A novel benzothiazole-based mononuclear platinum(II) complex displaying potent antiproliferative activity in HepG-2 cells via mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis.

A novel mononuclear platinum(II) complex, [Pt(L-H)Cl] (1, where L= N-(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenyl)-2-((2-pyridylmethyl)(2-hydroxyethyl)-amino)acetamide), was obtained by covalently tethering a benzothiazole derivative 2-(4-aminophenyl)benzothiazole to the 2-pyridylmethyl-2-hydroxyethylamine chelating PtII center. In vitro tests indicated that complex 1 displayed excellent antiproliferative activity against the tested cancer cell lines, especially liver cancer HepG-2 and SMMC-7221 cells. Importantly, the complex possessed 4.33-fold higher antiproliferative activity as compared with cisplatin against HepG-2 cells, but was less toxic to the normal cell line L02 with the selectivity index (SI = IC50(L02)/IC50(HepG-2)) value of 8.36 compared to cisplatin (SI, 1.40). The results suggested that 1 might have the potential to act as a candidate for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Cellular uptake and distribution studies showed that 1 could effectively pass through the membrane of cells, enter the nuclei and mitochondria, induce the platination of cellular DNA. The interaction of 1 with CT-DNA demonstrated that 1 could effectively bind to DNA in a dual binding mode, i.e., the intercalation of the 2-(4-aminophenyl)benzothiazole unit plus monofunctional platination of the platinum(II) moiety. In addition, Hoechst 33342 staining and flow cytometry analysis illustrated that 1 arrested the cell cycle in HepG-2 cancer cells at G2/M phases, induced mitochondrial membrane depolarization, increased ROS generation, and caused obvious cell apoptosis. Further cellular mechanism studies elucidated that 1 triggered HepG-2 cell apoptosis via the mitochondrial-mediated pathway by upregulating the gene and protein expression levels of Bax, downregulating the gene and protein expression levels of Bcl-2, and activating the caspase cascade.

A novel star-shaped trinuclear platinum(II) complex based on a 1,3,5-triazine core displaying potent antiproliferative activity against TNBC by the mitochondrial injury and DNA damage mechanism.

Polynuclear platinum(II) complexes represent a class of great prospective Pt-based antitumor drugs that may expand the antitumor spectrum and overcome the clinical problems of drug resistance and side effects of platinum-based drugs. Herein, a novel star-shaped trinuclear platinum(II) complex [Pt3(L-3H)Cl3] (1, L = 2,4,6-tris[(2-hydroxybenzyl)(2-pyridylmethyl)amine]-1,3,5-triazine) and its monomer [Pt(L'-H)Cl] (2, L' = (2-hydroxybenzyl)(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) were synthesized and characterized. The in vitro antiproliferative activities of complexes 1 and 2 against a panel of human cancer cell lines including MDA-MB-231 (triple-negative breast cancer, TNBC), MCF-7 (breast), HepG-2 (liver), and A549 (lung) were investigated. The results revealed that 1 exhibited much higher antiproliferative properties than its monomer 2 against the tested cell lines. Importantly, 1 possessed 3.3-fold higher antiproliferative activity as compared with cisplatin against the TNBC cell line MDA-MB-231. Another TNBC cell line MDA-MB-468 is also sensitive to 1. The results indicated that 1 might have the potential to act as a candidate for the treatment of TNBC. Cellular uptake and distribution studies showed that 1 could pass through the membrane of cells and enter into cells and mainly accumulate in the nuclei and mitochondria. 1 could bind to DNA in a cooperative groove-electrostatic-platinating binding mode and induce stronger DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and damaging effects on MDA-MB-231 than cisplatin (upregulation of γ-H2AX). Moreover, the DNA damage could not be easily repaired (upregulation of p53), which would exert a much positive influence on the overcoming of drug resistance. Additionally, flow cytometry studies showed that 1 arrested the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase, induced mitochondrial membrane depolarization, increased ROS generation, and induced cell apoptosis. The results demonstrated that 1 could target simultaneously mitochondria and nuclei that gave rise to mitochondrial injury and DNA damage and ultimately efficiently promote the apoptotic death of tumor cells. Further mechanistic studies showed that 1 induced MDA-MB-231 cell apoptosis via the p53-mediated mitochondrial pathway by upregulating Bax and cytochrome c and downregulating Bcl-2 proteins, leading to the activation of caspase-3 and upregulation of the cleaved-PARP level. Taken together, 1 with such a synergic mechanism has great potential to be an effective anticancer agent that can overcome treatment resistance in TNBC.

Tracing the ionic evolution during ILG induced phase transformation in strontium cobaltite thin films.

Ionic liquid gating (ILG) that drives the ions incorporate into or extract from the crystal lattice, has emerged as a new pathway to design materials. Although many intriguing emergent phenomena, novel physical properties and functionalities have been obtained, the gating mechanism governing the ion and charge transport remains unexplored. Here, by using the model system of brownmillerite SrCoO2.5 and the corresponding electric-field controlled tri-state phase transformation among the pristine SrCoO2.5, hydrogenated HSrCoO2.5 and oxidized perovskite SrCoO3-δ through the dual ion switch, the ionic diffusion and electronic transport processes were carefully investigated. Through controlling gating experiment by design, we find out that the collaborative interaction between charge transport and ion diffusion plays an essential role to prompt the hydrogen or oxygen ions incorporate into the crystal lattice of SrCoO2.5, and therefore leading to formation of new phases. At region closer to the electrode, the electron can shuttle more readily in (out) the material, correspondingly the incorporation of hydrogen (oxygen) ions and phase transformation is largely affiliated. With the compensated charge of electron as well as the reaction front gradually moving away from the electrode, the new phases would be developed successively across the entire thin film. This result unveils the underlying mechanism in the electric-field control of ionic incorporation and extraction, and therefore provides important strategy to achieve high efficient design of material functionalities in complex oxide materials.

DNA cleavage, DNA/HSA binding study, and antiproliferative activity of a phenolate-bridged binuclear copper(II) complex.

A novel phenolate-bridged binuclear copper(II) complex, [Cu 2II (L-3H)Cl] (1, where L = 2,6-bis[((2-hydroxybenzyl)(2-pyridylmethyl)amino)methyl]-4-methylphenol), have been synthesized and characterized. The antiproliferative activity of the complex has been tested in vitro against the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa, human non-small-cell lung cancer cell line A-549, the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, and the human hepatic cell line LO2. The results show the complex has the low micromolar range (9.4-11.2 µM) of IC50 values towards the three cancer cell lines, which is markedly comparable to those of cisplatin. However 1 exhibited 10.6-fold less toxicity than cisplatin toward normal cells LO2, suggesting that complex 1 had high selectivity between tumor cells and normal cells. The interactions with DNA were investigated by UV-Vis absorption, fluorescence, circular dichroism, and gel electrophoresis. The results show that the copper(II) complex could strongly bind to DNA mainly by the groove binding mode and efficiently cleave the pBR322 plasmid DNA into its nicked and linear forms in the presence of excessive ascorbic acid. In addition, the evaluation of the protein binding ability shows that complex 1 could bind to human serum albumin (HSA) with a moderate binding affinity and quench the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA.

Affinity of a mononuclear monofunctional anticancer Pt(II) complex to human serum albumin: a spectroscopic approach.

The interaction of a mononuclear monofunctional anticancer Pt(II) complex, [PtLCl]Cl (L = 4'-bis(pyridine-2-ylmethyl)amino-2-phenylbenzothiazole) (1), and human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated under physiological conditions using UV­Vis absorption, circular dichroism, fluorescence, and synchronous fluorescence. The experimental results suggested that the Pt(II) complex could bind to HSA, induce conformation and microenvironmental changes of HSA with a moderate binding affinity, and quench the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA through a static quenching mechanism. The thermodynamic parameters, ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°, calculated at different temperatures, indicated that the binding reaction was spontaneous and hydrophobic forces and π­π stacking played major roles in the association. Based on the number of binding sites, it was considered that one molecule of complex 1 could bind to a single site of HSA. In view of the results of site marker competition experiments, the reactive site of HSA to complex 1 mainly located in subdomain IIA (site I). Moreover, the binding distance, r, between donor (HSA) and acceptor (complex 1) was 4.69 nm according to Förster nonradiation energy transfer theory. The present study provides relevant and useful information that can be used for the design and application of mononuclear monofuctional Pt(II) complexes in biomedical sciences.

Study on the interaction between a water-soluble dinuclear nickel complex and bovine serum albumin by spectroscopic techniques.

The interaction of a water-soluble dinuclear nickel(II) complex, [Ni2(EGTB)(CH3CN)4](ClO4)4·4H2O (EGTB = ethylene glycol-bis(ß-aminoethyl ether) N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-benzimidazoyl)) (1), and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated under physiological conditions using fluorescence, synchronous fluorescence, UV-vis absorption and circular dichroism (CD). The experimental results suggested that the nickel(II) complex could bind to BSA with binding constant (K) ~ 10(4) M(-1) and quench the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA through a static quenching mechanism. The thermodynamic parameters, ΔG°, ΔH°, and ΔS°, calculated at different temperatures, indicated that the binding reaction was spontaneous and electrostatic interactions played a major role in this association. Based on the number of binding sites, it was considered that one molecule of complex 1 could bind to a single site or two sites of the BSA molecule or the two binding modes coexisted. In view of the results of site marker competition experiments, the reactive sites of BSA to complex 1 mainly located in subdomain IIA (site I) and subdomain IIIA (site II) of BSA. Moreover, the binding distance, r, between donor (BSA) and acceptor (complex 1) was 5.13 nm according to Förster nonradiation energy transfer theory. Finally, as shown by the UV-vis absorption, synchronous fluorescence and CD, complex 1 could induce conformation and microenvironmental changes of BSA. The results obtained herein will be of biological significance in toxicology investigation and anticancer metallodrug design.

Systematic characterization on electronic structures and spectra for a series of complexes, M(IDB)Cl2 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn): a theoretical study.

Theoretical studies on the coordination stabilities, spectra and DNA-binding trend for the series of metal-varied complexes, M(IDB)Cl2 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn; IDB = N, N-bis(2-benzimidazolylmethyl) amine), have been carried out by using the DFT/B3LYP method and PCM model. The calculated coordination stabilities (S) for these complexes present a trend of S(Ni) > S(Co) > S(Fe) > S(Cu) > S(Zn) > S(Mn). It has been estimated from the molecular orbital energies of the complexes that the DNA-binding affinities (A) of the complexes are in the order of A(Zn) < A(Mn) < A(Fe) approximately A(Co) < A(Ni) < A(Cu). The studied results indicate that the Cu, Ni and Co complexes with large coordination stabilities present the low virtual orbitals, consequently yielding to the favorable DNA-binding affinities. The spectral properties of excitation energies and oscillator strengths for M(IDB)Cl2 in the ultraviolet region were calculated by TD-DFT/B3LYP method.

Selective guanosine binding and cytotoxicity of a benzimidazole derived dinickel complex.

A water-soluble dinickel(II) complex of ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-benzimidazoyl) (EGTB) was synthesized and fully characterized. The complex crystallizes in a monoclinic system with space group P2(1)/c, a=10.125(1)A, b=28.393(3)A, c=11.026(1)A, and beta=98.966(2) degrees. The hexa-coordinated nickel(II) centers in the centrosymmetric complex adopt a distorted octahedron geometry. The complex binds to purine nucleotides covalently and shows a clear preference for guanosine-5'-monophosphate (5'-GMP) over adenosine-5'-monophosphate (5'-AMP). Its binding to calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) induces a remarkable conformational variation. The cytotoxic activity of the complex was tested against diverse cell lines including human leukemic cell line U937, macrophage cell line Raw 264.7, human cervical cancer cell line Hela, and human hepatocytes cell line L02. The complex shows a significant inhibition against U937 and Raw 264.7 but little inhibition against Hela and L02.

Crystal structure and catecholase-like activity of a mononuclear complex [Cu(EDTB)]2+ (EDTB=N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2'-benzimidazolyl methyl)-1,2-ethanediamine).

The crystal structure and catecholase-like activity of a mononuclear complex, Cu(EDTB)(NO3)2.C2H5OH (here EDTB stands N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2'-benzimidazolyl methyl)-1,2-ethanediamine) has been studied in comparison with a binuclear complex Cu2(EDTB)(NO3)4.3H2O. The results show that the reactive rate constants increase with increases of reaction temperature and pH value of intermediate. Electrospray ionization mass spectrum (ESI-MS) shows that tautomerism isomers of catechol with the title complex exist in reaction solution, and catechol is oxidized to quinone, then it is further oxidized resulting in muconic acid and its derivatives via an intradiol mechanism, just like that catalyzed by a mononuclear non-heme iron-containing dioxygenase.