Organoruthenium Complexes with C^N Ligands are Highly Potent Cytotoxic Agents that Act by a New Mechanism of Action

Our study demonstrates that four novel kinetically inert C, N ‐cyclometalated Ru II complexes of the type [Ru(C^N)(N^N) 2 ][PF 6 ] containing a handle for functionalization on the C^N ligand are very potent cytotoxic agents against several different human cancer cell lines and are up to 400‐fold more potent than clinically used cisplatin. In addition, the investigated ruthenium complexes are less cytotoxic in noncancerous cells, and exhibit...