Photochemical research and systematic in vitro study of the interaction mechanisms in novel trinuclear ruthenium complexes with DNA using different techniques

Abstract

The project submitted here entitled "Photochemical research and systematic in vitro study of the interaction mechanisms in novel trinuclear ruthenium complexes with DNA using different techniques" is part of my PhD project (2014/25561-8) and is related to the research line of Professor Sofia Nikolaou (FFCLRP - USP) and Claudia Turro (The Ohio State University). This involves the study of DNA interactions with the trinuclear ruthenium complexes [Ru3O(CH3COO)5(py)2(LL)]n where py = pyridine and LL = bidentate ligands, LL1 = phen, LL2 = dppz, LL3 = dppzCH3, LL4 = dppzCl. The main objective is to investigate the nature and magnitude of binding of the complexes and free ligands to DNA using various techniques. To this end, it will be studied the photochemistry behaviour of complexes (1-4) in homogeneous solution and the complexes reactivity towards DNA. Significantly, the metal complexes interact with DNA and interfere in important cellular processes that ultimately result in cell death. In this context, aiming to improve the efficacy and overcome the side effects associated with the use of cisplatin (important cancer drug), compounds of numerous other transition metals have also been investigated over the years. It is relevant to the present study to find novel complexes which exhibit antitumor activity against a variety of cancer cell lines and to know the interactions of these complexes with target biomolecules, such as DNA. The pursuit of these species is of great interest since there is the possibility of creating new compounds against cancer, based on DNA-binding metallo-intercalators. Therefore, for this study a collaborative research between inorganic chemists and photochemist scientists in this particular field of research is of critical importance and the environment provided by Professor Claudia Turro will be essential for developing this project. In addition, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The Ohio State University Laboratories have an extensive investment made by the National Institutes of Health in facilities, equipment, and staff. This is very attractive for FFCLRP-USP and Ohio University researchers, who may have access to major scientific facilities and teams of researchers working on particular application area.