In Vitro DNA-Binding, Anti-Oxidant and Anticancer Activity of Indole-2-Carboxylic Acid Dinuclear Copper(II) Complexes

Indole-2-carboxylic acid copper complex (ICA-Cu) was successfully prepared and characterized through elemental analysis, IR, UV-Vis, (1)H-NMR, TG analysis, and molar conductance, and its molecular formula was [Cu(2)(C(9)H(6)O(2)N)(4)(H(2)O)(2)]·2H(2)O. The binding ability of ICA-Cu to calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) was examined by fluorescence spectrometry and the viscosity method. The results indicated that, upon the addition of increasing amounts of CT-DNA, the excitation and emission intensity of ICA-Cu decreased obviously and the excitation spectra shifted towards a long wavelength. ICA-Cu could displace ethidium bromide (EB) from the EB-DNA system, making the fluorescence intensity of the EB-DNA system decrease sharply; the quenching constant K(SV) value was 3.99 × 10(4) M(−1). The emission intensity of the ICA-Cu-DNA system was nearly constant, along with the addition of Na(+) in a series of concentrations. The fluorescence of the complex could be protected after the complex interacted with DNA. A viscosity measurement further supported the result that the ICA-Cu complex may interact with DNA in an intercalative binding mode. The antioxidant activities of ICA-Cu were evaluated by a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, a hydroxyl radical (OH) scavenging assay, and a 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assay. The ICA-Cu exhibited the highest inhibitory effects on the ABTS radical (94% inhibition at 60 µM), followed by OH and DPPH radicals (the degrees of inhibition being 71% and 56%, respectively). The in vitro cytotoxicity activity of ICA-Cu against two human breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7, was investigated by 3-[4,5-dimethyltiazol2-yl]-2.5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and cellular morphological analysis. The results showed that, upon increasing the concentration of ICA-Cu, an increase was observed in growth-inhibitory activity and the inhibition percentage were greater than 90% at 20 µM in both cell lines. Also, cellular morphological changes in the two cell lines agreed with the cytotoxicity results.