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Three coordination compounds of ruthenium(II), belonging to a recently synthesised series of water-soluble compounds of general formula mer-[Ru(L₃)(N-N)Cl]Cl, where L₃ = 4'-chloro-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (Cl-tpy), N-N = ethylenediamine (en), 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (dach) or 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy), have shown strong binding to calf thymus DNA and moderate in vitro cytotoxicity towards cancer cell lines. Knowing that serum proteins play a crucial role in the transport and deactivation of ruthenium drugs, we have conducted a detailed study of their interactions with two major metal-transporting serum proteins, albumin and transferrin, and it is presented herein. Ruthenated protein adducts were formed with various concentrations of the three compounds and then separated from the unbound portions by ultrafiltration through 10 kDa cut-off centrifugal filter units. The stoichiometry of binding was determined using …