Dichlorotetrakis(dimethylsulfoxide)ruthenium(II)

Dichlorotetrakis(dimethyl sulfoxide) ruthenium(II) describes coordination compounds with the formula RuCl₂(dmso)₄, where DMSO is dimethylsulfoxide. Both cis and trans isomers are known, but the cis isomer is more common. The cis isomer is a yellow, air-stable solid that is soluble in some organic solvents. These sulfoxide complexes are used in the synthesis of various ruthenium(ii) complexes.^[2] They have also attracted attention as possible anti-cancer drugs.

Quick facts Names, Identifiers ...

Dichlorotetrakis(dimethylsulfoxide) ruthenium (II)
Names


Systematic IUPAC name Ruthenium, dichlorotetrakis(sulfinylbis(methane))- (9CI)
Other names Tetrakis(dimethylsulfoxide)dichlororuthenium(II), Dichlorotetrakis(methylsulfoxide)ruthenium, Dichlorotetrakis(sulfinylbis(methane))ruthenium
Identifiers
CAS Number	11070-19-2
3D model (JSmol)	cis isomer: Interactive image trans isomer: Interactive image
ChemSpider	132402
PubChem CID	150194
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID20149364
InChI InChI=1S/4C2H6OS.2ClH.Ru/c41-4(2)3;;;/h41-2H3;2*1H;/q;;;;;;+2/p-2 Key: UMJDEUKQHKMAOI-UHFFFAOYSA-L
SMILES cis isomer: Cl[Ru-4]([S+2](C)(C)[O-])(O[S+](C)C)([S+2](C)(C)[O-])([S+2](C)(C)[O-])Cl trans isomer: Cl[Ru-4](Cl)([S+2](C)(C)[O-])([S+2](C)(C)[O-])([S+2](C)(C)[O-])[S+2](C)(C)[O-]
Properties
Chemical formula	C₈H₂₄Cl₂O₄RuS₄
Molar mass	484.51 g/mol
Appearance	Various shades of yellow crystals
Solubility in water	Miscible in water
Solubility	Nitromethane, chloroform, dichloromethane
Structure
Coordination geometry	Octahedral coordinate
Hazards
GHS labelling:^[1]
Pictograms
Signal word	Warning
Hazard statements	H315, H319, H335
Precautionary statements	P261, P264, P264+P265, P271, P280, P302+P352, P304+P340, P305+P351+P338, P319, P321, P332+P317, P337+P317, P362+P364, P403+P233, P405, P501
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). Y verify (what is ^YN ?) Infobox references

Structure and synthesis

The cis isomer illustrates linkage isomerism for the DMSO ligand.^[3] One of the two dmso ligands that are cis to both chloride ligands is O-bonded while the other three dmso ligands are S-bonded. In the trans isomer, which is also yellow, all four dmso ligands are S-bonded. The cis isomer is formed thermally, and the trans isomer is obtained by UV-irradiation of the cis isomer.^[4]


cis isomer	trans isomer

The complexes were first prepared in 1971 by heating DMSO solutions of ruthenium trichloride under hydrogen atmosphere.^[5] Modern procedures has been developed which avoids hydrogen gas, either using ascorbic acid or refluxing DMSO to reduce the ruthenium.^[4]^[6]^[7]

Potential applications

RuCl₂(dmso)₄ was identified as a potential anticancer agent in the early 1980s.^[8] Continued research^[9]^[10] has led to the development of several related dmso-containing ruthenium compounds, some of which have undergone early-stage clinical trials.^[11]

References

[1]
PubChem. "Dichlorotetrakis(dimethyl sulfoxide)ruthenium II". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
[2]
Alessio, Enzo (2004-09-01). "Synthesis and Reactivity of Ru-, Os-, Rh-, and Ir-Halide−Sulfoxide Complexes". Chemical Reviews. 104 (9): 4203–4242. doi:10.1021/cr0307291. ISSN 0009-2665.
[3]
Enzo Alessio (2004). "Synthesis and reactivity of Ru-, Os-, Rh-, and Ir-halide-sulfoxide compounds". Chem. Rev. 104 (9): 4203–4242. doi:10.1021/cr0307291. PMID 15352790.
[4]
I. Bratsos; E. Alessio (2010). Ruthenium(II) Chloro Complexes of dimethylsulfoxide. Inorganic Syntheses. Vol. 35. pp. 148–152. doi:10.1002/9780470651568.ch8.
[5]
B. R. James; E. Ochiai; G.I. Rempel (1971). "Ruthenium (II) halide dimethylsulphoxide complexes from hydrogenation reactions". Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry Letters. 7 (8): 781–784. doi:10.1016/0020-1650(71)80091-0.
[6]
Nagy, E. M.; Pettenuzzo, A. (2012). "Ruthenium(II/III)-Based Compounds with Encouraging Antiproliferative Activity against Non-small-Cell Lung Cancer". Chemistry: A European Journal. 18 (45): 14464–14472. doi:10.1002/chem.201202171. PMID 23012112.
[7]
Abdou, Hanan E.; Mohamed, Ahmed A.; Fackler, John P.; Ghimire, Mukunda M.; Omary, Mohammad A.; Schilter, David; Rauchfuss, Thomas B.; Denny, Jason A.; Darensbourg, Marcetta Y. (2018-07-27), Power, Philip P. (ed.), "SYNTHESIS OF SELECTED TRANSITION METAL AND MAIN GROUP COMPOUNDS WITH SYNTHETIC APPLICATIONS", Inorganic Syntheses, vol. 37 (1 ed.), Wiley, pp. 155–204, doi:10.1002/9781119477822.ch8, ISBN 978-1-119-47782-2, retrieved 2024-01-30{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
[8]
Sava, Gianni; Giraldi, Tullio; Mestroni, Giovanni; Zassinovich, Grazia (July 1983). "Antitumor effects of rhodium(I), iridium(I) and ruthenium(II) complexes in comparison with cis-dichlorodiammino platinum(II) in mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma". Chemico-Biological Interactions. 45 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1016/0009-2797(83)90037-6. PMID 6683595.
[9]
Coluccia, Mauro; Sava, Gianni; Loseto, Francesco; Nassi, Anna; Boccarelli, Angela; Giordano, Domenico; Alessio, Enzo; Mestroni, Giovanni (January 1993). "Anti-leukaemic action of RuCl2(DMSO)4 isomers and prevention of brain involvement on P388 leukaemia and on subline". European Journal of Cancer. 29 (13): 1873–1879. doi:10.1016/0959-8049(93)90541-M. PMID 8260245.
[10]
Bratsos, I; Serli, B; Zangranko, E; Katsaros, N; Alessio, E. (2007). "Replacement of chlorides with dicarboxylate ligands in anticancer active Ru(II)-DMSO compounds: A new strategy that might lead to improved activity". Inorg. Chem. 46 (3): 975–992. doi:10.1021/ic0613964. PMID 17257042.
[11]
Enzo Alessio, Bentham Science Publisher; Giovanni Mestroni, Bentham Science Publisher; Alberta Bergamo, Bentham Science Publisher; Gianni Sava, Bentham Science Publisher (1 November 2004). "Ruthenium Antimetastatic Agents". Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry. 4 (15): 1525–1535. doi:10.2174/1568026043387421. PMID 15579094.

Related Articles