A binuclear iron(III) complex of 5,5′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine as cytotoxic agent

The binuclear iron(III) complex ( 1 ), namely, {[Fe(5,5′-dmbpy) 2 (OH 2) ] 2 (µ-O)}(NO 3 ) 4 with a distorted octahedral coordination, formed by four nitrogen and two oxygen atoms, was previously reported by our team. In this study the DNA-binding and cytotoxicity evaluation for target complex were studied. The results indicated strong cytotoxicity activity against A549 cells comparable to cisplatin values. The binding interaction between complex 1 and FS-DNA was investigated by UV–Vis, fluorescence spectroscopy, and gel electrophoresis at physiological pH (7.2). The DNA binding investigation has shown groove binding interactions with complex 1 , therefore the hydrogen binding plays an important role in the interaction of DNA with complex 1 . The calculated thermodynamic parameters (ΔH°, ΔS° and ΔG°) show that hydrogen bonding and Vander–Waals forces have an important function in Fe(III) complex–DNA interaction. Moreover, DNA cleavage was studied using agarose gel electrophoresis. Viscosity measurements illustrated that relative viscosity of DNA was unchanged with the adding concentrations of Fe(III) complex. Molecular docking simulation results confirmed the spectroscopic and viscosity titration outcomes. Graphic abstract