Pr Ronan LE LAGADEC
Instituto de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
ronan(at)unam.mx
Le Pr. Ronan Le Lagadec est professeur invité dans l’équipe L “Ingénierie des Nanoparticules Métalliques”
Ruthenacycles: from polymerization catalysts to innovative anticancer agents
Our research group has prepared series of ruthenium(II) cyclometalated complexes of general formula [Ru(C~N)(N~N)(NCMe)2]+ and [Ru(C~N)(N~N)2]+ (N~N = 2,2′-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline; HC~N = 2-phenylpyridine). We have found that the substitution of a metalnitrogen bond by a metal-carbon bond increases the stability of the complexes and dramatically affects the redox potentials, allowing for a high catalytic activity with control in the living polymerization (ATRP) of vinyl monomers. For example, white light irradiation enabled polymerizations, as well as copolymerizations, at room temperature. Moreover, the biological properties of our cyclometalated complexes have been studied, showing that the low redox potentials favour the fast electron exchange with oxidoreductases involved in the development of biosensors. Also, the complounds display high anticancer activity in in vitro and in vivo studies. We have demonstrated that interactions with redox enzymes, as well as endoplasmic reticulum stress and the generation of reactive oxygen species, participate in the cell death. This “multitargeting” strategy may generate more selective molecules and thus help circumvent resistance phenomena commonly observed with platinum derivatives.
