Synthesis, Structure and Anti-Cancer Activity of Osmium Complexes Bearing π-Bound Arene Substituents and Phosphane Co-Ligands: A Review

While many examples of osmium complexes as anti-cancer agents have been reported and some reviews have been devoted to this topic, a particularly interesting and synthetically accessible sub-class of these compounds namely those bearing a π– bound arene and phosphane co-ligand have escaped review. These complexes have made a surprisingly late entry in the literature (2005) in terms of anti-cancer investigations. This is somewhat surprising considering the plethora of analogous complexes that have been reported for the lighter analogue, ruthenium. Herein we review all complexes, neutral and ionic, bearing the “(ƞ6-arene)Os(PR3)” moiety focusing on their synthesis, reactivity, structural features (by X-ray diffraction analysis) as well as anti-cancer biological activity. An attempt is made throughout the article to contrast these to each other and to analogous Ru systems, and a full summary of all existing in vitro biological data is presented.