Metallonuclease activity of copper(II) complexes containing benzimidazolyl terpyridine

Mononuclear copper(II) complexes [Cu(bitpy)2](ClO4)2 (1) and [Cu(bitpy)(Cl)](Cl) (2) (where bitpy = 4'- (benzimidazolyl)-2,2':6',2''-terpyridine) have been synthesized. Physico-chemical techniques like elemental analysis, ESI-MS, UV–Visible, Infra red and EPR spectroscopic techniques were employed to characterize the synthesized complexes. The complexes are one-electron paramagnetic and exhibit quasi-reversible cyclic voltammetric response at 100 mVs-1 in DMSO-TBAP for the CuII/CuI couple. Oxidative DNA cleavage of the complexes has also been studied. Both the complexes however successfully promoted an oxidative cleavage of plasmid DNA, producing single strand break.

Share This Article