The complexes mer-[RhCl 3(DMSO-kappa S)(pp)] 1a- 5a may be prepared by reaction of mer,cis-[RhCl 3(DMSO-kappa S) 2(DMSO-kappa O)] with the appropriate polypyridyl ligand (pp = bpy, phen, dpq, dppz, dppn) in CH 3OH/H 2O solution at 75 degrees C. The mer isomers of 1a- 5a are stable in chloroform solution but those of 1a and 2a isomerize rapidly to a mixture of fac and mer isomers in DMSO. The complexes are potent in vitro cytotoxic agents and exhibit IC 50 values that are strongly dependent on the size of the polypyridyl ligand. IC 50 values of, respectively, 4.0 (0.5) and 1.9 (0.5), 0.40 (0.06) and 0.19 (0.05), and 0.079 (0.012) and 0.069 (0.021) microM are observed for 1a- 3a against the human cell lines MCF-7 (breast cancer) and HT-29 (colon cancer). Cellular uptake studies showed a rapid and high accumulation of the polypyridyl compounds. Treatment of HT-29 and MCF-7 cells with 3a leads to significant decreases in cellular oxygen consumption and the rate of extracellular acidification.