Bioorganometallic chemistry is a rapidly developing field of research. Many labs are interested in potential applications of organometallic chemistry, an area which has previously been associated mainly with catalysis. Also, the success of platinum-based anticancer drugs in the clinic has heightened interest in the possibility of designing active complexes of other transition metals.

  Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?

“In this field a major obstacle is to convince others that the biological properties of metal complexes depend not only on the metal (ruthenium in this case) but also on the ligands.”

New discoveries concerning the design of ruthenium arene complexes as anticancer agents and chemistry relating to their mechanism of action are described.

  Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman’s terms?

The treatment of cancer requires new drugs that act by novel mechanisms. Organometallic ruthenium compounds offer that possibility. They present a versatile design platform. We think of one class as "piano stools"—we can decorate the seat and adjust the properties of the legs. The seat can be equipped with overhangs that can insert between the bases of DNA. The legs can unscrew to allow DNA bases to bind directly to ruthenium and the other legs can stay put and assist in DNA binding. Proteins may also be involved in specific interactions with ruthenium compounds in cells.

  How did you become involved in this research, and were there any obstacles along the way?

Yaw Kai Yan has had research interests in organometallic compounds as materials and catalysts for about 16 years and more recently as medicines. Peter J. Sadler began research into medicinal organometallic chemistry about nine years ago. At that time there had been only a few previous studies of the aqueous solution chemistry of metal arene complexes.

In this field a major obstacle is to convince others that the biological properties of metal complexes depend not only on the metal (ruthenium in this case) but also on the ligands. You can control both the thermodynamics and kinetics of reactions of metal complexes by the appropriate choice of ligands—the essence of drug design.

  Are there any social or political implications for your research?

Only social—in the hope that new and more effective medicines can be developed.