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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Chem. Biol.

Sec. Bioinorganic Chemistry

Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fchbi.2025.1620562

This article is part of the Research TopicChemical Biology and Coordination ChemistryView all 4 articles

Preliminary Investigation of Ru(II) Complexes Bearing Nile Red Chromophores for Photodynamic Therapy

Provisionally accepted
Sylvia Mary DraperSylvia Mary Draper1*Claire CondonClaire Condon1Oriol Careta-BorrĂ sOriol Careta-BorrĂ s2Judit FodorJudit Fodor1Amani B Al RiyamiAmani B Al Riyami1Xiao XiaoXiao Xiao3Jianzhang ZhaoJianzhang Zhao3Carme NoguĂŠsCarme NoguĂŠs2*
  • 1Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
  • 2Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
  • 3Dalian Institute of Technology, Dalian, China

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Two previously investigated Ru(II) triplet photosensitisers (PS) ([Ru-2ENR][(PF6)2] and [Ru-3ENR][(PF6)2]) comprising a bipyridyl frame and acetylene appended Nile red chromophore, were converted to their chloride salts for cytotoxicity and phototoxicity measurements. SKBR3-cell lines were used to evaluate the photodynamic activity of the compounds. Irradiation (𝝀ex 630 nm; 15 min; 33 J cm−2) at a non-toxic concentration of 10 nM, [Ru-2ENR][(PF6)2] and [Ru-3ENR][(PF6)2] induced a reduction in metabolic activity by 60 % and 30 % respectively.

Keywords: Ruthenium, coordination chemistry, Photobiology, SKBR-3 breast cancer cells, Photodynamic therapy

Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 29 Jul 2025.

Copyright: Š 2025 Draper, Condon, Careta-Borràs, Fodor, Al Riyami, Xiao, Zhao and NoguÊs. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Sylvia Mary Draper, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Carme NoguÊs, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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