Synthesis, structural studies, interaction with DNA/HSA and antitumor evaluation of new Cu(<scp>ii</scp>) complexes containing 2-(1<i>H</i>-imidazol-2-yl)pyridine and amino acids
Dai-Hong Cai, Bai-Hua Chen, Qi-Yan Liu, Xue‐Yi Le, Liang He
Abstract
, including cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa), liver cancer cells (HepG2 and BEL-7402) and gastric adenocarcinoma cells (SGC-7901), but showed lower toxicity to normal liver cells (LO2). The anticancer mechanism research revealed that CuI1, CuI2 and CuI3 arrested the cell cycle at the S phase, elevated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and induced loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). The results indicated that these Cu(II) complexes could induce DNA damage and ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to cancer cell apoptosis. Our work provides a theoretical basis for the design of new low-toxicity and highly efficient anticancer Cu(II) complexes by incorporating biological metabolites and aromatic heterocyclic ligands.