Two novel dinuclear complexes [Co(2)(L)(2)(phen)(2)·2H(2)O](n) (1), [Co(2)(L)(2)(bipy)(2)](n) (2) (where phen=1,10-phenanthroline, bipy=2,2'-bipyridine, and L=biphenyl-2,4'-dicarboxylic acid) have been synthesized and characterized using IR, (1)H NMR, element analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffractometry. The binding of the complexes with HC-DNA (HeLa cells DNA, which was extracted by ourselves) was investigated by fluorescence spectrum. The experimental results show that the two complexes have the ability to bind with extracted HC-DNA. Gel electrophoresis assay demonstrates the ability of the complexes to cleave the extracted HC-DNA. The complexes exhibit a higher cytotoxicity against tumor cells as against normal cells in vitro. Further more, the apoptotic tests indicate that the complexes have an apoptotic effect on HeLa cells.
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