Ruthenium complexes as protein kinase inhibitors

Replacing complex natural products with simple metal complexes could lead to a new class of metallopharmaceuticals in which the metal center plays mainly a structural role. A strategy is introduced for the creation of ruthenium complex-based protein kinase inhibitors 1 (X = CO or CH2), morphed out of the class of indolocarbazole inhibitors with the alkaloid staurosporine as its most prominent member.