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Lookup NU author(s): Andy Hicks, Dr Eimer TuiteORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Copyright © 2023 Nyong-Bassey, Hicks, Bergin, Tuite, Kozhevnikov and Veuger.Introduction: Ruthenium(II) complexes have emerged recently as candidates for anti-cancer therapy, where activity is related to lipohilicity, cellular localization, and specific interactions with biomolecules. Methods: In this work, two novel complexes were synthesized and are reported based on the [Ru(phen)2(dipyrido[3,2-f:2′,3′-h]quinoxaline]2+ framework. Results: Compared to the parent complex, annealing of cyclopenteno and cyclohexeno rings to the extended ligand substantially increased cytotoxicity towards a number of cancer cell lines, and induced apoptosis. The complexes localize in the nuclei of cancer cells and co-locate with DAPI on DNA. DNA binding studies show that both complexes bind strongly to DNA and one complex intercalates DNA like the parent, whilst the other appears to have multiple modes of interaction. Discussion: It is likely that the increased lipophilicity of the novel complexes is a key factor for increasing their cytotoxicity, rather than their DNA binding mode.
Author(s): Nyong-Bassey EE, Hicks AL, Bergin P, Tuite EM, Kozhevnikov V, Veuger S
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
Year: 2023
Volume: 10
Online publication date: 18/10/2023
Acceptance date: 27/09/2023
Date deposited: 14/11/2023
ISSN (print): 2296-889X
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
URL: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2023.1252285
DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1252285
Data Access Statement: The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.
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