Organometallic compounds offer broad scope for the design of therapeutic agents, but this avenue has yet to be widely explored. A key concept in the design of anticancer complexes is optimization of chemical reactivity to allow facile attack on the target site (e.g., DNA) yet avoid attack on other sites associated with unwanted side effects. Here, we consider how this result can be achieved for monofunctional ''piano-stool'' ruthenium(II) arene complexes of the type [( 6 -arene)Ru(ethylenediamine)(X)] n؉ . A potentially important activation mechanism for reactions with biomolecules is hydrolysis. Density functional calculations suggested that aquation (substitution of X by H2O) occurs by means of a concerted ligand interchange mechanism. We studied the kinetics and equilibria for hydrolysis of 21 complexes, containing, as X, halides and pseudohalides, pyridine (py) derivatives, and a thiolate, together with benzene (bz) or a substituted bz as arene, using UV-visible spectroscopy, HPLC, and electrospray MS. The x-ray structures of six complexes are reported. In general, complexes that hydrolyze either rapidly {e.g., X ؍ halide [arene ؍ hexamethylbenzene (hmb)]} or moderately slowly [e.g., X ؍ azide, dichloropyridine (arene ؍ hmb)] are active toward A2780 human ovarian cancer cells, whereas complexes that do not aquate (e.g., X ؍ py) are inactive. An intriguing exception is the X ؍ thiophenolate complex, which undergoes little hydrolysis and appears to be activated by a different mechanism. The ability to tune the chemical reactivity of this class of organometallic ruthenium arene compounds should be useful in optimizing their design as anticancer agents.anticancer ͉ bioorganometallic ͉ hydrolysis ͉ kinetics ͉ ruthenium complexes O rganometallic chemistry has evolved rapidly during the last 50 years, notably in areas related to catalysis and materials (1). Applications in biology and medicine are in their infancy, but the potential for exciting developments is clear (2). In the field of cancer chemotherapy, the cyclopentadienyl complex [Cp 2 TiCl 2 ] has been in clinical trials (3, 4), and a ferrocene derivative of Tamoxifen is a candidate for trials for breast cancer therapy (5). The successful design of second-and thirdgeneration platinum anticancer drugs, now widely used in the clinic, has demonstrated that detailed knowledge of the factors that control ligand substitution and redox reactions is very valuable in drug design. The chemical reactivity of the complexes can be chosen so as to balance the inertness required for the drug to reach its target site (e.g., DNA) and minimize attack on other sites (side effects) yet allow activation necessary for binding to the target. Thus, cis-[PtCl 2 (NH 3 ) 2 ], cisplatin, is relatively unreactive in high-chloride media (e.g., blood plasma) and is activated by hydrolysis near DNA in the nucleus (6). In contrast, carboplatin and oxaliplatin are relatively inert to hydrolysis, have a milder spectrum of side effects, and probably attack DNA by means of chelate ...