Enantiomeric specificity of biologically significant Cu(II) and Zn(II) chromone complexes towards DNA

A comprehensive review on the development of chiral Cu, Ni, and Zn complexes as pharmaceutical agents over the past decades: Synthesis, molecular structure and biological activity

Chirality is a fundamental and widespread geometric structural property in living organisms that most biomacromolecules including nucleic acids, proteins and enzymes, possess. Consequently, the development of chiral drugs capable of binding specific targets have gradually gained wide attention in recent decades due to their selective effects on a broad spectrum of biological events ranging from cell metabolism to cell fate. In this context, the synthesis of chiral compounds as promising therapeutic candidates has assumed a major role in drug discovery. Among them, chiral metal complexes have attracted considerable interest due to their unique and intriguing structural features that could enable overcoming side effects and drug-resistance phenomena of metal-based drugs currently in the market such as cisplatin. In the current scenario, an in-depth overview of non-platinum chiral complexes needs to be presented and carried forward. Therefore, in this perspective article, an update of the scientific development of bioactive chiral copper, zinc and nickel complexes have been reported since they have not been thoroughly reviewed so far. Specifically, we focused the article mainly on metal complexes containing chiral ligands (type 2 chirality) as in literature they are more numerous than those with chirality at the metal center (type 1 chirality). Herein, not only their biological activity but also their mechanism of action is summarized. Furthermore, in the final section of the article we have highlighted copper-based complexes as those with a superior biological activity profile and greater prospects for development as a drug.

Degradation of extracellular antibiotic resistance gene through singlet oxygen produced by carbon nanotubes-activated persulfate

Extracellular antibiotic resistance gene (eARG) has emerged as a global crisis in recent years, yet commonly used disinfectants have proven ineffective for their elimination. Seeking to enhance the degradation efficiency of eARG, this study explored the potential of carbon nanotubes-activated persulfate (CNTs + PS) system as a novel method for eradicating eARG. Our findings demonstrated that CNTs + PS effectively disrupted the intact structure of eARG, inhibited their genetic replication and horizontal transfer capability, achieving remarkable degradation of eARG contamination. Further experiments revealed that 1O2 played a predominant role in eARG degradation, while electron transfer played minor roles in the degradation process. The carbonyl groups served as the primary sites for activating PS to generate 1O2. CNTs can enhance the efficiency of electron transfer from eARG to PS. Moreover, the degradation efficacy of eARG by CNTs + PS was influenced by various factors including the dosage ratio between CNTs and PS, initial concentrations of eARG, pH values, inorganic anions and humic substances and water matrix. Reusability experiment demonstrated that CNTs + PS exhibited stable degradation performance after multiple uses. These findings offer a new perspective for the efficient degradation of eARG in environmental remediation.

Advances in chromone-based copper(ii) Schiff base complexes: synthesis, characterization, and versatile applications in pharmacology and biomimetic catalysis

Chromones are well known as fundamental structural elements found in numerous natural compounds and medicinal substances. The Schiff bases of chromones have a much wider range of pharmacological applications such as antitumor, antioxidant, anti-HIV, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. A lot of research has been carried out on chromone-based copper(ii) Schiff-base complexes owing to their role in the organometallic domain and promise as potential bioactive cores. This review article is centered on copper(ii) Schiff-base complexes derived from chromones, highlighting their diverse range of pharmacological applications documented in the past decade, as well as the future research opportunities they offer.

Progress of Metal-Based Anticancer Chemotherapeutic Agents in Last two Decades and their Comprehensive Biological (DNA/RNA Binding, Cleavage and Cytotoxicity Activity) Studies

During last two decades, there has been an enormous growth in the discovery of innovative active inorganic anticancer complexes (exerting remarkable cytotoxicity at sub micro-molar levels) derived from myriad ligand scaffolds, mainly acting on cancerous vs healthy cells by either halting or inhibiting their uncontrolled growth. The phenomenal success of cisplatin to treat numerous forms of solid malignancies has placed metal-based drugs to the forefront of treatment strategies against cancers. More than 10,000 platinum anticancer complexes have been developed during the past 40 years, but only five drugs have been approved for usage in humans while ten more complexes are currently undergoing clinical trials. Most of the compounds have failed either at R&D stages or in preclinical trails. This has led to extensive investigations by researchers of medicinal chemistry, including our group to design and prepare tailored 3d-metallo-drugs and organotin(IV) compounds from some naturally occurring bioactive compounds, such as amino-acids, peptides, chromone derivatives and NSAID's etc. that were used either alone or in cocktail combination, capable of specifically targeting DNA, lnc RNAs and proteins. Furthermore, 3d-metal ions such as copper, cobalt and zinc etc. incorporated in these ligand framework are biocompatible and induce a unique multi-modal mechanism of cytotoxic action involving angiogenesis, ROS-induced DNA damage, apoptosis by p53 mitochondrial genes and caspases etc. The results observed a positive correlation between the binding affinity of complexes with DNA (as quantified by intrinsic binding constant values) and their cytotoxic behavior. Complexes with high DNA binding propensity were typically lethal against a diverse panel of malignant cell types compared to normal cells.

Copper Complexes as Anticancer Agents Targeting Topoisomerases I and II

Organometallics, such as copper compounds, are cancer chemotherapeutics used alone or in combination with other drugs. One small group of copper complexes exerts an effective inhibitory action on topoisomerases, which participate in the regulation of DNA topology. Copper complexes inhibitors of topoisomerases 1 and 2 work by different molecular mechanisms, analyzed herein. They allow genesis of DNA breaks after the formation of a ternary complex, or act in a catalytic mode, often display DNA intercalative properties and ROS production, and sometimes display dual effects. These amplified actions have repercussions on the cell cycle checkpoints and death effectors. Copper complexes of topoisomerase inhibitors are analyzed in a broader synthetic view and in the context of cancer cell mutations. Finally, new emerging treatment aspects are depicted to encourage the expansion of this family of highly active anticancer drugs and to expend their use in clinical trials and future cancer therapy.

Enhanced Photodegradation of Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes by Dissolved Organic Matter Photosensitization

Extracellular antibiotic resistance genes (eARGs) contribute to antibiotic resistance, and as such, they pose a serious threat to human health. eARGs, regarded as an emerging contaminant, have been widely detected in various bodies of water. Degradation greatly weakens their distribution potential and environmental risks. Dissolved organic matter (DOM), mainly consisted of humic substances, carbohydrates, and organic acids, is ubiquitous in diverse waters and significantly affects the degradation of coexisting contaminants. However, the photodegradation of eARGs in natural water, especially regarding the roles of DOM in this process, remains unknown. Herein, we investigated the eARGs photodegradation in waters with and without DOM. Illumination has been found to effectively photodegrade eARGs, and this process was significantly enhanced by DOM. Further experiments revealed that photosensitization of DOM produced hydroxyl radicals (^•OH) to enhance plasmid strand breaks and produced singlet oxygen (¹O₂) to accelerate the guanine oxidation, which in turn promoted the photodegradation of plasmid-carried eARGs. Transformation assays indicated that eARGs transformation efficiencies were reduced after their photodegradation. The presence of DOM accelerated the decreases of eARGs transformation efficiencies under illumination. DOM concentration and some ions (e.g., NO₃^-, NO₂^-, HCO₃^-, Br^-, and Fe³⁺) affected ^•OH or ¹O₂ levels, further influencing the photodegradation of eARGs. Overall, eARGs photodegradation in aquatic environments is a crucial process both in the reduction of eARGs concentrations and in transformation efficiencies. This work facilitated us to better understand the fate of eARGs in waters.

An experimental and theoretical study on the interaction of DNA and BSA with novel Ni2+, Cu2+ and VO2+ complexes derived from vanillin bidentate Schiff base ligand

In this investigation, the structure of bidentate N,N-Schiff base ligand of vanillin, (E)-4-(((2-amino-5-nitrophenyl)imino)methyl)-2-methoxyphenol (HL) was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The interaction of new [CuL₂], [NiL₂] and [VOL₂] complexes with DNA and BSA was explored through UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy. The electronic spectra changes displayed an isosbestic point for the complexes upon titration with DNA. The K_b values for the complexes [CuL₂], [NiL₂] and [VOL₂] were 2.4×10⁵, 1.9×10⁵ and 4.2×10⁴, respectively. [CuL₂] complex was bound more toughly than [NiL₂] and [VOL₂] complexes. These complexes had a significant interaction with Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and the results demonstrated that the quenching mechanism was a static procedure. Also, the complexes interacted with BSA by more than one binding site (n>1). Finally, the theoretical studies were performed using the docking method to calculate the binding constants and recognize the binding site of the DNA and BSA with the complexes. The ligand and complexes including Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺ and VO²⁺ ions were colonized by fungal growth.

Synthesis of chiral R/S-pseudopeptide-based Cu(ii) & Zn(ii) complexes for use in targeted delivery for antitumor therapy: enantiomeric discrimination with CT-DNA and pBR322 DNA hydrolytic cleavage mechanism

The detailed mechanism of the hydrolytic cleavage pathway of 1S with pBR322 d DNA and the molecular docked model with DNA are shown below.

Enantiopure copper(II) complex of natural product rosin derivative: DNA binding, DNA cleavage and cytotoxicity

To develop chiral anticancer drug candidates for molecular target DNA, the synthesis and characterization of a novel enantiomerically pure copper(II) complex [Cu 1 Cl ₂ ] (2) of an optically pure ligand N-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene) dehydroabietylamine (1) was carried out. The coordination geometry of the copper center is a distorted square-planar arrangement. The interactions of 1 and 2 with salmon sperm DNA were investigated by viscosity measurements, UV, fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic techniques. All the results reveal that 1 and 2 interacted with DNA through intercalation and 2 exhibited a higher DNA binding ability. Further, 1 and 2 could cleave supercoiled pBR322 DNA by single strand and 2 displayed stronger cleavage ability in the presence of ascorbic acid. In vitro cytotoxicity of 1 and 2 against HeLa, SiHa, HepG-2 and A431 cancer cell lines was studied using CCK-8 assay. The results indicate that 2 had a superior cytotoxicity than 1 and the widely used drug cisplatin under identical conditions. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrates 2 produced death of HeLa cancer cells through an apoptotic pathway. Cell cycle analysis shows that 2 mainly arrested HeLa cells at the S phase. A novel enantiomerically pure copper(II) complex [Cu 1 Cl ₂ ] (2) of an optically pure ligand N-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene) dehydroabietylamine (1), based on natural product rosin has been synthesized. 2 has the potential to act as effective anticancer drug.

Chiral copper(II) complex based on natural product rosin derivative as promising antitumour agent

To evaluate the biological preference of chiral drug candidates for molecular target DNA, the synthesis and characterization of a chiral copper(II) complex (2) of a chiral ligand N,N'-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene) dehydroabietylamine (1) was carried out. The interactions of 1 and 2 with salmon sperm DNA were investigated by viscosity measurements, UV, fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic techniques. Absorption spectral, emission spectral and viscosity analysis reveal that 1 and 2 interacted with DNA through intercalation and 2 exhibited a higher DNA binding ability. In the absence/presence of ascorbic acid, 1 and 2 cleaved supercoiled pBR322 DNA by single-strand and 2 displayed stronger DNA cleavage ability. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity of 1 and 2 against HeLa, SiHa, HepG-2 and A431 cancer cell lines study show that they exhibited effective cytotoxicity against the tested cell lines, notably, 2 showed a superior cytotoxicity than the widely used drug cisplatin under identical conditions, indicating it has the potential to act as effective anticancer drug. Flow cytometry analysis indicates 2 produced death of HeLa cancer cells through an apoptotic pathway. Cell cycle analysis demonstrates that 2 mainly arrested HeLa cells at the S phase. The study represents the first step towards understanding the mode of the promising chiral rosin-derivative based copper complexes as chemotherapeutics.

A multifunctional molecular entity CuII–SnIV heterobimetallic complex as a potential cancer chemotherapeutic agent: DNA binding/cleavage, SOD mimetic, topoisomerase Iα inhibitory and in vitro cytotoxic activities

New chiral l-valine-derived Schiff base complexes with the bioactive heterocyclic ligand scaffold pyrazole (Hpz) were designed and synthesized with a view to find their potential as anticancer chemotherapeutic drug candidates.

In vitro DNA binding, pBR322 plasmid cleavage and molecular modeling study of chiral benzothiazole Schiff-base-valine Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes to evaluate their enantiomeric biological disposition for molecular target DNA

Bicyclic heterocyclic compounds viz. benzothiazoles are key components of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules and participate directly in the encoding of genetic information. Benzothiazoles, therefore, represent a potent and selective class of antitumor compounds. The design and synthesis of chiral antitumor chemotherapeutic agents of Cu(II) and Zn(II), L- and -D benzothiazole Schiff base-valine complexes 1a &b and 2a &b, respectively were carried out and thoroughly characterized by spectroscopic and analytical techniques. Interaction of 1a and b and 2a and b with CT DNA by employing UV-vis, florescence, circular dichroic methods and cleavage studies of 1a with pBR322 plasmid, molecular docking were done in order to demonstrate their enantiomeric disposition toward the molecular drug target DNA. Interestingly, these studies unambiguously demonstrated the greater potency of L-enantiomer in comparison to D-enantiomer.

Chiral heterobimetallic complexes targeting human DNA-topoisomerase Iα

The chiral monometallic Cu(II) (1) and Zn(II) (2) and heterobimetallic Cu(II)-Sn(IV) and Zn(II)-Sn(IV) complexes with tridentate chiral Schiff base -ONO-ligand in the presence of nitrogen donor heterocyclic ligand imidazole; were prepared and characterized by various physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. Preliminary complex-DNA interaction studies employing optical methods revealed that 3 displayed a higher propensity towards the drug target DNA double helix and recommended predominantly an electrostatic mode of interaction as well as a groove binding affinity of the complex with CT-DNA. This was quantified by Kb and KSV values of complexes 1-4, which demonstrated a multifold increase in complex 3 binding to CT DNA and clearly demonstrates its potency to act as a chemotherapeutic agent. Furthermore, the gel electrophoretic patterns of supercoiled pBR322 DNA with varying concentrations of complex 3 exhibits the ability to cleave DNA and follow a freely diffusible radical mechanism. The antiproliferative effects of complex 3 on human hepatoma cancer cells (Huh7) was investigated. Human Topo I inhibition assay by complex 3 was performed and results confirmed significantly good activity at lower concentrations than some of the classical Topo I inhibitors. Additionally, complex 3 was investigated for the expression of MMP-2 and TGF-β by real time PCR. The cellular uptake of complex 3 by HeLa cells was studied by confocal microscopy.