Synthesis, surface activity, self-aggregation and cytotoxicity of ruthenium(II) and Oxovanadium(IV) based metallo-surfactants

Abstract Synthesis, surface activity, self-aggregation and cytotoxicity studies of a series of amphiphilic Ruthenium (II) and Oxovanadium (IV) metal complexes are presented. A series of Ruthenium (II) and Oxovanadium (IV) based metallo-surfactants was synthesized and characterized using UV–Visible, 1H NMR and infrared spectroscopy. The synthesized metallo-surfactants were analysed for their surface activity and self-aggregation properties through tensiometric and conductometric investigations. The surface activity as well as the self-aggregation tendency of the as synthesized amphiphilic Ru (II) and Oxovanadium (IV) based amphiphilic metal complexes was observed to be very sensitive to their overall geometry, hydrophobicity and counter ion polarizability. The metallo-amphiphiles were tested for their potential role in cell growth inhibition. MTT assay results establish that the amphiphilic Ruthenium and Vanadium complexes significantly inhibit the proliferation of human cervix carcinoma, HeLa cell line. The amphiphilic phendione complexes of both Ruthenium (II) and Oxovanadium (IV) exhibited an excellent cytotoxicity with an IC50 value of 57 μM.