LAUSR

Abstract The new polypyridyl ligands L1 and L2 {L1 =4,4′-oxybis(N,N-bis(pyridin- 2-ylmethyl)aniline); L2 = 4-methyl-N, N-bis(pyridin- 2-ylmethyl)aniline} and three relevant di-, mono-nucleating Cu(II) complexes [Cu2L1Cl4]2 (1), [CuL2Cl2]2•4H2O (2) and [Cu2(L2)2(μ-Cl)2] (ClO4)2 (3) have been synthesized as anticancer agents. The chemical nuclease activities of complexes have been explored by using UV-Vis, fluorescence emission spectroscopies and agarose gel electrophoresis techniques. Importantly, the MTT and colony-forming assay indicate that the complex 1 show promising cytotoxicity against HeLa cells with IC50 = 10.6 ± 1.9 μM (10.8 ± 2.2, for cisplatin). Cytotoxicity was also measured on human normal cell line HUVEC, the results indicate that complexes 1-3 are all less cytotoxic than the control cisplatin. The apoptosis-inducing activity of 1 was assessed by hoechst 33342 staining, annexin V binding, cell cycle analyses, intracellular ROS generation and comet assay.