Ru(<scp>ii</scp>) and Ir(<scp>iii</scp>) phenanthroline-based photosensitisers bearing<i>o</i>-carborane: PDT agents with boron carriers for potential BNCT
Robert Conway‐Kenny, Albert Ferrer‐Ugalde, Oriol Careta, Xiaoneng Cui, Jianzhang Zhao, Carme Nogués, Rosario Núñez, Justo Cabrera‐González, Sylvia M. Draper
Abstract
) were obtained for the mono-carborane-phenanthroline complexes (RuCB: 52% and IrCB: 25%). None of the complexes produce dark toxicity in SKBR-3 cells after incubation under photodynamic therapy (PDT) conditions. Remarkably, mono-carboranes RuCB and IrCB were the best internalised by the SKBR-3 cells, demonstrating the first examples of tris-bidentate transition metal-carborane complexes acting as triplet photosensitisers for PDT with a high photoactivity; RuCB or IrCB killed ∼50% of SKBR-3 cells at 10 μM after irradiation. Therefore, the high-boron content and the photoactive properties of these photosensitisers make them potential candidates as dual anti-cancer agents for PDT and Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT).