DNA BINDING AND NUCLEASE ACTIVITY OF MIXED LIGAND COPPER(II) COMPLEXES

S. Chandrasekhar and K. Hussain Reddy*

ABSTRACT

The copper(II) complex, [Cu(bpy)(NO3)2 (1) obtained by the reaction of 2,2’-bipyridine (bpy) with Cu(NO3)2.3H2O in methanol (MeOH) solvent, reacts with sodium benzoate in MeOH solvent to form stable mononuclear complex, Cu(bpy) (bz)2 H2O (2) (where, bz = benzoate) The complexes are characterized based on electronic, IR and ESR spectroscopies. The electrochemical behaviour of the complexes are investigated by cyclicvoltammetry. The interactions of the complexes with calf thymus DNA have been investigated using absorption spectrophotometry. Nuclease activity of complexes is investigated on double stranded pBR322 plasmid DNA using gel electrophoresis experiments under different conditions.

Keywords: Mixed ligand Copper(II) complexes, Bipyridine, Benzoate, DNA binding and DNA cleavage