| Abstract: | The reaction of fluorinated fatty acids, perfluorobutyric acid (C3F7CO2H), and perfluorododecanoic acid (C11F23CO2H), with dodecacarbonyltriruthenium (Ru3(CO)12) under reflux in tetrahydrofuran, followed by addition of two-electron donors (L) such as pyridine, 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphatricyclo3.3.1.1]decane, or triphenylphosphine, gives stable diruthenium complexes Ru2(CO)4(μ2-η2-O2CC3F7)2(L)2 (1a, L?=?C5H5N; 1b, L?=?PTA; 1c, L?=?PPh3) and Ru2(CO)4(μ2-η2-O2CC11F23)2(L)2 (2a, L?=?C5H5N; 2b, L?=?PTA; 2c, L?=?PPh3). The catalytic activity of the complexes for hydrogenation of styrene under supercritical carbon dioxide has been assessed and compared to the analogous triphenylphosphine complexes with non-fluorinated carboxylato groups Ru2(CO)4(μ2-η2-O2CC3H7)2(PPh3)2 (3) and Ru2(CO)4(μ2-η2-O2CC11H23)2(PPh3)2 (4). In addition, the cytotoxicities of the fluorinated complexes 1 were also evaluated on several human cancer cell lines (A2780, A549, Me300, HeLa). The complexes appear to be moderately cytotoxic, showing greater activity on the Me300 melanoma cells. Single-crystal X-ray structure analyses of 1a and 3 show the typical sawhorse-type arrangement of the diruthenium tetracarbonyl backbone with two bridging carboxylates and two terminal ligands occupying the axial positions. |
