Synthesis, characterization, and antiproliferative activity of novel chiral [quinoxp*Aucl2]+ complexes

Adedamola S. Arojojoye, R. Tyler Mertens, Samuel Ofori, Sean R. Parkin, Samuel G. Awuah

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Herein is reported the synthesis of two Au(III) complexes bearing the (R,R)-(–)-2,3-Bis(tert-butylmethylphosphino)quinoxaline (R,R-QuinoxP*) or (S,S)-(+)-2,3-Bis(tertbutylmethylphosphino)quinoxaline (S,S-QuinoxP*) ligands. By reacting two stoichiometric equivalents of HAuCl4 .3H2O to one equivalent of the corresponding QuinoxP* ligand, (R,R)-(–)-2,3Bis(tert-butylmethylphosphino)quinoxalinedichlorogold(III) tetrachloroaurates(III) (1) and (S,S)(+)-2,3-Bis(tert-butylmethylphosphino)quinoxalinedichlorogold(III) tetrachloroaurates(III) (2) were formed, respectively, in moderate yields. The structure of (S,S)-(+)-2,3-Bis(tert-butylmethylphosphino) quinoxalinedichlorogold(III) tetrachloroaurates(III) (2) was further confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The antiproliferative activities of the two compounds were evaluated in a panel of cell lines and exhibited promising results comparable to auranofin and cisplatin with IC50 values between 1.08 and 4.83 µM. It is noteworthy that in comparison to other platinum and ruthenium enantiomeric complexes, the two enantiomers (1 and 2) do not exhibit different cytotoxic effects. The compounds exhibited stability in biologically relevant media over 48 h as well as inert reactivity to excess glutathione at 37C. These results demonstrate that the Au(III) atom, stabilized by the QuinoxP* ligand, can provide exciting compounds for novel anticancer drugs. These complexes provide a new scaffold to further develop a robust and diverse library of chiral phosphorus Au(III) complexes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5735
JournalMolecules
Volume25
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Anticancer activity
  • Antiproliferative
  • Auranofin
  • Cisplatin
  • Gold
  • Ligands
  • QuinoxP*

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Chemistry (miscellaneous)
  • Molecular Medicine
  • Pharmaceutical Science
  • Drug Discovery
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry

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