Anticancer Half-Sandwich Rhodium(III) Complexes
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inorganics Review Anticancer Half-Sandwich Rhodium(III) Complexes Klaudia Máliková, Lukáš Masaryk and Pavel Štarha * Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, 17, Listopadu 1192/12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic; [email protected] (K.M.); [email protected] (L.M.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +420-585-634-348 Abstract: Platinum-based anticancer drugs are most likely the most successful group of bioinorganic compounds. Their apparent disadvantages have led to the development of anticancer compounds of other noble metals, resulting in several ruthenium-based drugs which have entered clinical trials on oncological patients. Besides ruthenium, numerous rhodium complexes have been recently reported as highly potent antiproliferative agents against various human cancer cells, making them potential alternatives to Pt- and Ru-based metallodrugs. In this review, half-sandwich Rh(III) complexes are overviewed. Many representatives show higher in vitro potency than and different mechanisms of action (MoA) from the conventional anticancer metallodrugs (cisplatin in most cases) or clinically studied Ru drug candidates. Furthermore, some of the reviewed Rh(III) arenyl complexes are also anticancer in vivo. Pioneer anticancer organorhodium compounds as well as the recent advances in the field are discussed properly, and adequate attention is paid to their anticancer activity, solution behaviour and various processes connected with their MoA. In summary, this work summarizes the types of compounds and the most important biological results obtained in the field of anticancer half-sandwich Rh complexes. Keywords: rhodium; metal complexes; half-sandwich; anticancer; mechanism of action Citation: Máliková, K.; Masaryk, L.; Štarha, P. Anticancer Half-Sandwich Rhodium(III) Complexes. Inorganics 1. Introduction 2021, 9, 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/ Platinum-based drugs (e.g., cisplatin; Figure1) have been used for the treatment of inorganics9040026 various types of cancer for more than 40 years [1]. Although this class of anticancer metal- lodrugs is exceptionally successful, their application is connected with serious side effects Academic Editor: Bruno Therrien and resistance of various tumours [2,3], which incessantly motivates bioinorganic chemists to develop novel biologically active complexes derived not only from platinum [4–6], Received: 17 March 2021 but also from different d-block elements [7,8]. Among them, platinum-group metals other Accepted: 4 April 2021 than Pt are generally accepted as suitable ones for novel anticancer metallodrugs, because Published: 8 April 2021 a number of Ru, Rh, Pd, Os and Ir complexes have been reported as being highly effective against various types of cancer cells, and importantly, having higher cancer cell selectiv- Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral ity and acting through different mechanisms of action (MoA) than the mentioned Pt(II) with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- drugs [9–13]. iations. Regarding the mentioned complexes of the platinum-group metals, Ru complexes NAMI-A [14], IT-139 (originally labelled as KP-1339; Figure1)[ 15] and TLD1433 [16] have already entered clinical trials on human oncology patients. These pharmacological successes make Ru one of the hottest d-block metals for bioinorganic and bioorganometallic chemists. One of the main advantages of Ru over Pt is its richer chemistry, offering more Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. structural types to be developed as new drugs for various diseases. Along with the above- Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. mentioned octahedral Ru(III) tetrachlorido complexes (NAMI-A, IT-139) and polypyridyl This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and and cyclometalated complexes (TLD1433 and other complexes [17,18]), pseudo-octahedral conditions of the Creative Commons half-sandwich Ru(II) complexes have also attracted significant attention as prospective Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// bioactive compounds [7–9,13,18]. creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ In general, half-sandwich complexes have a three-legged piano-stool arrangement 4.0/). with the three legs occupied by either three monodentate ligands or one bidentate and Inorganics 2021, 9, 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/inorganics9040026 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/inorganics Inorganics 2021, 9, 26 2 of 24 one monodentate ligand (with other rare possibilities). It is worth noting that anticancer Inorganics 2021, 9, x half-sandwich Ru(II) complexes have been followed by structurally similar (half-sandwich,2 of 25 d6) Os(II) [9,12,13], Rh(III) and Ir(III) [10,13] ones, also showing high anticancer activity and MoA distinct from Pt drugs. Figure 1. Structural formulas of the platinum-based drug cisplatin and the anticancer rutheni- Figure 1. Structural formulas of the platinum-based drug cisplatin and the anticancer ruthenium- um-based drug candidate IT-139. based drug candidate IT-139. In general, half-sandwich complexes have a three-legged piano-stool arrangement with Rhodiumthe three legs is aoccupied noble platinum-groupby either three monodentate metal which ligands is very or one rare bidentate in nature, and but the utilisationone monodentate of Rh ligand (e.g., (with in catalytic other rare convertors possibilities). and It thermocouples)is worth noting that and anticancer its compounds ishalf-sandwich widespread—e.g., Ru(II) seecomplexes [19,20]. Inhave the fieldbeen offollowed medicinal by chemistry,structurally Rh issimilar used for Rh- catalysed(half-sandwich, activation d6) Os(II) towards [9,12,13], various Rh(III) bioactive and Ir(III) organic [10,13] compoundsones, also showing [21,22 ],high and an- as the cen- tralticancer atom activity of various and MoA types distinct of bioactive from Pt Rhdrugs. complexes [10,13,23–25]. Besides half-sandwich Rh(III)Rhodium complexes is a noble (reviewed platinum-group in this work), metal highlywhich is anticancer very rare in polypyridyl nature, but the [26 ,uti-27] and bis- dimethyllisation of sulfoxidoRh (e.g., in [28 catalytic] Rh(III) convertors complexes, and and thermocouples) Rh(I) N-heterocyclic and its carbene compounds complexes is [29], havewidespread—e.g., to be mentioned see [19,20]. in this In context the field as well. of medicinal Some half-sandwich chemistry, Rh Rh is arenylused for complexes Rh-catalysed activation towards various bioactive organic compounds [21,22], and as the have been involved in a couple of reviews (anticancer catalytic [24,25], multi-targeted [13] central atom of various types of bioactive Rh complexes [10,13,23–25]. Besides or multinuclear [23] complexes). Nevertheless, a comprehensive overview discussing their half-sandwich Rh(III) complexes (reviewed in this work), highly anticancer polypyridyl structural[26,27] and types,bis-dimethyl types ofsulfoxido the used [28] ligands, Rh(III) biologicalcomplexes, activitiesand Rh(I) andN-heterocyclic MoA is missing car- in the literature,bene complexes although [29], have such to complexes be mentioned have in beenthis context intensively as well. studied Some half-sandwich since the pioneering workRh arenyl of Peruzzini, complexes Dyson have andbeen co-workersinvolved in publisheda couple of in reviews 2006 [30 (anticancer]. In this work, catalytic we provide the[24,25], systematic multi-targeted and topical [13] or review multinuclear of anticancer [23] complexes). compounds Nevertheless, of this type. a comprehen- The half-sandwich Rh(III)sive overview complexes discussing are categorised their structural according types, totypes their of nuclearitythe used ligands, and type biological of the ligandac- used (dentacity,tivities and MoA donor is atoms).missing Thein the selected literature, representatives although such complexes (usually the have most been active inten- ones) are discussedsively studied together since the with pioneering the most work important of Peruzzini, results Dyson of their and biological co-workers analyses. published in 2006 [30]. In this work, we provide the systematic and topical review of anticancer 2.compounds Mononuclear of this Complexes type. The half-sandwich Rh(III) complexes are categorised according 2.1.to their Complexes nuclearity with and Three type Monodentate of the ligand Ligands used (dentacity, donor atoms). The selected representatives (usually the most active ones) are discussed together with the most im- portantThis results structural of their type biological is in most analyses. cases represented by dichlorido complexes of the general 5 x n+ Inorganics 2021, 9, x formula [Rh(η -Cp )(L)Cl2] (Figure2), meaning that these complexes can be considered4 of 25 x as2. Mononuclear analogues of Complexes ruthenium-based RAPTA-type complexes; Cp is cyclopentadienyl or its derivatives,2.1. Complexes L with is a Three monodentate Monodentate ligand Ligands and n = 0 or 1. This structural type is in most cases represented by dichlorido complexes of the general formula [Rh(η5-Cpx)(L)Cl2]n+ (Figure 2), meaning that these complexes can be considered as analogues of ruthenium-based RAPTA-type complexes; Cpx is cyclopen- tadienyl or its derivatives, L is a monodentate ligand and n = 0 or 1. In 2006, the first anticancer Rh(III) arenyl complex [Rh(η5-Cp*)(pta)Cl2] (Figure 2, Table 1) was developed as a direct derivative of the (in those days) promising non-platinum, Ru-based drug candidate [Ru(η6-pcym)(pta)Cl2] (known as RAPTA-C); Figure 2. The general structural formula of the [Rh(5η5-Cp*)(L)Cl2]