Anomalous behavior of pentacoordinate copper complexes of dimethylphenanthroline and derivatives of terpyridine ligands: Studies on DNA binding, cleavage and apoptotic activity

A systematic investigation on biological activities of a novel double zwitterionic Schiff base Cu(II) complex

Double zwitterionic amino acid Schiff base, o-vanillylidene-L-histidine (OVHIS) and its copper complex (CuOVHIS) have been synthesized and characterized. CuOVHIS has distorted octahedral geometry, and OVHIS coordinates the copper ion in a tetradentate manner (N2O2). The pKa of OVHIS in aqueous solution was studied by potentiometric and spectrophotometric methods. DNA binding behavior of the compounds was investigated using spectrophotometric, cyclic voltammetric, and viscosity methods. The efficacy of DNA cleaving nature was tested on pUC19 DNA. The in vitro biological activity was tested against various micro organisms. The effect of CuOVHIS on the surface feature of Escherichia coli was analyzed by SEM. DPPH assay studies revealed that CuOVHIS has higher antioxidant activity. OVHIS inhibits proliferation of HCT117 cells with half maximal inhibition (IC50) of 71.15±0.67. Chelation of OVHIS with Cu(II) ion enhances the inhibition of proliferation action (IC50=53.14±0.67).

Antibacterial activity of copper(ii) complexes against Staphylococcus aureus

[Cu(bitpy)₂]²⁺ showed better antistaphylococcal activity than [Cu(bitpy)(dmp)]²⁺. SEM and confocal microscopy showed the damage caused by complex 2 is more effective than 1. Complex 2 can be better used as an anti-biofouling agent.

New ternary bipyridine–terpyridine copper(ii) complexes as self-activating chemical nucleases

New copper complexes with an impressive DNA cleaving ability in the absence of any exogenous oxidants or reductants.

Bis-amide transition metal complexes: isomerism and DNA interaction study

A quatridentate bis-amide ligand, N,N'-propylenebis(salicylamide) H2pbs, and its transition metal complexes [M(pbs)(H2O)2], where M=Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, UV-Vis, IR, NMR, Mass, EPR, molar conductivity, magnetic moment values and thermal analysis. The NMR spectrum of ligand evidences the E/Z isomerism. All the evidences reveal that the metal ions adopt octahedral geometry with metal:ligand:solvent ratio 1:1:2. The conductivity measurements exhibit that the complexes are non-electrolytes. DNA binding properties of these complexes have been explored by UV-Vis and cyclic voltammetry. The results indicate that these complexes are good intercalators.

Zinc(II) complexes of Pro-Gly and Pro-Leu dipeptides: synthesis, characterization, in vitro DNA binding and cleavage studies

Dipeptide (Pro-Gly and Pro-Leu) Zinc(II) complexes 1 and 2 were designed and synthesized for potential use as cancer chemotherapeutic agents. In order to augment the DNA recognition of metallonuclease activity, zinc metal ion was tethered to peptide motif to carry out DNA site specific hydrolytic cleavage. The structural formulation of the complexes 1 and 2 was done by elemental analysis, spectroscopic methods (IR, NMR, electronic) and molar conductance measurements. Their in vitro DNA binding profile was investigated by UV-vis titrations, fluorescence titrations and circular dichroism which revealed that these complexes bind to CT DNA by electrostatic interactions via groove binding mode. Zn(II) Pro-Gly complex 1 showed greater binding affinity to CT DNA as compared to the Zn(II) Pro-Leu complex 2 due to steric constraints in the latter. The supercoiled pBR322 DNA cleavage activity of complex 1, ascertained by gel electrophoresis demonstrated efficient DNA cleaving ability via hydrolytic mechanistic pathway. Further, the molecular docking studies confirmed that complex 1 bind to the minor groove of DNA having AT-rich sequences with relative binding energy of -196.72kJmol(-1).

Synthesis, DNA recognition and cleavage studies of novel tetrapeptide complexes, Cu(II)/Zn(II)-Ala-Pro-Ala-Pro

New tetrapeptide complexes Cu(II)·Ala-Pro-Ala-Pro (1) and Zn(II)·Ala-Pro-Ala-Pro (2) were synthesized from the reaction of tetrapeptide, Ala-Pro-Ala-Pro and CuCl2/ZnCl2 and were thoroughly characterized by elemental analysis, IR,(1)H and (13)C NMR (in case of 2), ESI-MS, UV and molar conductance measurements. The solution stability study was carried out employing UV-vis absorption titrations over a broad range of pH which suggested the stability of the complexes in solution. In vitro interaction of complexes 1 and 2 with CT-DNA was studied employing UV-vis, fluorescence, circular dichroic and viscometry studies. To throw insight into molecular binding event at the target site, UV-vis titrations of 1 and 2 with mononucleotides of interest viz.; 5'-GMP and 5'-TMP were carried out. Cleavage activity of the complexes with pBR322 plasmid DNA was evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis and, the electrophoresis pattern demonstrated that both the complexes 1 and 2 are efficient cleavage agents. Further, the Cu(II) complex displayed efficient oxidative cleavage of supercoiled DNA while various reactive oxygen species are responsible for the cleavage in Zn(II) complex.

Catalytic nanomedicine technology: copper complexes loaded on titania nanomaterials as cytotoxic agents of cancer cell

The anticancer properties of pure copper (II) acetate and copper (II) acetylacetonate, alone and loaded on functionalized sol-gel titania (TiO₂), were determined in four different cancer cell lines (C6, RG2, B16, and U373), using increasing concentrations of these compounds. The copper complexes were loaded onto the TiO₂ network during its preparation by the solgel process. Once copper-TiO₂ materials were obtained, these were characterized by several physical-chemical techniques. An in vitro copper complex–release test was developed in an aqueous medium at room temperature and monitored by ultraviolet spectroscopy. The toxic effect of the copper complexes, alone and loaded on TiO₂, was determined using a cell viability 3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, when cancer cells were treated with increasing concentrations (15.75–1000 mg/mL) of these. Characterization studies revealed that the addition of copper complexes to the TiO₂ sol-gel network during its preparation, did not generate changes in the molecular structure of the complexes. The surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter were affected by the copper complex additions and by the crystalline phases obtained. The kinetic profiles of both copper complexes released indicated two different stages of release: The first one was governed by first-order kinetics and the second was governed by zero-order kinetics. The cell viability assay revealed a cytotoxic effect of copper complexes, copper-TiO₂, and cisplatin in a dose-dependent response for all the cell lines; however, the copper complexes exhibited a better cytotoxic effect than the cisplatin compound. TiO₂ alone presented a minor cytotoxicity for C6 and B16 cells; however, it did not cause any toxic effect on the RG2 and U373 cells, which indicates its high biocompatibility with these cells.

A tri-copper(II) complex displaying DNA-cleaving properties and antiproliferative activity against cancer cells

A new disubstituted terpyridine ligand and the corresponding tri-copper(II) complex have been prepared and characterised. The binding affinity and binding mode of this tri-copper complex (as well as the previously reported mono- and di-copper analogues) towards duplex DNA were determined by using UV/Vis spectroscopic titrations and fluorescent indicator displacement (FID) assays. These studies showed the three complexes to bind moderately (in the order of 10(4)  M(-1)) to duplex DNA (ct-DNA and a 26-mer sequence). Furthermore, the number of copper centres and the nature of the substituents were found to play a significant role in defining the binding mode (intercalative or groove binding). The nuclease potential of the three complexes was investigated by using circular plasmid DNA as a substrate and analysing the products by agarose-gel electrophoresis. The cleaving activity was found to be dependent on the number of copper centres present (cleaving potency was in the order: tri-copper>di-copper>mono-copper). Interestingly, the tri-copper complex was able to cleave DNA without the need of external co-reductants. As this complex displayed the most promising nuclease properties, cell-based studies were carried out to establish if there was a direct link between DNA cleavage and cellular toxicity. The tri-copper complex displayed high cytotoxicity against four cancer cell lines. Of particular interest was that it displayed high cytotoxicity against the cisplatin-resistant MOLT-4 leukaemia cell line. Cellular uptake studies showed that the tri-copper complex was able to enter the cell and more importantly localise in the nucleus. Immunoblotting analysis (used to monitor changes in protein levels related to the DNA damage response pathway) and DNA-flow cytometric studies suggested that this tri-copper(II) complex is able to induce cellular DNA damage.