Cationic Ru(II) cyclopentadienyl complexes with antifungal activity against several  Candida species.

Cationic Ru(II) cyclopentadienyl complexes with antifungal activity against several Candida species. Chembiochem. 2020 Jun 23;: Authors: Golbaghi G, Groleau MC, López de Los Santos Y, Doucet N, Déziel E, Castonguay A Abstract Fungal infections, including those caused by antifungal-resistant  Candida , are a very challenging health problem worldwide. Whereas different ruthenium complexes were previously studied for their anti- Candida  potential, Ru-cyclopentadienyl complexes were overlooked. Here, we report an antifungal activity assessment of three Ru-cyclopentadienyl complexes with some insights into their potential mode of action. Among these complexes, only cationic species [Ru-ACN] +  and [Ru-ATZ] +  displayed a significant antifungal activity against different  Candida  strains, notably against the ones that did not respond to one of the most currently used antifungal drugs fluconazole (FCZ). However, no apparent activity was observed for the neutral species, Ru-Cl, indicating the important role of the cationic backbone of these complexes on their biological activity. We suggest that reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation might be involved in the mechanism of action of these complexes as unlike neutral Ru-Cl, [Ru-ACN] +  and [Ru-ATZ] +  could generate intracellular concentration-dependent ROS. We also observed a correlation between the ruthenium cellular uptake, ROS generation and fungal growth inhibitory activ...
Source: Chembiochem - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Chembiochem Source Type: research