Anticancer Activity Studies of Ruthenium(II) Complex Toward Human Osteosarcoma HOS Cells

A new Ru(II) complex [Ru(dmp)(2)(NMIP)](ClO4)(2) (dmp = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline, NMIP = 2'-(2aEuro(3)-nitro-3aEuro(3),4aEuro(3)-methylenedioxyphenyl)imidazo[4',5'-f][1,10]-phenanthroline) was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, ESI-MS and H-1 NMR. The cytotoxic activity of the complex against MG-63, U2OS, HOS, and MC3T3-e1 cell lines was investigated by MTT method. The complex shows moderate cytotoxicity toward HOS (IC50 = 35.6 +/- 2.6 A mu M) and MC3T3-e1 (IC50 = 41.6 +/- 2.8 A mu M) cell lines. The morphological studies show that the complex can induce apoptosis in HOS cells and cause an increase of reactive oxygen species levels and a decrease in the mitochondrial membrane potential. The cell cycle distribution demonstrates that the complex inhibits the cell growth at S phase. Additionally, the antitumor activity in vivo reveals that the complex can induce a decrease in tumor weight.