Synthesis and In Vitro Anticancer Activity of Binuclear Copper Complexes Coordinated with Phenanthroline Derivatives
In this study,two dinuclear monovalent copper complexes(Cu1 and Cu2)were synthesized by using phenanthroline derivatives.Single crystal diffraction analysis revealed that Cu1 possesses a head-tail symmetrical structure with the central copper ion coordinated to four nitrogen atoms,forming a tetrahedral configuration.In contrast,Cu2 has a head-head symmetric structure,two metal central atoms coordinated by four phenanthroline nitrogen atoms and two carbene carbon atoms,forming a tetrahedral and linear configuration.In vitro cytotoxicity studies demonstrated that both Cu1 and Cu2 exhibit stronger anticancer activity than cisplatin.Mechanism indicated that Cu2 induces mitochondrial membrane potential depletion and excessive reactive oxygen species(ROS)production in HCT-116 cells,ultimately leading to cell apoptosis.