Copper(I)-Phosphine Polypyridyl Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, DNA/HSA Binding Study, and Antiproliferative...

A series of copper(I)-phosphine polypyridyl complexes have been investigated as potential antitumor agents. The complexes [Cu(PPh₃)₂dpq]NO₃ (2), [Cu(PPh₃)₂dppz]NO₃ (3), [Cu(PPh₃)₂dppa]NO₃ (4), and [Cu(PPh₃)₂dppme]NO₃ (5) were synthesized by the reaction of [Cu(PPh₃)₂NO₃] with the respective planar ligand under mild conditions. These copper complexes were fully characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, FAB-MS, and NMR, UV-vis, and IR spectroscopies. Interactions between these copper(I)-phosphine polypyridyl complexes and DNA have been investigated using various spectroscopic techniques and analytical methods, such as UV-vis titrations, thermal denaturation, circular dichroism, viscosity measurements, gel electrophoresis, and competitive fluorescent intercalator displacement assays. The results of our studies suggest that these copper(I) complexes interact with DNA in an intercalative way. Furthermore, their high protein binding affinities toward human serum albumin were determined by fluorescence studies. Additionally, cytotoxicity analyses of all complexes against several tumor cell lines (human breast, MCF-7; human lung, A549; and human prostate, DU-145) and non-tumor cell lines (Chinese hamster lung, V79-4; and human lung, MRC-5) were performed. The results revealed that copper(I)-phosphine polypyridyl complexes are more cytotoxic than the corresponding planar ligand and also showed to be more active than cisplatin. A good correlation was observed between the cytostatic activity and lipophilicity of the copper(I) complexes studied here.