A series of carbohydrate-conjugated bis(demethoxy)curcumin (BDC) ligands were synthesized by using the Huisgen copper(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition between azido-functionalized d-glucose and d-fructose as well as propargyl-modified BDC. The unprotected sugar ligands were treated with Ru(bpy)2Cl2 to form curcumin-conjugated Ru complexes of general formula Ru(bpy)2(L)Cl. The ligands as well as Ru complexes were analyzed by NMR, IR, UV/Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy, mass spectrometry as well as by elemental analysis (EA). Incubation of L929, HepG2 and the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 revealed lower cytotoxicity of all carbohydrate-conjugated ligands compared with BDC. The Ru complexes exhibited higher cytotoxicity than the parent ligands, in particular against HepG2 cells, whereas the noncancerous L929 cell line remained unaffected. Unexpectedly, the d-fructose-conjugated ligand and its corresponding Ru complex did not show any significant toxicity against MDA-MB-231 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]