Benzimidazole-based mononuclear polypyridyl Cu( ii ) complexes: DNA binding, cleavage, and in vitro antiproliferative studies

molecular docking analysis confirmed that all the complexes could interact with the minor groove of duplex DNA. The DNA cleaving ability of the complexes was studied by gel electrophoresis using supercoiled plasmid DNA; however, no DNA cleavage was found. DNA-binding polypyridyl complexes are well known to disrupt DNA metabolic pathways and cause cytotoxicity to rapidly growing cancer cells. Hence, cell viability analysis was also carried out with complexes 1-3. It was observed that complexes 2 and 3 prevented the proliferation of the human osteosarcoma cell line U2OS and the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. Overall, these findings could be beneficial in the design and development of future antitumor agents.