Carbon monoxide-releasing molecules for biomedicinal applications

Carbon monoxide has been demonstrated to exhibit several beneficial effects on biological targets (anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-apoptotic effects, causes vasodilation, etc.).1 Consequently, the development of CO releasing molecules (CORMs), that allows for controlled release of CO under physiological conditions, has therefore become a major field of scientific and medical interest.2,3 Considerable research interest has been drawn on light-activated CORMs (photoCORMs) which only release CO upon radiation with a certain energy. However, despite a large number of photoCORMs reported, relatively little information is available on the precise mechanism of CO release from most photoCORMs and even less compounds have been tested as anti-cancer agents in cells so far.
Herein, we report about the synthesis of ruthenium(II) dicarbonyl complexes functionalized with bidentate or tridentate (pyridyl, phenanthroline or diquinolyl) ligands and appending dyes for tuning the release properties as well as tracking the compound in cells. The mechanism of CO release in aqueous media (before and after light-activation) has been investigated. The photo-induced CO release kinetics of the Ru(II) photoCORMs, as well as in vitro studies in cancerous and healthy cell lines will be presented.4,5

References

[1] R. Motterlini, L. E. Otterbein, Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 9 (2010) 728-743.
[2] U. Schatzschneider, Br. J. Pharmacol. 172 (2015) 1638-1650.
[3] F. Zobi, Future Med. Chem. (2013) 5, 175-188.
[4] M. Kubeil, R. R. Vernooij, C. Kubeil, B. R. Wood, B. Graham, H. Stephan, L. Spiccia, Inorg. Chem. 56 (2017) 5941-5952.
[5] M. Kubeil, T. Joshi, B. R. Wood, H. Stephan, ChemistryOpen (2019) 8, 637-642.

Acknowledgements

MK was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 627113.