Monofunctional Complexes Research Articles

G-quadruplex DNA selective targeting for anticancer therapy: a computational study of a novel PtII monofunctional complex activated by adaptive binding.

Targeting of G-quadruplex (G-Q) nucleic acids, which are helical four-stranded structures formed from guanine-rich nucleic acid sequences, has emerged in recent years as an appealing opportunity for drug intervention in anticancer therapy. Small-molecule drugs can stabilize quadruplex structures, promoting selective downregulation of gene expression and telomerase inhibition and also activating DNA damage responses. Thus, rational design of small molecular ligands able to selectively interact with and stabilize G-Q structures is a promising strategy for developing potent anti-cancer drugs with selective toxicity towards cancer cells over normal ones. Here, the outcomes of a thorough computational investigation of a recently synthesized monofunctional PtII complex (Pt1), whose selectivity for G-Q is activated by what is called adaptive binding, are reported. Quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics calculations have been employed for studying the classical key steps of the mechanism of action of PtII complexes, the conversion of the non-charged and non-planar Pt1 complex into a planar and charged PtII (Pt2) complex able to play the role of a G-Q binder and, finally, the interaction of Pt2 with G-Q. The information obtained from such an investigation allows us to rationalize the behavior of the novel PtII complex proposed to be activated by adaptive binding toward selective interaction with G-Q or similar molecules and can be exploited for designing ligands with more effective recognition ability toward G-quadruplex DNA.

Cisplatin and phenanthriplatin modulate long-noncoding RNA expression in A549 and IMR90 cells revealing regulation of microRNAs, Wnt/\u03b2-catenin and TGF-\u03b2 signaling

The monofunctional platinum(II) complex, phenanthriplatin, acts by blocking transcription, but its regulatory effects on long-noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have not been elucidated relative to traditional platinum-based chemotherapeutics, e.g., cisplatin. Here, we treated A549 non-small cell lung cancer and IMR90 lung fibroblast cells for 24 h with either cisplatin, phenanthriplatin or a solvent control, and then performed microarray analysis to identify regulated lncRNAs. RNA22 v2 microRNA software was subsequently used to identify microRNAs (miRNAs) that might be suppressed by the most regulated lncRNAs. We found that miR-25-5p, -30a-3p, -138-5p, -149-3p, -185-5p, -378j, -608, -650, -708-5p, -1253, -1254, -4458, and -4516, were predicted to target the cisplatin upregulated lncRNAs, IMMP2L-1, CBR3-1 and ATAD2B-5, and the phenanthriplatin downregulated lncRNAs, AGO2-1, COX7A1-2 and SLC26A3-1. Then, we used qRT-PCR to measure the expression of miR-25-5p, -378j, -4516 (A549) and miR-149-3p, -608, and -4458 (IMR90) to identify distinct signaling effects associated with cisplatin and phenanthriplatin. The signaling pathways associated with these miRNAs suggests that phenanthriplatin may modulate Wnt/β-catenin and TGF-β signaling through the MAPK/ERK and PTEN/AKT pathways differently than cisplatin. Further, as some of these miRNAs may be subject to dissimilar lncRNA targeting in A549 and IMR90 cells, the monofunctional complex may not cause toxicity in normal lung compared to cancer cells by acting through distinct lncRNA and miRNA networks.

Is the cytotoxic activity of phenanthriplatin dependent on the specific size of the phenanthridine ligand π system?

The monofunctional Pt(II) drug phenanthriplatin is a leading preclinical anticancer drug, whose main characteristic is the presence of the extended aromatic system of the phenanthridine ligand, which allows intercalation. Intercalation, in turn, induces DNA unwinding and facilitates DNA binding. Aiming at verifying to what extent the peculiar cytotoxic activity of phenanthriplatin depends on the specific size of the aromatic system, two phenanthriplatin derivatives have been designed increasing the number of the rings in the N-heterocyclic ligand, and their reactivity has been computationally investigated. Both quantum mechanical DFT computations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been employed to investigate some of the aspects that are considered important for the activity of Pt(II) monofunctional complexes. In particular, the substitution of the chlorido ligand with water, subsequent interaction of the aquated complexes with guanine as a model, eventual deactivation by the model N-acetyl methionine as well as intercalation into, binding to and distortion of DNA have been examined. The outcomes of such analysis have been compared with the analogous ones for the phenanthriplatin complex in order to highlight how the addition of one more ring to the phenanthridine ligand and, eventually, its identity influence the reactivity and, consequently, the cytotoxic profile of the complexes.

RNA-Seq Analysis of Cisplatin and the Monofunctional Platinum(II) Complex, Phenanthriplatin, in A549 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and IMR90 Lung Fibroblast Cell Lines.

Phenanthriplatin is a new monofunctional platinum(II) complex that binds only one strand of DNA and acts by blocking gene transcription, but its effect on gene regulation has not been characterized relative to the traditional platinum-based complex, cisplatin. A549 non-small cell lung cancer and IMR90 lung fibroblast cells were treated with cisplatin, phenanthriplatin, or a control and then their RNA transcripts were subjected to next generation sequencing analysis. DESeq2 and CuffDiff2 were used to identify up- and downregulated genes and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases were used to identify pathways and functions. We found that phenanthriplatin may regulate the genes GPRC5a, TFF1, and TNFRSF10D, which act through p53 to control apoptosis, differently or to a greater extent than cisplatin, and that it, unlike cisplatin, could upregulate ATP5MD, a gene which signals through the Wnt/β catenin pathway. Furthermore, phenanthriplatin caused unique or enhanced effects compared to cisplatin on genes regulating the cytoskeleton, cell migration, and proliferation, e.g., AGAP1, DIAPH2, GDF15, and THSD1 (p < 0.05; q < 0.05). Phenanthriplatin may modulate some oncogenes differently than cisplatin potentially leading to improved clinical outcome, but this monofunctional complex should be carefully matched with cancer gene data to be successfully applied in chemotherapy.

The monofunctional platinum(II) compounds, phenanthriplatin and pyriplatin, modulate apoptosis signaling pathways in HEI-OC1 auditory hybridoma cells

Cisplatin is a platinum(II) chemotherapy drug that can cause the side-effect of ototoxicity and hearing loss. The monofunctional platinum(II) complexes, phenanthriplatin and pyriplatin, have recently been investigated as anti-cancer agents but their side-effects are largely unknown. Here, we used the auditory hybridoma cell line, HEI-OC1, to investigate the ototoxicity of cisplatin, phenanthriplatin and pyriplatin. The effect of these compounds against cellular viability, on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, mitochondrial membrane polarization, caspase-3/7 activity, DNA integrity and caspase-12 expression were measured using spectrophotometric, flow cytometric and blot analyses. We found that the monofunctional complexes and cisplatin decreased cellular viability. All three compounds increased ROS yield at 24 h, but at 48 h, ROS levels returned to normal. Also, the compounds did not depolarize the mitochondrial membrane. All three compounds reduced caspase-3/7 activity at 24 h; cisplatin increased caspase-3/7 activity and caused apoptosis at 48 h. Caspase-12 expression was associated with all three compounds. In summary, the monofunctional complexes may cause ototoxicity like cisplatin. Phenanthriplatin and pyriplatin may cause ototoxicity initially by inducing ROS production, but they may also signal through distinct apoptotic pathways that do not integrate caspases-3/7, or may act at different time-points in the same pathways.

Anti-cancer characteristics and ototoxicity of platinum(II) amine complexes with only one leaving ligand.

Unlike cisplatin, which forms bifunctional DNA adducts, monofunctional platinum(II) complexes bind only one strand of DNA and might target cancer without causing auditory side-effects associated with cisplatin treatment. We synthesized the monofunctional triamine-ligated platinum(II) complexes, Pt(diethylenetriamine)Cl, [Pt(dien)Cl]+, and Pt(N,N-diethyldiethylenetriamine)Cl, [Pt(Et2dien)Cl]+, and the monofunctional heterocyclic-ligated platinum(II) complexes, pyriplatin and phenanthriplatin, and compared their 5’-GMP binding rates, cellular compartmental distribution and cellular viability effects. A zebrafish inner ear model was used to determine if the monofunctional complexes and cisplatin caused hearing threshold shifts and reduced auditory hair cell density. The four monofunctional complexes had varied relative GMP binding rates, but similar cytosolic and nuclear compartmental uptake in three cancer cell lines (A549, Caco2, HTB16) and a control cell line (IMR90). Phenanthriplatin had the strongest effect against cellular viability, comparable to cisplatin, followed by [Pt(Et2dien)Cl]+, pyriplatin and [Pt(dien)Cl]+. Phenanthriplatin also produced the highest hearing threshold shifts followed by [Pt(dien)Cl]+, [Pt(Et2dien)Cl]+, cisplatin and pyriplatin. Hair cell counts taken from four regions of the zebrafish saccule showed that cisplatin significantly reduced hair cell density in three regions and phenanthriplatin in only one region, with the other complexes having no significant effect. Utricular hair cell density was not reduced by any of the compounds. Our results suggest that placing greater steric hindrance cis to one side of the platinum coordinating center in monofunctional complexes promotes efficient targeting of the nuclear compartment and guanosine residues, and may be responsible for reducing cancer cell viability. Also, the monofunctional compounds caused hearing threshold shifts with minimal effect on hair cell density, which suggests that they may affect different pathways than cisplatin.

Cisplatin and transplatin interaction with methionine: bonding motifs assayed by vibrational spectroscopy in the isolated ionic complexes.

Cisplatin and transplatin (cis- and trans-[PtCl2(NH3)2]) have been allowed to react with methionine (Met) in water solution in a study aimed to characterize the monofunctional complex primarily formed. The thioether function of methionine is known to have a very high affinity for square planar platinum(ii) and sulfur-containing biomolecules have been proposed as a cisplatin drug reservoir on the way to platination at DNA. Both cisplatin and transplatin yield [PtCl(NH3)2Met]+ complexes, delivered by electrospray ionization in the gas phase and sampled as isolated species using tools based on mass spectrometry. The collision induced dissociation spectra of both cis-[PtCl(NH3)2Met]+ and trans-[PtCl(NH3)2Met]+ are quite similar and also the transport properties assayed by ion mobility mass spectrometry do not allow any appreciable discrimination. However, the vibrational spectra obtained by IR multiple photon absorption (IRMPD) spectroscopy show distinct features. Their analysis, supported by quantum chemical calculations, has revealed that while cisplatin attack is mainly directed to the sulfur atom of Met, transplatin shows a more balanced partition between sulfur and nitrogen binding. Among the vibrational signatures characterizing cis-[PtCl(NH3)2Met]+ and trans-[PtCl(NH3)2Met]+ complexes, the asymmetric NH2 stretching of the α-amino group of the amino acid at ca. 3440 cm-1 is peculiar and diagnostic of S-platination. IRMPD kinetics evaluated at this frequency support the prevailing S-attack by cisplatin while approximately a 1 : 2 ratio of S- versus N-coordination is observed by transplatin, to be possibly related to the trans effect at the platinum center.

A New Approach to Sensitize Antitumor Monofunctional Platinum(II) Complexes via Short Time Photo-Irradiation.

Sensitizing the antitumor activity of monofunctional PtII complexes is a reliable approach to developing antitumor agents different from the classic Pt-based drugs. Considering the poor intracellular accumulation of monofunctional PtII complexes, in this study, the photosensitizing monofunctional PtII complex Pt-BA was derived from a weak BODIPY (boron-dipyrromethene)-derived photosensitizer BA, with the purpose to improve its antitumor cytotoxicity via enhancing its intracellular accumulation with a short time photo-irradiation. Photoinduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) determination indicated that the PtII center in Pt-BA is able to improve the photoinduced ROS production ability of BA, which makes Pt-BA a mild photosensitizer. Fluorescence imaging disclosed that dark incubation makes Pt-BA accumulate mainly on the surface of cell membrane, and the later short time photo-irradiation (5 min) promotes distinctly the intracellular accumulation of Pt-BA, which has been confirmed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry determination. Flow cytometric Annexin V-FITC assay indicated that the short time irradiation of Pt-BA induces in situ the cell membrane damage, which might finally enhance the intracellular accumulation of this monofunctional complex. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay confirmed that the short time photo-irradiation promotes distinctly the antitumor cytotoxicity of Pt-BA against MCF-7, SGC-7901, A549, and HeLa cell lines. The photopromoted antitumor activity of Pt-BA implies that modifying monofunctional PtII complex as a mild photosensitizer to promote its cell accumulation is a useful approach to sensitizing the antitumor activity of monofunctional PtII complex and renders the possibility of monofunctional PtII prodrugs for precise chemotherapy via only short time photoactivation.

Nucleotide Binding Preference of the Monofunctional Platinum Anticancer-Agent Phenanthriplatin.

The monofunctional platinum anticancer agent phenanthriplatin generates covalent adducts with the purine bases guanine and adenine. Preferential nucleotide binding was investigated by using a polymerase stop assay and linear DNA amplification with a 163-base pair DNA double helix. Similarly to cisplatin, phenanthriplatin forms the majority of adducts at guanosine residues, but significant differences in both the number and position of platination sites emerge when comparing results for the two complexes. Notably, the monofunctional complex generates a greater number of polymerase-halting lesions at adenosine residues than does cisplatin. Studies with 9-methyladenine reveal that, under abiological conditions, phenanthriplatin binds to the N(1) or N(7) position of 9-methyladenine in approximately equimolar amounts. By contrast, comparable reactions with 9-methylguanine afforded only the N(7) -bound species. Both of the 9-methyladenine linkage isomers (N(1) and N(7) ) exist as two diastereomeric species, arising from hindered rotation of the aromatic ligands about their respective platinum-nitrogen bonds. Eyring analysis of rate constants extracted from variable-temperature NMR spectroscopic data revealed that the activation energies for ligand rotation in the N(1) -bound platinum complex and the N(7) -linkage isomers are comparable. Finally, a kinetic analysis indicated that phenanthriplatin reacts more rapidly, by a factor of eight, with 9-methylguanine than with 9-methyladenine, suggesting that the distribution of lesions formed on double-stranded DNA is kinetically controlled. In addition, implications for the potent anticancer activity of phenanthriplatin are discussed herein.

The reaction of a platinated methionine motif of CTR1 with cysteine and histidine is dependent upon the type of precursor platinum complex

The human copper protein (hCTR1) is believed to facilitate the cellular uptake of cisplatin. Cisplatin likely binds to the methionine (Met)-rich motifs located in the N-terminus of hCTR1, and ligand exchange would be essential if cisplatin has to pass through the hCTR1 channel. In this work, we investigated the reaction between platinated adducts of a methionine-rich motif of yeast CTR1 (Mets7) and N-acetyl-cysteine (AcCys) or N-acetyl-histidine (AcHis), mimicking metal-binding residues downstream the CTR1 channel. Platination involved two cis-compounds, cisplatin and oxaliplatin, and one monofunctional complex, cis-diammine(pyridine)chloridoplatinum(II) (cDPCP). The reactions were monitored by HPLC and the products were characterized by ESI-MS. The results indicate different reactivities depending upon the platinum complex. The cisplatin/Mets7 adduct reacts readily with both cysteine and histidine (t1/2<2min). In contrast, the oxaliplatin/Mets7 adduct reacts with cysteine but not with histidine, whereas cDPCP/Mets7 adduct reacts with histidine but not with cysteine. Hence, Mets7 adducts of these platinum complexes exhibit different reactivities towards downstream coordinating amino acids. These results suggest that each platinum complex possesses different reactivities and consequently may lead to differences in their cellular distribution and bioactivity.

Third row transition metals for the treatment of cancer

Platinum compounds are a mainstay of cancer chemotherapy, with over 50% of patients receiving platinum. But there is a great need for improvement. Major features of the cisplatin mechanism of action involve cancer cell entry, formation mainly of intrastrand cross-links that bend and unwind nuclear DNA, transcription inhibition and induction of cell-death programmes while evading repair. Recently, we discovered that platinum cross-link formation is not essential for activity. Monofunctional Pt compounds such as phenanthriplatin, which make only a single bond to DNA nucleobases, can be far more active and effective against a range of tumour types. Without a cross-link-induced bend, monofunctional complexes can be accommodated in the major groove of DNA. Their biological mechanism of action is similar to that of cisplatin. These discoveries opened the door to a large family of heavy metal-based drug candidates, including those of Os and Re, as will be described.

Mechanisms of RNA polymerase II processing of DNA lesions formed by novel monofunctional platinum anticancer drugs (560.11)

Pyriplatin and Phenanthriplatin, a novel class of platinum compounds, forms monofunctional DNA lesions having a structure and spectrum of anticancer activity distinct from those of the FDA‐approved drugs cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin. These novel structure‐activity properties hold promise for overcoming drug resistance and improving the spectrum of treatable cancers over those responsive to cisplatin. However, the detailed molecular mechanism by which cells process DNA modified by pyriplatin and related monofunctional complexes is not at all understood. Here we report the structure of a transcribing RNA polymerase II (pol II) complex stalled at a site‐specific monofunctional pyriplatin‐DNA adduct in the active site. The results reveal a molecular mechanism of pol II transcription inhibition and drug action that is dramatically different from transcription inhibition by cisplatin and UV‐induced 1,2‐intrastrand cross‐links. In addition, we present the systematic mechanistic investigation that addresses how a site‐specific platinum‐DNA monofunctional adduct affects the Pol II elongation and transcriptional fidelity checkpoint steps, which is an important step toward elucidating the mechanism of action of these compounds. Our findings provide insight into structure‐activity relationships that may apply to the entire family of monofunctional DNA‐damaging agents and pave the way for rational improvement of monofunctional platinum anticancer drugs.

Thymines in Single-Stranded Oligonucleotides and G-Quadruplex DNA Are Competitive with Guanines for Binding to an Organoruthenium Anticancer Complex

Organometallic ruthenium(II) complexes [(η(6)-arene)Ru(en)Cl](+) (arene = e.g., biphenyl (1), dihydrophenanthrene, tetrahydroanthracene) show promising anticancer activity both in vitro and in vivo and are cytotoxic to cisplatin-resistant cancer cells, implying that these monofunctional complexes have a different mechanism of action from that of bifunctional cisplatin. We demonstrate here that complex 1 binds selectively to the guanine base in the 15-mer single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) 5'-CTCTCTX7G8Y9CTTCTC-3' [X = Y = T; X = C, Y = A; X = A, Y = T; X = T, Y = A] to form thermodynamically stable adducts, but thymine bases (T7/T11 or T6/T11) compete kinetically with guanine for binding to 1. The T-bound monoruthenated species eventually convert to diruthenated products via a second step of binding at G or/and to G-bound monoruthenated species through dissociation of the diruthenated adducts. Complex 1 was further shown to bind preferentially to the middle T in a sequence rather than to a T near the terminus and favor coordination to a 5'-T compared to a 3'-T. Interestingly, the T bases in the human telomeric G-quadruplex sequence (5'-AGGGTTAGGGTTAGGGTTAGGG-3') were found to be more competitive both kinetically and thermodynamically with G bases for binding to 1. These results suggest that thymine bases play a unique role in the pathways of ruthenation of DNA by organoruthenium anticancer complexes and illustrate that kinetic studies can provide new insight into the mechanism of action of metallodrugs in addition to study of the structures and functions of the thermodynamically stable end products.

Kinetics and mechanism of the reactions of Au(iii) complexes with some biologically relevant molecules

The kinetics of the substitution reactions between the mono-functional Au(III) complexes, [Au(dien)Cl](2+) and [Au(terpy)Cl](2+) (dien = 3-azapentane-1,5-diamine, terpy = 2,2';6',2''-terpyridine) and bi-functional Au(III) complexes, [Au(bipy)Cl(2)](+) and [Au(dach)Cl(2)](+) (bipy = 2.2'-bipyridine, dach = (1R,2R)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane) and biologically relevant ligands such as l-histidine (l-His), inosine (Ino), inosine-5'-monophosphate (5'-IMP) and guanosine-5'-monophosphate (5'-GMP), were studied in detail. All kinetic studies were performed in 25 mM Hepes buffer (pH = 7.2) in the presence of NaCl to prevent the spontaneous hydrolysis of the chloride complexes. The reactions were followed under pseudo-first order conditions as a function of ligand concentration and temperature using stopped-flow UV-vis spectrophotometry. The results showed that the mono-functional complexes react faster than the bi-functional complexes in all studied reactions. The [Au(terpy)Cl](2+) complex is more reactive than the [Au(dien)Cl](2+) complex, which was confirmed by quantum chemical (DFT) calculations. A more than 50% lower activation energy for the terpy than for the dien based complex was found. The bi-functional [Au(bipy)Cl(2)](+) complex is more reactive than the [Au(dach)Cl(2)](+) complex. The reactivity of the studied nucleophiles follows the same order for all studied systems, viz. l-His > 5'-GMP > 5'-IMP > Ino. According to the measured activation parameters, all studied reactions follow an associative substitution mechanism. Quantum chemical calculations (B3LYP/LANL2DZp) suggest that ligand substitution in [Au(terpy)Cl](2+) and [Au(dien)Cl](2+) by imidazole follows an interchange mechanism with a significant degree of associative character. The results demonstrate the strong connection between the reactivity of the complexes toward biologically relevant ligands and their structural and electronic characteristics. Therefore, the binding of gold(III) complexes to 5'-GMP, constituent of DNA, is of particular interest since this interaction is thought to be responsible for their anti-tumour activity.

Substitution reactions of some novel sterically hindered monofunctional Pd(II) complexes

Substitution reactions of the monofunctional complexes [(TLtBu)PdCl]+ and [Pd(tpdm)Cl]+, where TLtBu=2,6-bis[(1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-imino)methyl]pyridine and tpdm=terpyridinedimethane, with nucleophiles such as: thiourea, I−, Br−, NO2−, pyridine and dimethyl-sulfoxide (DMSO) were studied in 0.1M NaClO4 aqueous solution in the presence of 10mM NaCl. The reactions were carried out at three different temperatures (288, 298 and 308K) using a variable-temperature stopped-flow technique. The substitutions were followed under the pseudo-first-order conditions with a large excess of nucleophiles. Obtained results show that the complex with tpdm ligand reacts faster than the complexes with TLtBu ligand due to the bulkiness of the inert tridentate ligands. Also, the presence of t-Bu groups on the terminal imadazole rings of TLtBu ligand significantly slow down the rate of the substitution. The order of reactivity of used ligands is: thiourea>I−>Br−>NO2−>pyridine>DMSO. This order is in agreement with their electronic and structural characteristics. The negative values reported for the entropy of activation confirmed the associative substitution mode. These results are discussed in order to find the connection between the structure and reactivity of the complexes with tridentate sterically hindered ligands.

X-ray structure and mechanism of RNA polymerase II stalled at an antineoplastic monofunctional platinum-DNA adduct

DNA is a major target of anticancer drugs. The resulting adducts interfere with key cellular processes, such as transcription, to trigger downstream events responsible for drug activity. cis-Diammine(pyridine)chloroplatinum(II), cDPCP or pyriplatin, is a monofunctional platinum(II) analogue of the widely used anticancer drug cisplatin having significant anticancer properties with a different spectrum of activity. Its novel structure-activity properties hold promise for overcoming drug resistance and improving the spectrum of treatable cancers over those responsive to cisplatin. However, the detailed molecular mechanism by which cells process DNA modified by pyriplatin and related monofunctional complexes is not at all understood. Here we report the structure of a transcribing RNA polymerase II (pol II) complex stalled at a site-specific monofunctional pyriplatin-DNA adduct in the active site. The results reveal a molecular mechanism of pol II transcription inhibition and drug action that is dramatically different from transcription inhibition by cisplatin and UV-induced 1,2-intrastrand cross-links. Our findings provide insight into structure-activity relationships that may apply to the entire family of monofunctional DNA-damaging agents and pave the way for rational improvement of monofunctional platinum anticancer drugs.

Synthesis and DNA-binding properties of binuclear platinum complexes with two trans-[Pt(NH3)2Cl]+ units bridged by 4,4?-dipyridyl sulfide or selenide

Two novel dinuclear platinum complexes, {trans-[Pt(NH3)2Cl]2(dpsu)}(NO3)2(1) and {trans-[Pt(NH3)2Cl]2 (dpse)}(NO3)2(2) (dpsu = 4,4′-dipyridyl sulfide and dpsu = 4,4′-dipyridyl selenide) have been prepared for use as potential antitumor drugs. Compared to the known monofunctional complex, [cis-Pt(NH3)2Cl(4-methylpyridine)]NO3, (1) exhibits an almost two-fold stronger DNA-binding ability, a result suggesting that (1) may bind bifunctionally to DNA. Kinetic studies show that (1) significantly impedes intercalation of ethidium bromide (EtdBr) into DNA in 0.3 mol dm−3 KNO3 but not in 0.3 mol dm−3 KCl, indicating that the hydrolysis is the first step upon addition of the complex to DNA. Also, the complex may interact with DNA by non-intercalation. Unlike its dinuclear analogs linked by aliphatic diamines, complex (1) does not induce a transition of poly(dG–dC) · poly(dG–dC) from the B form to the Z form. Moreover, complex (1) significantly inhibits the cleavage activity of BamHI endonuclease, but has no effect on that of EcoRI endonuclease. In contrast, its cis analog containing two [cis-Pt(NH3)2Cl]+ units greatly inhibits those of both BamHI and EcoRI, a result suggesting that the two isomers with the same aromatic ligand probably have different properties of DNA binding, and that (1) possibly shows higher DNA-binding selectivity than its cisanalog.

Characterisation of bifunctional ruthenium(II) complexes, potential DNA photo-probes. Presence of folded and unfolded conformers †

Novel bifunctional ruthenium(II) complexes, [Ru(TAP)2(POQ-Nmet)]2+ and [Ru(BPY)2(POQ-Nmet)]2+ (1a, 2a), containing a metallic and an organic moiety, have been prepared as photoprobes and photoreagents of DNA (TAP = 1,4,5,8-tetraazaphenanthrene, POQ-Nmet = 5-[6-(7-chloroquinolin-4-yl)-3-thia-6-azaheptanamido]-1,10-phenanthroline). The ES mass spectrometry and 1H NMR data in organic solvents indicate that the quinoline moiety exists in both the protonated and non-protonated form. Moreover, the comparison of the NMR data with those of the corresponding monofunctional complexes (without quinoline) evidences that [Ru(TAP)2(POQ-Nmet)]2+ and [Ru(BPY)2(POQ-Nmet)]2+ are unfolded when the quinoline unit is protonated whereas deprotonation permits folding of the molecule. In the folded state the spatial proximity of the electron donor (the organic moiety) and electron acceptor (the metallic moiety) in [Ru(TAP)2(POQ-Nmet)]2+ favours intramolecular photo-induced electron transfer, which has been shown in a previous study to be responsible for the very low luminescence of 1a in non-protonating solutions. The restoration of the luminescence by protonation of the quinoline moiety as observed previously is in agreement with the unfolding of the molecule demonstrated in this work. The existence of such folding–unfolding processes related to protonation is crucial for studies of 1a with DNA.

Triamine-type complexes of platinum(II) and their antitumor properties

Triamines of platinum(II) (Pt(NH3)2LCl]Cl with a cis-structure (L represents cytosine, cytidine, isocytosine, theobromine, theophylline) and cis- and trans-isomers with theophylline and inosine were synthesized. The coordination formulas were demonstrated by methods of conductometry and long-wave spectroscopy. The coordination of pyrimidines through the N(3) atoms and purines through the N(7) atoms was established by PMR methods. An intensification of the acidic properties of the NH group of the ligands upon coordination with platinum was demonstrated. Cis-triamines have an antitumor effect on solid tumors and leukemias, which permits them to be assigned to a new class of water-soluble cationic monofunctional antitumor complexes of platinum(II).

ChemInform Abstract: Regiospecific Activation of C‐H Bonds in Fe+ Complexes of ω‐Silyl‐Substituted Alkanenitriles Caused by Metal‐Ion‐Mediated Cooperative Effects of Functional Groups.

AbstractIn contrast to the monofunctional complex (I), which gives rise in the gas phase to the formation of H2, CH4 and C4H8 (9:76:15) due to an earlier study, the compound (II) in the same reaction produces only H2.