Correlated mass spectrometry and confocal microscopy imaging verifies the dual-targeting action of an organoruthenium anticancer complex.

An addressable single cell imaging strategy combining ToF-SIMS and confocal fluorescence microscopy imaging has been developed, and sucessfully applied to visualize the subcellular distribution of an organoruthenium anticancer complex, [(η6-benzene)Ru(N,N-L)Cl]+ (1; L: 4-anilinoquinazoline ligand), showing its accumulation in both cell membrane and nuclei, and verifying its dual-targeting feature.