Facile design and spectroscopic characterization of novel bio-inspired Quercetin-conjugated tetrakis (dimethylsulfoxide)dichlororuthenium(II) complex for enhanced anticancer properties

Abstract

Abstract A facile reflux approach was employed in the design of novel complexes using ruthenium(II) and quercetin for enhanced anticancer applications. The designed metal-based flavonoid complex was thoroughly characterized by employing powder XRD, 1H, 13C NMR, elemental analysis (C, H, N, S, O), FT-IR, XPS, and UV–Vis spectroscopy techniques. The cell toxicity and cell proliferation properties of the Quercetin-Ru(II) complex were investigated on the non-small cell lung cancer cell lines (A549) along with the lung normal cells (WI-38) and human dermal fibroblast (HDFa) cells. Significant cytotoxicity was observed with the newly designed complex on A549 cells at minimum concentrations of (10–30\u202fµM). Interestingly, no remarkable cytotoxicity was observed in the WI-38 and HDFa cells. The same was confirmed by assessing cellular damage and nuclear damage via Atomic force microscopy (Bio-AFM) and Hoechst staining assay. Moreover, the results of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation are also interesting to confirm the abilities of designed novel Quercetin-Ru(II) complex for anticancer applications.