Water-soluble Porphyrin Research Articles

Metal center ion effects on photoinactivating rapidly growing mycobacteria using water-soluble tetra-cationic porphyrins.

Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are pathogens that belong to the mycobacteriaceae family and responsible for causing mycobacterioses, which are infections of opportunistic nature and with increasing incidence rates in the world population. This work evaluated the use of six water-soluble cationic porphyrins as photosensitizers for the antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) of four RGM strains: Mycolicibacterium fortuitum, Mycolicibacterium smeagmatis, Mycobacteroides abscessus subs. Abscessus, and Mycobacteroides abscessus subsp. massiliense. Experiments were conducted with an adequate concentration of photosensitizer under white-light irradiation conditions over 90min and the results showed that porphyrins 1 and 2 (M = 2H or ZnII ion) were the most effective and significantly reduced the concentration of viable mycobacteria. The present work shows the result is dependent on the metal-center ion coordinated in the cationic porphyrin core. Moreover, we showed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) the possible membrane photodamage caused by reactive oxygen species and analyzed the morphology and adhesive force properties. Tetra-positively charged and water-soluble metalloporphyrins may be promising antimycobacterial aPDT agents with potential applications in medical clinical cases and bioremediation.

PH-Responsive Polyketone/5,10,15,20-Tetrakis-(Sulfonatophenyl)Porphyrin Supramolecular Submicron Colloidal Structures.

In this work, we prepared color-changing colloids by using the electrostatic self-assembly approach. The supramolecular structures are composed of a pH-responsive polymeric surfactant and the water-soluble porphyrin 5,10,15,20-tetrakis-(sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS). The pH-responsive surfactant polymer was achieved by the chemical modification of an alternating aliphatic polyketone (PK) via the Paal–Knorr reaction with N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine (HEDA). The resulting polymer/dye supramolecular systems form colloids at the submicron level displaying negative zeta potential at neutral and basic pH, and, at acidic pH, flocculation is observed. Remarkably, the colloids showed a gradual color change from green to pinky-red due to the protonation/deprotonation process of TPPS from pH 2 to pH 12, revealing different aggregation behavior.

Porphyrin/Ionic-Liquid Co-assembly Polymorphism Controlled by Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation.

Understanding and controlling multicomponent co-assembly is of primary importance in different fields, such as materials fabrication, pharmaceutical polymorphism, and supramolecular polymerization, but these aspects have been a long-standing challenge. Herein, we discover that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) into ion-cluster-rich and ion-cluster-poor liquid phases is the first step prior to co-assembly nucleation based on a model system of water-soluble porphyrin and ionic liquids. The LLPS-formed droplets serve as the nucleation precursors, which determine the resulting structures and properties of co-assemblies. Co-assembly polymorphism and tunable supramolecular phase transition behaviors can be achieved by regulating the intermolecular interactions at the LLPS stage. These findings elucidate the key role of LLPS in multicomponent co-assembly evolution and enable it to be an effective strategy to control co-assembly polymorphism as well as supramolecular phase transitions.

Water-soluble tetra-cationic porphyrins display virucidal activity against Bovine adenovirus and Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1.

Porphyrins are photoactive compounds that can absorb the energy of light and transfer it to oxygen molecules, producing reactive oxygen species (ROS). Once produced, ROS may alter biological molecules and cellular mechanisms, leading to cell apoptosis or inactivation of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro virucidal activity of six tetra-cationic porphyrins against two bovine viruses (Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1, BoHV-1, enveloped; and Bovine adenovirus, BAV, non-enveloped). For this, viral suspensions were incubated with each porphyrin (H2TMeP, ZnTMeP, and CuTMeP at 4.0 μM, NiTMeP at 5.0 μM, and CoClTMeP and MnClTMeP at 1.0 μM) and exposed to white-light irradiation for 0, 60, 120, and 180 min (BAV) or 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min (BoHV-1). Then, the remaining viral titers were determined by limiting dilution and compared with the control (virus + porphyrins without light exposition). The porphyrins H2TMeP and ZnTMeP showed the highest virucidal activity against both viruses. ZnTMeP inactivated BoHV-1 after 30 min of photoactivation and H2TMeP after 60 min. The BAV was photo-inactivated by both porphyrins at 180 min of white-light exposition. CuTMeP, NiTMeP, and CoClTMeP porphyrins had weak virucidal activity against BoHV-1 and MnClTMeP showed no virucidal activity against both viruses. These results indicated that free-base H2TMeP and ZnTMeP porphyrins present virucidal activity against non-enveloped and enveloped viruses, opening the possibility for their use to inactivate viruses on surfaces, biological substrates, and solutions.

Water soluble porphyrin as optical sensor for the toxic heavy metal ions in an aqueous medium.

Here we report the photophysical and sensing properties of the aqueous solution of meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphyrin toluene sulfonate (TMPP) for simultaneous detection of toxic metal ions in an aqueous medium by using different physiochemical methods such as UV-vis absorption, steady state and time resolved fluorescence, stopped flow, and cyclic voltammetry. The steady-state absorption and fluorescence spectra in organic solvents (EtOH, DMSO, DMF, MeOH and ACN) showed the formation of monomer form (λmaxabs=426nm and λmaxflu=654 and 715nm). In THF and water, different spectral features were recorded suggested the formation of aggregated forms in both solvents. The formation of aggregated form in water was confirmed by recording the remarkable fluorescence quenching of the singlet excited TMPP with increasing the concentrations of TMPP. In cationic micelles (CTAB), both the absorption and fluorescence spectra were significantly decreased with increasing the concentrations of CTAB with a break at CMC value at 6.0×10-5M. In an anionic micelle (SDS), the CMC value was found to be 1.0×10-4M. Upon interacting with different metal ions, the absorption and fluorescence spectra of TMPP showed different features depending on the metal ions. While the optical studies of TMPP showed no significant interaction in the presence of Mn+2, Co+2, Ba2+, and Ni+2, TMPP showed that it can function as a single optical chemical sensor for the toxic metal ions in water, particularly Hg+2, Pb+2, Cu+2, and Cd+2 ions.

Electron Spin Relaxation of Photoexcited Porphyrin in Water-Glycerol Glass.

Recently, the photoexcited triplet state of porphyrin was proposed as a promising spin-label for pulsed dipolar electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Herein, we report the factors that determine the electron spin echo dephasing of the photoexcited porphyrin in a water–glycerol matrix. The electron spin relaxation of a water-soluble porphyrin was measured by Q-band EPR, and the temperature dependence and the effect of solvent deuteration on the relaxation times were studied. The phase memory relaxation rate (1/Tm) is noticeably affected by solvent nuclei and is substantially faster in protonated solvents than in deuterated solvents. The Tm is as large as 13–17 μs in deuterated solvent, potentially expanding the range of distances available for measurement by dipole spectroscopy with photoexcited porphyrin. The 1/Tm depends linearly on the degree of solvent deuteration and can be used to probe the environment of a porphyrin in or near a biopolymer, including the solvent accessibility of porphyrins used in photodynamic therapy. We characterized the noncovalent binding of porphyrin to human serum albumin (HSA) from 1/Tm and electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) and found that porphyrin is quite exposed to solvent on the surface of HSA. The 1/Tm and ESEEM are equally effective and provide complementary methods to determine the solvent accessibility of a porphyrin bound to protein or to determine the location of the porphyrin.

Controlling J-Aggregates Formation and Chirality Induction through Demetallation of a Zinc(II) Water Soluble Porphyrin.

Under acidic conditions and at high ionic strength, the zinc cation is removed from its metal complex with 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS4) thus leading to the diacid free porphyrin, that subsequently self-organize into J-aggregates. The kinetics of the demetallation step and the successive supramolecular assembly formation have been investigated as a function of pH and ionic strength (controlled by adding ZnSO4). The demetallation kinetics obey to a rate law that is first order in [ZnTPPS4] and second order in [H+], according to literature, with k2 = 5.5 ± 0.4 M−2 s−1 at 298 K (IS = 0.6 M, ZnSO4). The aggregation process has been modeled according to an autocatalytic growth, where after the formation of a starting seed containing m porphyrin units, the rate evolves as a power of time. A complete analysis of the extinction time traces at various wavelengths allows extraction of the relevant kinetic parameters, showing that a trimer or tetramer should be involved in the rate-determining step of the aggregation. The extinction spectra of the J-aggregates evidence quite broad bands, suggesting an electronic coupling mechanism different to the usual Frenkel exciton coupling. Resonance light scattering intensity in the aggregated samples increases with increasing both [H+] and [ZnSO4]. Symmetry breaking occurs in these samples and the J-aggregates show circular dichroism spectra with unusual bands. The asymmetry g-factor decreases in its absolute value with increasing the catalytic rate kc, nulling and eventually switching the Cotton effect from negative to positive. Some inferences on the role exerted by zinc cations on the kinetics and structural features of these nanostructures have been discussed.

Determination of the iridium micro-concentrations using a kinetic catalytic method

The catalytic effect of iridium on the oxidation of water-soluble porphyrin — 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-sulfonatophenyl) porphin (TSPP) with sodium periodate is studied for the first time. A method for determination of the iridium micro-content by the catalytic effect of iridium on the oxidation of water-soluble porphyrin 5,10,15,20-tetrakis (4-sulfonatophenyl) porphin with sodium periodate in a flow-injection system is developed. The lower limit of the determined iridium concentrations is 0.2 × 10–5 μg/ml (P = 0.95), which is lower than that for the methods described in the literature. Optimal conditions for determination have been specified: pH 3; concentration of the reagents in the flows of a given hydraulic mixing scheme 0.5 × 10–5 M TSPP and 0.15 M NaIO4; room temperature for the indicator reaction. A linear calibration characteristic was obtained under chosen optimal conditions in the range of iridium concentrations (0.2 – 2.0) × 10 – 5 μg/ml. The effect of the elements accompanying iridium in industrial and natural materials was studied. Molar excesses of platinum and non-ferrous metals do not interfere with iridium determination: 20-fold Rh (III); 15-fold Pt (IV) and Fe (II); and 20-fold molar excess of Ni (II). Correctness of the results is confirmed by spike recovery tests on model iridium-containing solutions. Sr of the results of iridium determination under selected conditions at n = 3, P = 0.95 on model solutions is no more than 0.04. A comparison of the obtained results with literature data showed that the main advantages of the proposed method for iridium determination are room temperature of the reaction, more simple hardware design and lower limit of the iridium determination.

Visible light promoted porphyrin-based metal-organic adduct

Supramolecular adducts formed by a commercial porphyrin derivative and silver nanoparticles have been obtained using exclusively light as an external trigger that is able to promote the formation of the plasmonic nanostructures. In particular, a water-soluble porphyrin, i.e. tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin, has been used. It has been thoroughly characterized by means of UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy in order to explain its peculiar behavior when illumined with visible photons. Herein we demonstrate that, by means of light illumination, it is possible to tune the porphyrin aggregation state. Furthermore, when the monomeric form of the organic macrocycle is induced and a controlled amount of AgNO[Formula: see text] is simultaneously dissolved, it is possible to promote the formation of silver nanostructures using visible light. The proposed approach allowed porphyrin derivatives/Ag nanoparticles hybrid nanostructures to be obtained without using a chemical reducing agent: the porphyrin derivative simultaneously acts as reducing agent when irradiated by visible light and as a capping agent for the silver nanostructures. The organic/inorganic adduct was characterized by means of steady-state fluorescence that highlights a strong energetic or electronic communication between the two species. XRD and SEM investigations evidence that silver nanoparticles are formed without using any reducing agent.

Electrochemistry and Spectroscopy of Tri- and Tetracationic Porphyrins

Water-soluble cationic porphyrins have been shown to possess promising therapeutic potential, through biochemical processes. which depend on solubility as well as the extent of aggregation. under biological conditions. These properties are influenced by a multitude of factors the most important of which are the number of positively charged meso-substituents, the type of counteranion, the central metal ion and the solvent. We have previously investigated mono- di- and tetra-methylpyridyl porphyrins with mainly Cl- counterions and we now turn our attention to trisubstituted derivatives of the type shown at the bottom of the figure. These six new tricationic porphyrins represented as [(TriMPyP)M]3+X- 3 (where M = 2H, ZnII or PdII and X- = Cl- or Tosyl-) containing three N-methyl-4-pyridyl groups and chloride or tosylate counteranions were electrochemically and spectroscopically characterized for the first time. The physicochemical properties of the [(TriMPyP)M]3+X- 3 complexes were compared, under the same solution conditions, to several free base and metal tetracationic porphyrins shown at the top of the figure and represented as [(TMPyP)M]4+X- 4 (where M = 2H, MnIII, FeIII, CoII, ZnII or PdII). Figure 1

Synthesis of Water-Soluble Thioglycosylated trans-A2B2 Type Porphyrins: Cellular Uptake Studies and Photodynamic Efficiency.

The synthesis of water-soluble thioglycosylated A2B2 type porphyrins and their zinc(II) complexes is reported. The water-soluble trans-A2B2 porphyrins were synthesized in two steps, via [2+2] condensation between thioglycosylated dipyrromethanes and aromatic aldehydes in 15-21% yields. The thioglycosylated trans-A2B2 porphyrins showed decent in vitro singlet oxygen generation, which was supported by the intracellular DCFDA study. The in vitro cellular investigations of thioglycosylated A2B2 porphyrins were carried out in lung cancer cells (A549) to test their photodynamic therapeutic (PDT) activity. The PDT study revealed significant cytotoxicities of porphyrins with IC50 values between 23.3 and 44.2 μM in the dark, whereas, after visible light exposure, the photosensitizers exhibited IC50 values around 11.1-23.8 μM. The water-soluble thioglycosylated zinc(II) porphyrins having two meso-N-butylcarbazole groups exhibited an excellent degree of photocytotoxicity (IC50 = 4.6-8.8 μM). The flow cytometry analysis revealed that cellular uptake and ROS (reactive oxygen species) generation efficiency of water-soluble thioglycosylated zinc(II) porphyrins were considerably higher than nonmetalated porphyrins. Confocal microscopy images displayed substantial distribution in the endoplasmic reticulum with partial colocalization in mitochondria and lysosomes of water-soluble thioglycosylated zinc(II) porphyrins in A549 cells.

Electrochemical properties and biomimetic activity of water-soluble meso-substituted Mn(III) porphyrin complexes in the electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide

The aim of this study was to investigate biomimetic activity of water-soluble manganese porphyrin complexes with a series of meso-substituents of the porphyrin macrocycle in the electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide in aqueous solutions and to obtain information on possible intermediates, processes, and mechanisms. Mn porphyrins were compared in the process of the electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide at pH 4, 7.4, and 10 in the deoxygenated solutions and in the presence of oxygen. The highest sensitivity, defined as the reduction current increase in relation to the concentration of hydrogen peroxide, was found in the case of Mn(III) meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl) porphyrin, MnTMPyP, in alkaline 2.9·10−2 A M−1 and acidic 1.6·10−2 A M−1 solutions in the presence of oxygen. The reduction currents at pH 7.4, 10, and 4 in the presence of H2O2 were about 4, 7, and 12 times higher, respectively, in the solutions with the MnTMPyP complex than those at a GCE without a porphyrin complex in the solution. The electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide occurs in parallel with an oxidative degradation of the porphyrin catalyst depending on the conditions of the experiment and was most significant in the presence of oxygen. The effect of the functional substituents at the meso-positions of a porphyrin ligand on the electrocatalytic activity of the water-soluble Mn(III) porphyrins complexes is discussed and reaction mechanisms are proposed.

Water Soluble Porphyrin for the Fluorescent Determination of Cadmium Ions.

Porphyrins are highly conjugated molecules that perform wide variety of functions in biological systems. They absorb strongly in the visible region and they are excellent fluorophores that emit in the visible region. If the meso or β positions of porphyrins are properly substituted, emission in the NIR region is facilitated. The fluorescence property of porphyrins can be used in sensing applications. Here, we report the synthesis of a water soluble porphyrin that emits in the NIR region and this molecule is used in the fluorescent determination of cadmium ion, which is an environmental pollutant and affects the health of living organisms adversely. 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)porphyrin (THMPP), which is water soluble was synthesised from 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)porphyrin (TMPP) by partial demethylation, which in turn was synthesized by mixture acid method. The donor-acceptor interaction of THMPP-Cd2+ system displays a dynamic fluorescence quenching through the electron transfer (ET) mechanism. Developed method showed a linear response toward Cd2+ in the concentration range of 0.25μM to 2μM. The limit of detection was found to be 0.1499μM. THMPP exhibited excellent selectivity towards Cd (II) in presence of other metal ions like Hg2+, Mn2+, Mg2+, Co2+ in 1:100, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ni2+ in 1:10 and Na+, K+ in 1:1M ratio.

Colorimetric and fluorescent on-off detection of Cu2+, Sn2+ and Zn2+ by a water-soluble porphyrin: Electronic absorption and emission study

The strong light absorption behavior and high emission property of porphyrins and their derivatives permit the potential detection of various transition metal ions through binding to the porphyrin core. Here in we report the colorimetric and fluorescent enhancement and fluorescent turn-off detection of Sn2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+ by using a simple water-soluble porphyrin (TPPS) as molecular sensor. The porphyrin sensor displayed different electronic absorption pattern, fluorescent emission behavior and color change up on interacting with Sn2+, Zn2+ and Cu2+ in aqueous solution at room temperature. Interestingly, TPPS showed higher selectivity toward Cu2+ than Sn2+ and Zn2+ ions. Treating aqueous solution of TPPS with a mixture of Sn2+ and Zn2+ ions showed better selectivity for Sn2+ than Zn2+ ion. On the other hand, the electronic absorption pattern and emission behavior of TPPS showed no change at all up on addition of aqueous solution of the rest cations under study (Co2+, Ca2+, Na+, Ag+, Mn2+, Pb2+, Fe3+, Cd2+, Ni2+, NH4+). This may be attributed to unique electronic behavior of the metal ion and ionic radius. The study shows the possibility of molecular based selective metal ion detection in aqueous solution. The selectivity and fluorescence on-off detection may be attributed to the size of metal ions to easily incorporate into porphyrin core, paramagnetic nature of metal ions, conformational rigidity after complexation and inhibition of PET (Photoinduced Electron Transfer) quenching pathways. The study has been successfully applied to effective detection of metal ion from discharged tannery effluent collected from Bahir Dar Tannery before treatment.

Non-aggregated lipophilic water-soluble tin porphyrins as photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy and photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy

Readily-synthesized water-soluble Sn(iv) tetrapyridylporphyrin dyes have been prepared which exhibit enhanced properties for use as photosensitizer dyes in biomedical applications.

Visible-light-driven CO2 reduction to formate with a system of water-soluble zinc porphyrin and formate dehydrogenase in ionic liquid/aqueous media.

Visible-light-driven CO2 reduction to formate with a system consisting of water-soluble zinc tetraphenylporphyrin tetrasulfonate (ZnTPPS), formate dehydrogenase from Candida boidinii (CbFDH) and methylviologen (MV) in the presence of triethanolamine (TEOA) as an electron donor in an ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dimethyl phosphate ([EMlm][Me2PO4])/aqueous media was investigated. The catalytic activity of CbFDH for formate oxidation to CO2 and CO2 reduction to formate did not decrease significantly even in [EMlm][Me2PO4]/aqueous media, compared with that in aqueous media. The visible-light-driven MV reduction by the photosensitization of ZnTPPS in [EMlm][Me2PO4]/aqueous media proceeds more efficiently than in the aqueous media system. In the visible-light-driven CO2 reduction to formate system of ZnTPPS, MV and CbFDH with [EMlm][Me2PO4]/aqueous media, moreover, the formate production concentration after 180 min decreased by only 20% as compared with the system in aqueous media.

Recent advances in the field of artificial hemoproteins: New efficient eco-compatible biocatalysts for nitrene-, oxene- and carbene-transfer reactions

In the last few years, the field of artificial hemoproteins has been expanding through two main strategies involving either the incorporation of synthetic metalloporphyrin derivatives into the chiral cavity of a protein or the directed evolution of natural hemoproteins such as myoglobin and cytochromes P450. First, various synthetic water-soluble porphyrins including ions of transition metals such as iron and manganese have been inserted covalently or by supramolecular anchoring into non-specifically designed native proteins or into proteins modified by a minimum number of mutations. The obtained artificial hemoproteins were able to catalyze oxene transfer reactions such as epoxidation of alkenes or sulfoxidation of sulfides and cyclopropanation reactions with good activities and moderate enantioselectivities. Recently, a second approach, based on the design of the active site of already existing native hemoproteins such as myoglobin and cytochromes P450 by directed evolution, has led to new artificial hemoproteins that are able to catalyze oxene transfer reactions with improved activities as well as with abiological reactions. This approach thus provided promising tools for the catalysis of reactions such as intramolecular or intermolecular carbene and nitrene transfer reactions with high efficiencies. In addition, in all cases, after a few rounds of mutagenesis, mutants that were able to catalyze those reactions with a high enantioselectivity could be obtained. Finally, several groups showed that these new artificial metalloenzymes could also be used for the preparative scale-production of compounds with an excellent enantioselectivity, opening new pathways for the industrial synthesis of compounds of pharmaceutical interest.

Association behavior and fluorescence quenching between cationic zinc porphyrin pendant groups on water-soluble polymers and anionic iron porphyrin guests

An amphiphilic cationic tripyridiniumylporphyrin monomer, i.e., ZnTrMPyP, was synthesized and copolymerized with acrylamide in water and dimethyl sulfoxide, respectively, to prepare the water-soluble random copolymer P-D and microblock copolymer P-W. The association behavior and fluorescence quenching between the copolymers and tetra(p-sulfonato phenyl)porphyrin (Fe(III)TSPP(Cl)) were studied via absorption and emission spectra. The results showed that relatively discrete pendant groups of ZnTrMPyP within P-D could form a ground state complex with FeTSPP by electrostatic interactions, and both static and dynamic mechanisms were active in this quenching process. In contrast, the microblock porphyrin pendant groups within P-W interacted with FeTSPP as an entity, and static quenching was dominant in this process. Salt effects on the formation of the copolymers and FeTSPP complex were also investigated through the addition of KNO3, and the results showed that this association can be weakened by the electrostatic shielding effect, and the fluorescence quenching constant could be reduced.

Spectroscopic study of porphyrin self-assembly: Role of pH, time, and chiral template.

In this study, we performed an ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic analysis of the binary and ternary supramolecular structures formed by self-assembling the following three water-soluble porphyrins with and without a chiral template: the negatively charged, meso-Tetra(4-sulfonatophenyl) porphine (H2 TPPS4- ); the positively charged meso-trans-(di(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)diphenyl) porphine (trans-DmPyDPP) and meso-cis-(di(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)diphenyl) porphine (cis-DmPyDPP). Polyglutamic acid (both L and D enantiomers) was selected as the chiral template due to its ability to change secondary structure with pH. The propensity for the porphyrins to show an induced CD in the presence of polyglutamic acid is demonstrated. The induced chirality of all supramolecular structures was found to depend on the pH of the solution, the chirality of the polymer, and the order of addition of the positively and negatively charged porphyrins (for ternary complexes). Of particular interest is that the interaction of H2 TPPS4- with the chiral scaffold seems to undergo a dynamic rearrangement of the supramolecular structure as evident from the change in the CD spectrum over time. Moreover, experiments with ternary complexes suggest that the preferential interaction of trans-DmPyDPP with the random coil of the polymer shows promise as a sensor of protein secondary structure.

Copper (II) complexes modified with water-soluble porphyrin and various small molecules ligand for DNA binding and potential selectivity antitumor agents

Many strategies have been used in treatment of cancer, but currently the chemotherapy is still the main force, unfortunately, general agents exhibit inevitable toxicity and inferior selectivity. Therefore, less toxic and high selectivity anticancer reagents have been extensively sought and developed. Here we report a series of Copper (II) complexes CuP1~CuP5 which have good biological activities. Due to the influence of the molecular size, CuP1 displayed the strongest bound with ct-DNA. All of the complexes show positive anticancer activities toward A549, H1975, HepG2 and T47D cancer cells. Additionally, flow cytometry experiments indicated that complexe CuP2 arrest cell cycles at S and G2 phase and mitochondrial membrane potential tests were also performed to explore the mechanism of action. Our findings disclosed that this type of complex represents a potent platform for development of metal anticancer drugs.