Cytotoxic effect of a polymer–copper(II) complex containing 2,2′-bipyridyl ligand on human lung cancer cells

Abstract

The cytotoxic activity of the polymer–copper(II) complex, [Cu(bpy)2(BPEI)]Cl2·4H2O (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine, BPEI = branched polyethyleneimine) on NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells was determined adopting MTT assay and specific staining techniques. Many of the cultured NCI-H460 cancer cells treated with this complex suffered loss of viability and death mostly through apoptosis and/or necrosis as evidenced by the changes in the nuclear morphology and cytoplasmic features.