Novel BODIPY-based Ru(II) and Ir(III) metalla-rectangles: cellular localization of compounds and their antiproliferative activities

The first examples of Ru(II) and Ir(III) metalla-rectangles [1](4+)-[4](4+) containing a BODIPY-based linker are reported; some of these compounds exhibited highly selective anticancer activity and interact strongly with DNA as well as protein. The characteristic green fluorescence of a BODIPY ligand and associated aggregation-induced emission (AIE) permitted visualization of compounds inside the cells using confocal microscopy.