc. For C22 H23 Cl N2 O Ru S: C, 52.84; H, 4.63; N, 5.60; S, 6.41%. Found: C, 52.67; H, 340 4.60; N, 5.64; S, 6.44%. IR (KBr, cm-1):1596 ν(C=N-N=C), 1259 ν(C-O). UV–Vis (CH3CN, λ 341 max/nm; ε/dm3 mol-1 cm-1): 364(5516), 280(6007), 234(6622). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) 342 (δ ppm): 8.8 (s, 1H, N=CH), 7.1–8.0 (m, 8H, aromatic), 5.3 (d, J = 5.6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar- 343 H), 5.3 (d, J = 6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 5.0 (d, J = 5.6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 4.6 (d, J = 344 5.6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 2.5 (m, 1H, CH of p-cymene), 2.2 (s, 3H, CH3 of p-cymene), 1.0- Page | 14 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 345 1.3 (dd, J = 94.8 Hz, J = 7.2 Hz, 6H, 2CH3 of p-cymene). ESI-MS (CH3CN): calcd for C22 346 H23 Cl N2 O Ru S m/z 500.02; found [M + H]+ :501.03, [M - Cl]+:465.05. 347 4.4.6 [Ru(η6-p-cymene)(Cl)(L2)] (6). Colour: Yellow; Yield: 82%; M.p.: 180 ⁰C; Anal. 349 Calc. For C22 H22 Cl2 N2 O Ru S: C, 49.43; H, 4.14; N, 5.24; S, 5.99%. Found: C, 49.28; H, 350 4.15; N, 5.22; S, 5.98%. IR (KBr, cm-1):1599 ν(C=N-N=C), 1262 ν(C-O). UV–Vis (CH3CN, λ 351 max/nm; ε/dm3 mol-1 cm-1): 364(3579), 282(3771), 245(5264).1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) 352 (δ ppm): 8.8 (s, 1H, N=CH), 7.1–8.0 (m, 7H, aromatic), 5.3 (d, J = 6.4 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar- 353 H), 5.3 (d, J = 6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 5.0 (d, J = 5.6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 4.6 (d, J = 354 5.6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 2.5 (m, 1H, CH of p-cymene), 2.2 (s, 3H, CH3 of p-cymene), 1.0- 355 1.3 (dd, J = 100.8 Hz, J = 14.4 Hz, 6H, 2CH3 of p-cymene). ESI-MS (CH3CN): calcd for C22 356 H22 Cl2 N2 O Ru S m/z 533.98; found = [M - Cl]+ :499.02. SC RI PT 348 M AN U 357 4.4.7 [Ru(η6-p-cymene)(Cl)(L3)] (7). Colour: Yellow; Yield: 78%; M.p.: 178 ⁰C; Anal. 359 Calc. For C22 H22 Br Cl N2 O Ru S: C, 45.64; H, 3.83; N, 4.83; S, 5.53%. Found: C, 45.43; H, 360 3.85; N, 4.81; S, 5.54%. IR (KBr, cm-1):1607 ν(C=N-N=C), 1260 ν(C-O). UV–Vis (CH3CN, λ 361 max/nm; ε/dm3 mol-1 cm-1): 360(6761), 304(7395), 246(10158). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) 362 (δ ppm): 8.8 (s, 1H, N=CH), 7.1–8.0 (m, 7H, aromatic), 5.3 (d, J = 6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 363 5.3 (d, J = 6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 5.0 (d, J = 5.6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 4.6 (d, J = 5.6 364 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 2.5 (m, 1H, CH of p-cymene), 2.2 (s, 3H, CH3 of p-cymene), 1.0-1.3 365 (dd, J = 104 Hz, J = 7.2 Hz, 6H, 2CH3 of p-cymene). ESI-MS (CH3CN): calcd for C22 H22 Br 366 Cl N2 O Ru S m/z 577.93; found [M - Cl]+ :544.96. EP TE D 358 367 4.4.8 [Ru(η6-p-cymene)(Cl)(L4)] (8). Colour: Yellow; Yield: 76%; M.p.: 168 ⁰C; Anal. 369 Calc. For C23 H25 Cl N2 O2 Ru S: C, 52.11; H, 4.75; N, 5.28; S, 6.04%. Found: C, 52.35; H, 370 4.70; N, 5.25; S, 6.08%. IR (KBr, cm-1):1592 ν(C=N-N=C), 1259 ν(C-O). UV–Vis (CH3CN, λ 371 max/nm; ε/dm3 mol-1 cm-1): 361(4930), 291(5508), 246(7594). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CDCl3) 372 (δ ppm): 8.8 (s, 1H, N=CH), 6.7–7.9 (m, 9H, aromatic), 5.3 (d, J = 6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 373 5.3 (d, J = 6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 5.0 (d, J = 5.6 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 4.6 (d, J = 5.6 374 Hz, 1H, cymene Ar-H), 3.7 (s, 3H, OCH3), 2.5 (m, 1H, CH of p-cymene), 2.2 (s, 3H, CH3 of 375 p-cymene), 1.0-1.3 (dd, J = 101.6 Hz, J = 7.2 Hz, 376 (CH3CN): calcd for C23 H25 Cl N2 O2 Ru S m/z 530.04; found [M + H]+ :531.04, [M - Cl]+ 377 :495.06. AC C 368 6H, 2CH3 of p-cymene). ESI-MS Page | 15 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 378 4.5 X-ray crystallography 379 A Single crystal of [Ru(η6- p-cymene)Cl(L2)] (6) and [Ru(η6- p-cymene)Cl(L3)] (7) 380 were obtained Dichloromethane-Petroleum ether solution at room temperature by slow 381 evaporation technique. X-Ray data were collected with a Bruker AXS Kappa APEX II single 382 crystal X-ray diffractometer using monochromated Mo-Kα radiation (λ=0.71073). 383 structure solution was obtained by direct methods (SIR-97) [35] and refined using (SHELXL- 384 97) full matrix least-squares calculations on F2 [36]. All non-hydrogen atoms were refined 385 anisotropically, hydrogen atoms were fixed geometrically and refined by riding model. The 386 Bruker SAINT-Plus (Version 7.06a) software were used to analyse the Frame integration and 387 data reduction. The multiscan absorption corrections were applied using SADABS software. 388 CCDC reference number is 1449681-1449682. 391 RI PT The stability of the complexes were carried out as described previously [37]. 392 394 395 4.7 Partition Coefficient Determination Partition coefficients (P) between n-octanol and water phases were carried out as described previously [27,38]. TE D 393 396 397 SC 4.6 Stability Studies M AN U 389 390 The 4.8 Cell culture HeLa human cervical cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231 Triple negative breast 399 carcinoma, Hep G2 human liver carcinoma cell line and NIH 3T3 noncancerous cell, 400 mouse embryonic fibroblast were supplied by the National Centre for Cell Science 401 (NCCS), Pune. The cell lines were cultured as a monolayer in RPMI-1640 medium 402 (Biochrom AG, Berlin, Germany), supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Sigma- 403 Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA) and with 100 U mL-1 penicillin and 100 µg mL-1 streptomycin 404 as antibiotics (Himedia, Mumbai, India), at 37 oC in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in a 405 CO2 incubator (Heraeus, Hanau, Germany). 406 407 AC C EP 398 MTT assay, AO-EB staining, Hoechst 33258 staining, Flow cytometry and comet assay were evaluated as described previously [39-42]. 408 409 Acknowledgments 410 One of the authors (N. M) thanks University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, 411 for the award of UGC-RFSMS. We express sincere thanks to DST-FIST, India for the use of Page | 16 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 412 Bruker 400 MHz spectrometer at the School of Chemistry, Bharathidasan University, 413 Tiruchirappalli. We thank Dr T. R. Santhosh Kumar for the flow cytometry analysis. 414 415 416 Appendix A. Supplementary material 1 H spectra of the complexes (1-8), The ESI-MS of the complexes (1-8) and log P Values for Complexes 1-8. CCDC 1449681-1449682 contains the supplementary 418 crystallographic data for this paper. These data can be obtained free of charge from The 419 Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre via www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/data_request/cif. RI PT 417 420 References 422 [1] A. Bergamo, C. Gaiddon, J. H. M. Schellens, J. H. Beijnen, G. Sava, J. Inorg. Biochem. 423 106 (2012) 90-99. 424 [2] M. Groessl, C.G. Hartinger, K. Po1ec-Pawlak, M. Jarosz, P.J. Dyson, B.K. Keppler, 425 Chem. 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SC M AN U TE D EP AC C 504 RI PT 478 Page | 19 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT AC C EP TE D M AN U SC RI PT Synthesis and characterization of arene ruthenium(II) benzhydrazone complexes. The single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of two complexes is depicted. The complexes have been screened for their in vitro antiproliferative activities. The mechanism of action of the most potent complexes was evaluated.