Design of Ru-arene Complexes for Antitumor Drugs.

Recently, a number of promising ruthenium complexes have been investigated as anticancer drugs. Ru-arene complexes with [(η6-arene)Ru(X)(Y)(Z)] type, which exhibit a great structural variety, offer much potential in drug design. In this review we provide an overview of the progress in the field of arene ruthenium chemistry. We focus our attention particularly on the molecular structures and the anticancer applications of the Ru-arene complexes. Recent developments in the chemistry of arene ruthenium complexes will provide information for the investigation of novel anticancer organometallic drugs.