Dicarba-closo-dodecarborane-containing half-sandwich complexes of ruthenium, osmium, rhodium and iridium: biological relevance and synthetic strategies.

This review describes how the incorporation of dicarba-closo-dodecarboranes into half-sandwich complexes of ruthenium, osmium, rhodium and iridium might lead to the development of a new class of compounds with applications in medicine. Such a combination not only has unexplored potential in traditional areas such as Boron Neutron Capture Therapy agents, but also as pharmacophores for the targeting of biologically important proteins and the development of targeted drugs. The synthetic pathways used for the syntheses of dicarba-closo-dodecarboranes-containing half-sandwich complexes of ruthenium, osmium, rhodium and iridium are also reviewed. Complexes with a wide variety of geometries and characteristics can be prepared. Examples of addition reactions on the metal centre, B-H activation, transmetalation reactions and/or direct formation of metal-metal bonds are discussed (103 references). This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012