Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, antineoplastic,<i>in vitro</i>-cytotoxic, and antibacterial activities of mononuclear ruthenium(II) complexes

The synthesis, antineoplastic, cytotoxic, and antibacterial activities of Ru(II) complexes derived from quinazoline and thiosemicarbazone ligands are reported. These complexes have been prepared and characterized by UV-Vis, IR, H-1-NMR, FAB-mass spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. The ligands and resulting complexes were subjected to in vivo antineoplastic activity against a transplantable murine tumor cell line Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) and in vitro cytotoxic activity against human cancer cell line Molt 4/C-8, CEM, and murine tumor cell line L 1210. The ruthenium complexes show promising biological activity especially in decreasing tumor volume and viable ascitic cell counts. These complexes prolonged the life span of mice bearing EAC tumors by 10-52%. In vitro evaluation of these ruthenium complexes revealed cytotoxic activity from 0.29 to 2.9 mu mol L-1 against Molt 4/C-8, 0.22 to 2.1 mu mol L-1 against CEM and 0.42 to 4.7 mu mol L-1 against L1210 cell proliferation, depending on the nature of the compound. The metal complexes are more active than the parent ligand and exhibit mild to moderate antibacterial activity.