Kumar Arun, Pant Ila, Dixit Akanksha, Banerjee Samya, Banik Bhabatosh, Saha Rupak, Kondaiah Paturu, Chakravarty Akhil R
Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Sir C.V. Raman Avenue, Bangalore 560 012, India.
Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Sir C.V. Raman Avenue, Bangalore 560 012, India.
J Inorg Biochem. 2017 Sep;174:45-54. doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2017.05.015. Epub 2017 May 30.
Oxovanadium(IV) complexes [VO(L/L)Cl] (1,2) of (anthracenyl)terpyridine (An-tpy as L in 1, n=0) and triphenylphosphonium-appended (anthracenyl)terpyridine (An-tpy-TPP as L in 2, n=1) were synthesized, characterized and their DNA crosslinking ability, photocytotoxicity in visible light and cellular localization in cancer cells studied. The bromide derivative of 2, viz. [VO(An-tpy-TPP)Br]Br (3) is structurally characterized. The structure showed trans disposition of two halides in the coordination sphere and the TPP unit is a pendant to the terpyridyl ligand. The DNA melting and comet assay studies on the complexes suggest the formation of DNA crosslinks. Complexes 1 and 2 displayed ~10 fold increase in cytotoxicity on exposure to visible light (400-700nm) when compared to those in dark in HeLa and MCF-7 cells. FACScan (Fluorescence Associated Cell Sorter Scan) analysis showed cellular apoptosis when treated with the complex in visible light in comparison to their dark controls. Fluorescence microscopic studies using complex 2 revealed its mitochondrial localization within the cancer cells.
