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Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Modification and Functionalization of the Guanidine Group by Tailor-made Precursors
Published on: April 27, 2017
Ru(II) complexes bearing guanidinium ligands as potent anticancer agents
Wen-Xiu Chen1, Xing-Dong Song1, Shu-Fen He1
1School of Pharmacy, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808, China.
Abstract:
Two ruthenium(II) complexes containing guanidinium ligands have been synthesized and characterized for the first time. It was found that the two complexes exhibit moderate antitumor activity in Hela, A549, CNE-2, MCF-7, and HepG2 human tumor cells. Flow cytometric analysis showed that both complexes arrested the cell cycle in the G2/M phase and induced apoptosis in Hela cells. Mechanism studies indicate that both complexes induced apoptosis through caspase- and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent pathways. Additionally, the two complexes displayed higher phototoxicity to tumor cells and almost no influence on normal liver LO2 cells upon irradiation at 450nm.
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