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Aza-boron-dipyrromethenes (Aza-BODIPYs) are an increasingly studied class of fluorophores. They can be seen as an azadipyrromethene ("aza-DIPY") ligand rigidified by a metalloid, a boron atom. Based on this idea, a series of complexes of group 13 metals (aluminum and gallium) have been synthesized and characterized. The impact of the metal and of the nature of the substituents of aza-DIPY core were investigated. The photophysical and electrochemical properties were determined, and an X-ray structure of an azaGaDIPY was obtained. These data reveal that azaGaDIPY and azaAlDIPY exhibit significant red-shifted fluorescence compared to their analogue aza-BODIPY. Their emission can go up to 800 nm for the maximum emission length and up to NIR-II for the emission tail. This, associated with their electrochemical stability (no metal release whether oxidized or reduced) makes them a promising class of fluorophores for optical medical imaging. Moreover, X-ray structure and molecular modeling studies have shown that this redshift seems to be more due to the geometry around the boron/metal than to the nature of the metal.

Aza-BODIPYs are an increasingly studied class of fluorophores. They can be seen as an "aza-DIPY" ligand rigidified by a metalloid, a boron atom. Based on this idea, a series of complexes of group 13 metals (aluminum and gallium) have been synthesized and characterized. Impact of the metal and of the nature of the substituents of aza-DIPY core were investigated. The photophysical and electrochemical properties were determined and an X-ray structure of an azaGaDIPY was obtained. These data reveal that azaGaDIPY and azaAlDIPY exhibit significant red-shifted fluorescence compared to their analogue aza-BODIPY. Their emission can go up to 800 nm for the maximum emission length and up to NIR-II for the emission tail. This, associated with their electrochemical stability (no metal release whether oxidized or reduced) make them a promising class of fluorophores for optical medical imaging. Moreover, X-ray structure and molecular modeling studies have shown that this red shift seems to be more due to the geometry around the boron/metal than to the nature of the metal.

A water-soluble fluorescent aza-BODIPY platform (Wazaby) was prepared and functionalized by a polyazamacrocycle agent and a bioconjugable arm. The resulting fluorescent derivative was characterized and bioconjugated onto a trastuzumab monoclonal antibody as a vector. After bioconjugation, the imaging agent appeared to be stable in serum (>72 h at 37 °C) and specifically labeled HER-2-positive breast tumors slices. The bioconjugate was radiolabeled with [111In] indium and studied in vivo. The developed monomolecular multimodal imaging probe (MOMIP) is water-soluble and chemically and photochemically stable, emits in the near infrared (NIR) region (734 nm in aqueous media), and displays a good quantum yield of fluorescence (around 15%). Single-photon emission-computed tomography and fluorescence imaging have been performed in nude mice bearing HER2-overexpressing HCC1954 human breast cancer xenografts and have evidenced the good tumor targeting of the [111In] In bimodal agent. Finally, the proof of concept of using it as a new tool for fluorescence-guided surgery has been shown.

Following intravenous administration, the interaction of fluorescent exogenous molecules with circulating endogenous transporters can influence their photophysical properties as well as their fate and distribution, and possibly their recognition by different cell types. This type of interaction can be used to optimize the drug delivery but also the imaging properties of a compound of interest. In this study, we investigated the behavior of SWIR-WAZABY-01 fluorophore, a water-soluble aza-BODIPY dye emitting in the NIR-II region, both

International audience; A phosphine gold(I) and phosphine-phosphonium gold(I) complexes bearing a fluorescent coumarin moiety were synthesized and characterized. Both complexes displayed interesting photophysical properties: good molar absorption coefficient, good quantum yield of fluorescence, and ability to be tracked in vitro thanks to two-photon imaging. Their in vitro and in vivo biological properties were evaluated onto cancer cell lines both human and murine and into CT26 tumor-bearing BALB/c mice. They displayed moderate to strong antiproliferative properties and the phosphine-phosphonium gold(I) complex induced significant in vivo anti-cancer effect.

International audience; Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) has the potential to specifically destroy tumor cells without damaging the tissues infiltrated by the tumor. BNCT is a binary treatment method based on the combination of two agents that have no effect when applied individually: 10B and thermal neutrons. Exclusively, the combination of both produces an effect, whose extent depends on the amount of 10B in the tumor but also on the organs at risk. It is not yet possible to determine the 10B concentration in a specific tissue using non-invasive methods. At present, it is only possible to measure the 10B concentration in blood and to estimate the boron concentration in tissues based on the assumption that there is a fixed uptake of 10B from the blood into tissues. On this imprecise assumption, BNCT can hardly be developed further. A therapeutic approach, combining the boron carrier for therapeutic purposes with an imaging tool, might allow us to determine the 10B concentration in a specific tissue using a non-invasive method. This review provides an overview of the current clinical protocols and preclinical experiments and results on how innovative drug development for boron delivery systems can also incorporate concurrent imaging. The last section focuses on the importance of proteomics for further optimization of BNCT, a highly precise and personalized therapeutic approach.

In this study, an original aza-BODIPY system comprising two Gd3+ complexes has been designed and synthesized for magnetic resonance imaging/optical imaging application, by functionalization of the boron center. This strategy enabled to obtain a positively-charged bimodal probe, which displays an increased water-solubility, optimized photophysical properties in the near-infrared region, and very promising relaxometric properties. The absorption and emission wavelengths are 705 and 741 nm respectively, with a quantum yield of around 10 % in aqueous media. Moreover, the system does not produce singlet oxygen upon excitation, which would be toxic for tissues. The relaxivity obtained is high at intermediate fields (16.1 mM-1.s-1 at 20 MHz and 310 K) and competes with that of bigger or more rigid systems. A full relaxometric and 17O NMR study and fitting of the data using the Lipari-Szabo approach showed that this high relaxivity can be explained by the size of the system and the presence of some small aggregates. These optimized photophysical and relaxometric properties highlight the potential use of such systems for future bimodal imaging studies.

Since their discovery in 1968, the BODIPYs dyes (4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a, 4a diaza-s-indacene) have found an exponentially increasing number of applications in a large variety of scientific fields. In particular, studies reporting bioapplications of BODIPYs have increased dramatically. However, most of the time, only in vitro investigations have been reported. The in vivo potential of BODIPYs and aza-BODIPYs is more recent, but considering the number of in vivo studies with BODIPY and aza-BODIPY which have been reported in the last five years, we can now affirm that this family of fluorophores can be considered important as cyanine dyes for future in vivo and even clinical applications. This review aims to present representative examples of recent in vivo applications of BODIPYs or aza-BODIPYs, and to highlight the potential of these dyes for optical molecular imaging.

A family of bi- and tetrametallic gold(I) phosphine dithiocarbamate complexes were synthesized, starting from cyclam and dimethylcyclam polyazamacrocycles, respectively, along with their monometallic gold(I) chloridophosphine precursors. Their antiproliferative properties were evaluated on two cancer cell lines (A549 and NSCLC-N6-L16). Most of the mono- and bimetallic complexes displayed strong activities and, in particular, one bimetallic derivative showed antiproliferative properties in the low micromolar range. Insights into the structure-activity relationships are given, along with determination of the thioredoxin reductase inhibition potential, two-photon imaging of the fluorescent derivatives, and evaluation of gold uptake.

A family of gold(I)-phosphonium-phosphine complexes was synthesized thanks to an efficient 5-step strategy, which involves a phospha-Fries rearrangement. It enables the facile variation of the phosphonium moiety. All the complexes along with a synthetic intermediate were fully characterized (a crystal structure was obtained for two of them). The antiproliferative properties of the six novel complexes were evaluated on three human cancer cell lines (A549, MDA-MB-231, and SW480) and compared to those of three benchmark anticancer drugs used in clinics (oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and paclitaxel) and to a phosphonium-free gold(I) complex [Au(PPh3)Br]. All the gold(I) complexes, containing a phosphonium, displayed strong anti-proliferative properties. They were more efficient than oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracil, and one of the complexes was even more efficient than paclitaxel.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a radiotherapeutic modality based on the nuclear capture of slow neutrons by stable 10B atoms followed by charged particle emission that inducing extensive damage on a very localized level (&lt, 10 &mu, m). To be efficient, a sufficient amount of 10B should accumulate in the tumor area while being almost cleared from the normal surroundings. A water-soluble aza-boron-dipyrromethene dyes (BODIPY) fluorophore was reported to strongly accumulate in the tumor area with high and BNCT compatible Tumor/Healthy Tissue ratios. The clinically used 10B-BSH (sodium borocaptate) was coupled to the water-soluble aza-BODIPY platform for enhanced 10B-BSH tumor vectorization. We demonstrated a strong uptake of the compound in tumor cells and determined its biodistribution in mice-bearing tumors. A model of chorioallantoic membrane-bearing glioblastoma xenograft was developed to evidence the BNCT potential of such compound, by subjecting it to slow neutrons. We demonstrated the tumor accumulation of the compound in real-time using optical imaging and ex vivo using elemental imaging based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. The tumor growth was significantly reduced as compared to BNCT with 10B-BSH. Altogether, the fluorescent aza-BODIPY/10B-BSH compound is able to vectorize and image the 10B-BSH in the tumor area, increasing its theranostic potential for efficient approach of BNCT.

Among the wide-range of chemical reactions that can be performed on BODIPYs, attack on the boron atom opens the door to the synthesis of numerous more or less complex fluorophores. Moreover, the modifications that occur preserve the unique photo-physical properties of while improving their quantum yield, stability and solubility either in water or in organic solvents. This field has been far less investigated to date than dipyrrin core derivatization has. The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive review of the different synthetic methodologies reported for the introduction of alkyl or alcohol substituents on the boron of BODIPYs.

International audience; A simple NIR-II emitting water-soluble system has been developed and applied in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, the fluorophore quickly accumulated in 2D and 3D cell cultures and rapidly reached the tumor in rodents, showing high NIR-II contrast for up to 1 week. This very efficient probe possesses all the qualities necessary for translation to the clinic as well as for the development of NIR-II emitting materials.

Six ruthenium(II)- and four gold(I)-phosphine based complexes were synthesized and fully characterized. Some of them displayed strong antiproliferative properties for several types of cancer including colon, breast, and lung. Notably, two of the Ru(II) complexes displayed an IC50 of around 2 μM, which is exceptional for these types of complexes. The dramatic impact of the nature of the arene coordinated on the ruthenium center was clearly evidenced.

International audience; Herein we report the synthesis of new ditopic ligands, which consist of a phenoxy group and N,N,N'trisubstituted amidines linked by a methylene spacer (L1-L4). Their coordination chemistry has been studied/investigated with Zn(II) and Al(III). Alkane elimination route between the phenol-amidine proligands (L1H-L4H) and Et2Zn led to dinuclear complexes [(L1-L4)ZnEt]2 (1a-4a) in which the Zn centers are chelated by phenoxyamidine ligands and bridged through the oxygen atom of the phenoxy groups. Salt metathesis reaction between two equivalents of the sodium amidine phenate L1Na and ZnCl2 led to a bis-chelate chiral spiro-complex (L12Zn) 1a'. Analogous alkane elimination route between AlMe3 and the phenol-amidine proligands L1H-L4H allowed the preparation of the mononuclear complexes [(L1-L4)AlMe2] (1b-4b). The phenoxyamidine-Al and Zn complexes have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and/or high resolution ESI-MS. The solid state structures of the proligands [L1H2][Br] and L2H as well as of six complexes have been established by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Fluxional properties of the proligands L1H-L2H and of the complexes 1a and 2b have been investigated by VT NMR experiments. In the presence of an alcohol source, complexes 1a-4a and 1b-4b were used as initiators for the controlled ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of rac-lactide to afford atactic polylactic acid (PLA).

Rational design of ruthenium complexes with optimized ligands is a promising approach to modulate their stability and antiproliferative effects in cancerous cells. The release of ligands from the coordination sphere of the ruthenium complexes can lead to the formation of biologically active Ru species that are able to exert cytotoxic effects. Herein, we have studied this approach on four ruthenium(II) complexes bearing (3,5-cycloheptadienyl)diphenylphosphine or (cycloheptyl)diphenylphosphine and ethylbenzoate or p-cymene and an unusual bimetallic analogue. The stability of the complexes was investigated in DMF as well as DMEM/FBS using 1H and 31P{1H} NMR spectroscopy. We studied the photo-cytotoxicities of the complexes in two cell lines – HeLa and RPE-1 – to understand their behavior and cytotoxicity upon ligand dissociation. All complexes showed moderate to high cytotoxicity in the two cell lines upon light irradiation.

A new family of water-soluble and bioconjugatable aza-BODIPY fluorophores was designed and synthesized using a boron- functionalization strategy. These dissymmetric bis-ammonium aza-BODIPY dyes present optimal properties for a fluorescent probe; i.e., they are highly water-soluble, very stable in physiological medium; they do not aggregate in PBS, possess high quantum yield; and finally, they can be easily bioconjugated to antibodies. Preliminary in vitro and in vivo studies were performed for one of these fluorophores to image PD-L1 (Programmed Death-Ligand 1), highlighting the high potential of these new probes for future in vivo optical imaging studies.

A simple trifunctional BODIPY platform was designed. The high potential of this platform was validated via the elaboration of twelve optical theranostics. More specifically, we reported on the synthesis, the characterization, the photophysical properties, and the evaluation of the hydrophilicity properties of the different BODIPY derivatives, as well as a theoretical rationalization of the intriguing chemical behavior of some of them. The antiproliferative evaluation and confocal imaging of the different compounds in three human and murine cancer cell lines were performed and analysed, along with the measurement of gold(I) uptake in one cancer cell line via ICP-MS.

Three new gold(I)-coumarin-based trackable therapeutic complexes and two non-trackable analogues have been synthesised and fully characterised. They all display anti-proliferative properties on several types of cancer cell lines, including those of colon, breast, and prostate. Two complexes displayed significant anti-inflammatory effects; one displayed pro-inflammatory behaviour; this highlights the impact of the position of the fluorophore on the caffeine scaffold. Additionally, the three coumarin derivatives could be visualised in vitro by two-photon microscopy.

While N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) are ubiquitous ligands in catalysis for organic or industrial syntheses, their potential to form transition metal complexes for medicinal applications has still to be exploited. Within this frame, we synthesized new homo- and heterobimetallic complexes based on the Au(I)-NHC scaffold. The compounds were synthesized via a microwave-assisted method developed in our laboratories using Au(I)-NHC complexes carrying a pentafluorophenol ester moiety and another Au(I) phosphane complex or a bipyridine ligand bearing a pendant amine function. Thus, we developed two different methods to prepare homo- and heterobimetallic complexes (Au(I)/Au(I) or Au(I)/Cu(II), Au(I)/Ru(II), respectively). All the compounds were fully characterized by several spectroscopic techniques including far infrared, and were tested for their antiproliferative effects in a series of human cancer cells. They showed moderate anticancer properties. Their toxic effects were also studied ex vivo using the precision-cut tissue slices (PCTS) technique and initial results concerning their reactivity with the seleno-enzyme thioredoxin reductase were obtained.

Gold phosphine complexes, such as auranofin, have been recognized for decades as antirheumatic agents. Clinical trials are now underway to validate their use in anticancer or anti-HIV treatments. However, their mechanisms of action remain unclear. A challenging question is whether the gold phosphine complex is a prodrug that is administered in an inactive precursor form or rather that the gold atom remains attached to the phosphine ligand during treatment. In this study, we present two novel gold complexes, which we compared to auranofin and to their phosphonium analogue. The chosen ligand is a phosphine-based smart probe, whose strong fluorescence depends on the presence of the gold atom. The in vitro biological action of the gold complexes and the phosphonium derivative were investigated, and a preliminary in vivo study in healthy zebrafish larvae allowed us to evaluate gold complex biodistribution and toxicity. The different analyses carried out showed that these gold complexes were stable and behaved differently from phosphonium and auranofin, both in vitro and in vivo. Two-photon microscopy experiments demonstrated that the cellular targets of these gold complexes are not the same as those of the phosphonium analogue. Moreover, despite similar IC50 values in some cancer cell lines, gold complexes displayed a low toxicity in vivo, in contrast to the phosphonium salt. They are therefore suitable for future in vivo investigations.

Two p-cymene-ruthenium complexes 1 and 2 were isolated in high yields by treating the [RuCl2(p-cymene)]2 dimer with new hybrid phosphane- or NHC-linked diene ligands. Both complexes were fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy, and the molecular structure of the ruthenium–p-cymene complex 1, containing the phosphane–diene ligand system, was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. The catalytic activities of both compounds were probed in atom-transfer radical addition (ATRA) and polymerization (ATRP), in the cyclopropanation of olefins, in the ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene, and in the synthesis of enol esters from hex-1-yne and 4-acetoxybenzoic acid.

A series of (η6-p-cymene)ruthenium(II)- and osmium(II) complexes of porphyrin-phosphane derivatives have been synthesized as potential bimetallic theranostic candidates. The photophysical and electrochemical properties were investigated, and these species desirably exhibit no or almost no photoinduced intramolecular atom, energy, and electron transfer between the dye and the metallic fragment. These favorable features are mostly associated with the presence of their long chain (i.e., ∼ 1 nm) separating the two functional units. Interestingly, a decrease in emission intensity and lifetimes (up to 35-fold) has been observed, which was ascribed to a small heavy atom effect. This effect is possible as a chain folding driven by an intramolecular H-bond (N–H···Cl–M).

International audience; The synthesis and characterization of a series of arene ruthenium complexes bearing either (3,5-cycloheptadienyl)diphenylphosphine or (cycloheptyl)-diphenylphosphine are reported. Upon irradiation or heating, all these complexes lose their arene ligand but then exhibit a different behavior depending on the nature of the phosphine ligand. (Cycloheptadienyl)phosphine complexes 1 and 3 give a cationic dinuclear Ru complex 5 for which the two Ru atoms are bridged by three chlorido ligands and flanked by two tridendate (cycloheptadienyl)phosphines. (Cycloheptyl)-diphenylphosphine complexes 2 and 4 undergo arene exchange when toluene is used as solvent or degrade in dithloromethane. ATRA catalytic trials conducted in parallel with these complexes using CCl4 and styrene as standard substrates, highlighted the deep impact of the dienyl moiety on the results. Under smooth conditions (UV irradiation or moderate heating), only (cycloheptyl)phosphine derivatives give Karasch adduct in satisfactory yields. Their performance was considerably improved by combining irradiation and heating. At higher temperature, cationic dinuclear complex 5 was revealed as active and robust, giving turnover numbers as high as 9700 when tetradecene and CCl4 were used as substrates.

International audience; Nowadays, 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene – better known as BODIPY – is at the forefront of fluorophores for life sciences. Indeed, its high brightness, its tunable excitation and emission wavelengths along with its high chemical and photochemical stability draw more and more the interest of researchers. In the last decade, chemists have taken advantage of the versatility of the synthesis of BODIPY to design sophisticated objects. This review focuses on the different recent studies dealing with the conception of metal-based-BODIPY derivatives for medical purposes. More precisely, emphasis is put on the use of BODIPY derivatives for the elaboration of BODIPY-based theranostics, multimodal imaging probes, and photodynamic therapy sensitizers.

While N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) are ubiquitous ligands in catalysts for organic or industrial synthesis, their potential to form transition metal complexes for medicinal applications has still to be exploited. Within this frame, new Au(I)-NHC compounds have been synthesized and structurally characterized via different methods. The solid state structure of one of these compounds was also established by X-ray crystallography. Of note, three of them bear a pentafluorophenolic ester group as a possible "activable" moiety for further functionalization, which allowed tethering an alkyl amine ligand or another Au(I)-phosphine complex featuring a pendant amine function via microwave activation. The obtained compounds have been tested for their antiproliferative effects in human ovarian cancer A2780 cells, and in non-tumorigenic human embryonic kidney HEK-293T cells, showing promising anticancer properties and a certain selectivity towards cancerous cells. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A series of novel (C^N) cyclometallated Au(III) complexes of general formula [Au(py(b)-H)L(1)L(2)](n+) (py(b)-H = C^N cyclometallated 2-benzylpyridine, L(1) and L(2) being chlorido, phosphane or glucosethiolato ligands, n = 0 or 1) have been synthesized and fully characterized using different techniques, including NMR, IR and far-IR, mass spectrometry, as well as elemental analysis. The crystal structure of one compound has been solved using X-ray diffraction methods. All compounds were tested in vitro in five human cancer cell lines including the lung, breast, colon and ovarian cancer cells. For comparison purposes, all compounds were also tested in a model of healthy human cells from the embryonic kidney. Notably, all new compounds were more toxic than their cyclometallated precursor bearing two chlorido ligands, and the derivative bearing one phosphane ligand presented the most promising toxicity profile in our in vitro screening, displaying a p53 dependent activity in colorectal cancer HCT116 cells. Finally, for the first time C^N cyclometallated gold(III) complexes were shown to be potent inhibitors of the zinc finger protein PARP-1, involved in the mechanism of cisplatin resistance.

International audience; A novel Ti/111In-heterometallic radiotheranostic along with non-radioactive Ti/In, Ti/Lu, and Ti/Y analogues has been reported, thanks to the design of a challenging synthesis of the first titanocene-DOTA ligand. The corresponding titanocene-BODIPY complex was developed for in vitro tracking by optical imaging. The different complexes were characterized and their antiproliferative properties were evaluated on three cancer cell lines (A2780, B16F1, and PC3). As a proof of concept, initial studies in healthy mice were performed with a Ti/111In derivative to obtain information about its uptake, its biodistribution, and its excretion. Confocal microscopy experiments were performed with fluorescent complexes to track it in vitro.

International audience; Two new gold(I)–BODIPY–imidazole based trackable therapeutic bimetallic complexes have been synthesized and fully characterized. They display strong antiproliferative properties on several types of cancers including colon, breast, and prostate and one of them presents a significant anti-inflammatory effect. Additionally, the two compounds could be visualised in vitro by confocal microscopy in the submicromolar range.

A highly stable copper(I) complex was obtained starting from a copper(II) salt. This compound was characterized by a combination of several analytical techniques (UV/Vis spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and was shown to present an N4Cu structure. These results were confirmed by a density functional calculations study of the binding energy and the electronic structure of model ligand and copper complexes. Preliminary tests of complexation showed a high ability of the corresponding ligand to chelate 64Cu in very diluted medium, which is of interest for developing new positron emission tomography imaging agents. The stability and the kinetic inertness of the complex are promising. In particular, it displayed good redox stability, which is important because in vivo reduction or oxidation of the copper of Cu complexes can lead to demetalation. The rapid microwave-assisted strategy used to synthesize the ligand was applied to the synthesis of more than ten ligands. One of these was functionalized by an amino group to form a bifunctional chelate for a future bioconjugation for applications in nuclear medicine.

A new series of gold(I) N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes based on xanthine ligands have been synthesized and characterized by mass spectrometry, NMR, and X-ray diffraction. The compounds have been tested for their antiproliferative properties in human cancer cells and nontumorigenic cells in vitro, as well as for their toxicity in healthy tissues ex vivo. The bis-carbene complex [Au(caffein-2-ylidene)(2)] [BF4] (complex 4) appeared to be selective for human ovarian cancer cell lines and poorly toxic in healthy organs. To gain preliminary insights into their actual mechanism of action, two biologically relevant in cellulo targets were studied, namely, DNA (more precisely a higher-order DNA structure termed G-quadruplex DNA that plays key roles in oncogenetic regulation) and a pivotal enzyme of the DNA damage response (DDR) machinery (poly-(adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1), strongly involved in the cancer resistance mechanism). Our results indicate that complex 4 acts as an efficient and selective G-quadruplex ligand while being a modest PARP-1 inhibitor (i.e., poor DDR impairing agent) and thus provide preliminary insights into the molecular mechanism that underlies its antiproliferative behavior.

International audience; In medicinal chemistry, the aim is not only to conceive ever more efficient molecules, but also to understand their mechanism of action. In very recent years, a new promising strategy was developed to tackle this issue: the conception of trackable therapeutic agents. Metal-based drugs are ideal to exploit this expanding area of research.

International audience; A strategy was developed to append sterically hindered apical pickets on both faces of the BODIPY platform to prevent stacking and aggregation. Ortho-substitution of both the meso-phenyl ring and the boron-bound catechol affords the right directionality to append pickets, achieve face discrimination, featuring two inter-convertible atropisomers, and is reminiscent of the picket-fence strategy in porphyrins.

International audience; A series of new heterodinuclear luminescent complexes with two different organic ligands have been synthesized and characterized. A luminescent Ru-II(polypyridine) moiety and a metal-based anticancer fragment (AuCl, (p-cymene)RuCl2, (p-cymene)OsCl2, (Cp*)RhCl2, or Au-thioglucose) are the two general features of these complexes. All of the bimetallic compounds have been evaluated for their antiproliferative properties in vitro in human cancer cell lines. Only the complexes containing an Au(I) fragment exhibit antiproliferative activity in the range of cisplatin or higher. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of the bimetallic species have been investigated, and fluorescence microscopy experiments have been performed successfully. The most promising bimetallic cytotoxic complexes (i.e., with the Au-thioglucose scaffold) have shown to be easily taken up by cancer cells at 37 degrees C in the cytoplasm or in specific organelles. Interestingly, experiments repeated at 4 degrees C showed no uptake of the bimetallic species inside cells, which confirms involvement of active transport processes. To evaluate the role of glucose transporters in the cell uptake of the gold complexes, inhibition of the GluT-1 (glucose transporter isoform with high level of expression in cancer cells) was achieved, showing only scarce influence on the compounds' uptake. Finally, the observed absence of interactions with nucleic acid model structures suggests that the gold compounds may have different intracellular targets with respect to cisplatin.

(3,5-Cycloheptadienyl)diphenylphosphine is easily synthesized from the reaction of diphenylphosphine with 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene. This new phosphine-diene has been coordinated as a monodentate P ligand with Pt, Pd, Au, Ni, and Ru; as a bidentate (P, olefin) ligand with Pt and Pd; and as a tridentate (P, diene) ligand with Rh. Fluxional properties of several complexes have been studied via NMR experiments and theoretical consideration.

A common precursor, tetronic acid, was used in the synthesis of several vulpinic acids and pulvinic acids, which are pigments found in several lichens and mushrooms. The key features of this method are a two-step alkylidenation of benzyl tetronate and a Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling. The synthesis of several natural products, vulpinic acid, pinastric acid, xerocomic acid is described.

International audience; Ten metal-based complexes and associated ligands have been synthesized and characterized. One of the metal ligands is a coumarin-phosphine derivative, which displays tunable fluorescence properties. The fluorescence is quenched in the case of the free ligand and ruthenium and osmium complexes, whereas it is strong for the gold complexes and phosphonium derivatives. These trends were rationalized by theoretical calculations, which revealed non-radiative channels involving a dark state for the free ligands that is lower in energy than the emissive state and is responsible for the quenching of fluorescence. For the Ru-II and Os-II complexes, other non-radiative channels involving the manifold of singlet and triplet excited states may play a role. The anti-proliferative properties of all the compounds were evaluated in cancer cell lines (SW480, HCT116, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7); higher IC50 values were obtained for gold(I) complexes, with the free ligands being only weakly cytotoxic.

The design of trackable anticancer agents is of major interest for the future development of therapeutics based on nonplatinum metal complexes such as Ru(II), Os(II), or Au(I) derivatives, and more particularly for the understanding of the mechanism of action of these metal-based drugs. This review reports the synthesis and the first biological studies of original trackable complexes, in which the metal complex was coupled to an imaging probe, such as a fluorophore (coumarin, borodipyrromethene derivative (BODIPY), porphyrin), or a chelating agent (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA)) for radioisotopic imaging PET (positron emission tomography) or SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography). In the case of fluorescent theranostics, the photophysical properties of the different compounds were studied and the cell uptake could be evaluated on different cell lines, by microscopy imaging. A fluorescent smart probe based on coumarin-phosphine, whose fluorescence strongly depends on the coordination of the metal was also studied, revealing a nonusual cellular target with respect to the classical gold therapeutic systems. In the last section, the synthesis of new potential fluorescent trackable-radiotherapeutics is also presented.

Several vulpinic acids were synthesized in a few steps from a single precursor, the tetronic acid. This commercial compound was converted in a few steps to an iodide. Suzuki–Miyaura cross-couplings involving this common intermediate and various arylboronates allowed to gain access to several vulpinic acids (or methyl pulvinates). Among them, two natural products, vulpinic acid and pinastric acid, were prepared.

By combining an ever-increasing number of catalysts or catalytic functions, cooperative catalysis is a research area that grows fast. In the field, “early–late” heterobimetallic complexes are rather old objects but they still continue to fascinate chemists because of their latent reactivity. After a brief and concise overview of cooperative catalysis, this review focuses on “early–late” heterobimetallic complexes that were used in catalysis over the last decades. Examples of dual catalysis using early and late metal partners are also described. This chapter ends with an opening towards therapeutic applications of “early–late” heterobimetallic complexes.