Synthesis, characterization and cytotoxicity investigation of juglone palladium complex; theoretical and biological properties of juglone as an employed ligand

Metal - based chemotherapeutics, especially platinum complexes, are widely used in the treatment of various types of cancer. Recent studies have shown that palladium compounds have similar or even greater cytotoxic properties than platinum complexes. Juglone (5 - hydroxy - 1, 4 naphthoquinone), as a natural compound, has anti-tumor properties on various cancer cell lines. In this study, the complex of palladium (II) with juglon and phenanthroline was synthesized and its cytotoxicity property on MCF - 7 (human breast cancer cell line) was evaluated. The fluorescence images have been presented to detect the anti-proliferative effect. The [Pd (Jug) (phen)]Cl complex was found to have more cytotoxic properties (IC 50 : 5.2 μM) on MCF - 7 cell line than juglone (IC 50 : 12 μM). Furthermore, the interaction of the complex [Pd (Jug) (phen)]Cl with HSA, DNA, and 2JVU has been investigated using the molecular docking method. This compound is considered with the potential of anti-tumor activity and can be a good candidate for the next stages of in vitro and in vivo screening.