Synthesis, characterization and DNA binding/cleavage, protein binding and cytotoxicity studies of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes of aminonaphthoquinone

•Interaction of quinone containing complexes with DNA/BSA has been studied.•The complexes intercalate with DNA and Cu(II)/Ni(II) complexes cleave it effectively.•The complexes bind relatively strongly with BSA than the ligand.•The complexes exhibited substantial anticancer activity against MCF7 and A549 cells.

The Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes of an aminonaphthoquinone ligand (L) have been prepared and characterized using analytical and spectral techniques. The structures of L and its Zn(II) complex are confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. The results indicate that Co(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) complexes possess tetrahedral geometry while Cu(II) complex exhibits square planar structure. The interaction of L and its complexes with CT-DNA reveal that they could interact with CT-DNA through intercalation. The DNA cleavage studies of the L and its complexes indicate that the Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes cleave the circular form of the DNA relatively to a greater extent than the other complexes. The results of the interaction of these compounds with bovine serum albumin (BSA) indicate that the complexes exhibit a strong binding to BSA over the L. The in vitro anticancer activities indicate that these compounds exhibit substantial activity against human breast (MCF7) and lung cancer (A549) cell lines. The characteristics of apoptosis in cell morphology have been observed using AO/EB and DAPI staining and the results suggest that an apoptotic mode of cell death with these compounds. The overall results and discussion indicate that coordination of metal ions with the ligand enhances the biological activity.

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