bromide (MTT) assay. A549, HeLa S3, and IMR-90 cells were purchased
from ATCC, USA. A549 and HeLa S3 cells were maintained in Dulbecco’s
modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) (10% fetal bovine serum and
2 mM
5% CO2. Cells/well (2 × 104) were seeded
in 96-well plates and incubated at a humidified condition. The Ru(II)-arene
complexes were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, 0.5%). The cells
were treated with different concentrations of Ru(II)-arene complexes
(100–3.125 μM) and incubated for 24 h. After treatment,
cells were washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and incubated
with fresh DMEM containing MTT (5 mg/mL). The plates were incubated
for 3–4 h at dark condition and 100 μL of DMSO was added
to each well. The cytotoxicity data were measured at 570 nm. The percentage
of cytotoxicity was calculated by the following formula, inhibition
(%) = A – B/A × 100 (A = control group and B = treated group).