The synthesis and toxicity of tripodal tricarbonyl rhenium complexes as radiopharmaceutical models.

We report the synthesis and toxicity of a series of rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes incorporating the trisaminomethylethane (TAME) ligand. Compounds with the (TAME)Re(CO)(3)(+) cation were synthesized via several routes, including by use of Re(CO)(5)X precursors as well as the aqueous cation Re(CO)(3)(H(2)O)(3)(+). Salts of the formula [(TAME)Re(CO)(3)]X where X=Br(-), Cl(-), NO(3)(-), PF(6)(-) and ClO(4)(-) were evaluated using two cell lines: the monoclonal S3 HeLa line and a vascular smooth muscle cell line harvested from mice. All compounds have isostructural cations and differ only in the identity of the non-coordinating anion. None of the complexes exhibited any appreciable toxicity in the HeLa line up to the solubility limit. In the vascular smooth muscle cell line, the bromide salt exhibited some cytotoxicity, but this observation most likely results from the presence of bromide anion, which has been shown to have limited toxicity.