Coordination-driven self-assembly of arene-ruthenium compounds

The coordination-driven self-assembly of N-donor ligands with dinuclear arene-ruthenium building blocks has allowed the construction of a wide range of cationic supramolecules with different architectures and functionalities. These supramolecules include (1) hexacationic molecular metallaprisms in which the size of the cycle and type of the arene-ruthenium acceptor and organic linker influence the antitumor behavior of the resulting self-assembly, and (2) tetracationic molecular metallarectangles, which have host-guest capabilities and allow sensing of biological properties. This report covers the synthetic and structural aspects of these coordination-driven self-assembled supramolecules as well as their most promising applications, with a particular focus on potential biological, sensing, and host-guest applications. The metal-directed coordination-driven self-assembly of supramolecular compounds with organometallic Ru-based half-sandwich complexes has received considerable attention. This microreview gives a concise summary of recent macrocyclic compounds composed of arene-Ru acceptors and N-donor ligands. Synthetic methods and structural and functional properties of the complexes are discussed in detail.