Nucleic acid cleavage by a Cu(II) polyaza macrocyclic complex

In this paper, we describe the activity of the [Cu2BMXD] complex as a nucleic acid cleavage agent. The rate constant for the DNA backbone cleavage reaction was estimated to be 4.67 × 10−2 h−1 at 50 °C, pH 7.0. We demonstrate that the DNA cleavage reaction promoted by this complex may occur via an oxidative pathway. This study establishes [Cu2BMXD] as a novel artificial nuclease.