Developing Carrier Complexes for "Caged NO": RuCl(3)(NO)(H(2)O)(2) Complexes of Dipyridylamine, (dpaH), N,N,N'N'-Tetrakis (2-Pyridyl) Adipamide, (tpada), and (2-Pyridylmethyl) Iminodiacetate, (pida).

Delivery agents which can carry the {Ru(NO)}(6) chromophore ("caged NO") are desired for vasodilation and for photodynamic therapy of tumors. Toward these goals, complexes derived from [RuCl(3)(NO)(H(2)O)(2)]= (1) have been prepared using dipyridylamine (dpaH) as mono and bis adducts, [Ru(NO)Cl(3)(dpaH)] = (2) and [Ru(NO)Cl(dpaH)(2)]Cl(2) = (3). The dpaH ligands coordinate cis to the Ru(NO) axis.The mono derivative is a model for a potential DNA groove-spanning binuclear complex {[RuNO)Cl(3)](2)(tpada)} = (4) which has two DNA-coordinating Ru(II) centers, photo-labile {Ru(NO)}(6) sites, and a groove-spanning tether moiety.The binuclear assembly is prepared from the tethered dipyridylamine ligand N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)adipamide (tpada) which has recently been shown to provide a binuclear carrier complex suited to transporting Ru(II) and Pd(II) agents. A related complex, [Ru(NO)Cl(pida)] = (5) with the {Ru(NO)}(6) moiety bound to (2-pyridylmethyl) iminodiacetate (pida(2-)) is also characterized as a potential "caged NO" carrier. Structural information concerning the placement of the pyridyl donor groups relative to the {Ru(NO)}(6) unit has been obtained from (1)H and (13)C NMR and infrared methods, noting that a pyridyl donor trans to NO+ causes "trans strengthening" of this ligand for [Ru(NO)Cl(pida)], whereas placement of pyridyl groups cis to NO+ causes a weakening of the N-O bond and a lower NO stretching frequency in the dpa-based complexes.