A ruthenium(II) trithiacyclononane curcuminate complex: synthesis, characterisation, DNA interaction and cytotoxic activityThe coordination of inorganic ruthenium(II) complexes to anionic oxygen-based donors is very rare. In this study, the simple, one-pot preparation of [ruthenium(II)(trithiacyclononane)(curcumin)(S-DMSO)]Cl (1) and its structural characterisation by elemental analysis, FT-IR, 1-D and 2-D NMR, ESI + -MS as well as UV-VIS and fluorescence are described. DNA thermal degradation studies showed that the complex 1 has DNA-intercalating ability, while pure curcumin is a non-intercalative compound. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of the complex 1, in comparison with that of pure curcumin, was investigated using the tumor human prostate cell line, PC-3, and the pre-neoplastic cell line, PNT-2.Results showed that complex 1 is innocuous towards normal prostate epithelial cells and, whereas curcumin is toxic in concentrations of 50 and 80 µM. On the tumour cell line PC-3, the complex 1 did not cause viability changes whereas curcumin exhibited dose-dependent inhibition. This study suggests that coordination with the trithiacyclononane ruthenium(II) scaffold stabilises the photochemical properties and biologic activity of curcumin.