Two new Cu (II) complexes based on 5-fluorouracil-1-yl acetic acid and N-donor ligands: Investigation of their interaction with DNA and anticancer activity

Two new Cu (II) complexes [Cu (bpy)(2)L1] BF4.CH3OH (Z(3)) and [Cu (phen)(2)L1] BF4 center dot H2O (Z9), L1 = 5-Fluorouracil-1-yl Acetic Acid, were synthesized based on 5-Fluorouracil-1-yl Acetic Acid and 2,2 '-Bipyridine or 1,10-phenanthroline ligands and their anticancer activity toward human cancer cell lines investigated. The complexes were characterized by infrared (IR) spectra, elemental analysis, and X-ray crystallography. The interaction of the complexes with CT-DNA was investigated by UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies, and cyclic voltammetry; cell viability (%) was studied using the absorbance amount of the samples. The interaction mode of the complexes with DNA is electrostatic, and the complexes displayed good anticancer activity against HCT 116 (human colorectal cancer cells) and MDA-MB-231 (MD Anderson-metastatic breast) cell lines with best IC50 amount of 11.31 +/- 0.74 mu M for Z9. The results showed that the nature of the nitrogen-donor ligand is very effective in the anticancer activity of the complexes.