Background: With essential metals being studied and developed as anticancer agents, this study aims to explore the anticancer activity of Zn(II) arginine dithiocarbamate in the T47D and fibroblast cell lines.
Method: The Zn(II) arginine dithiocarbamate complex was prepared by the in situ method and characterized using infra-red spectroscopy, melting point, X-ray fluorescence, and X-ray diffraction instruments. The complex compound was tested for its cytotoxicity to the T47D breast cancer and fibroblast cell lines.
Results: The cytotoxicity of the Zn(II) arginine dithiocarbamate complex to the T47D breast cancer cell line obtained IC50 = 3.16 μg/mL, while cisplatin obtained IC50 = 28.18 μg/mL. The cytotoxicity of the Zn(II) arginine dithiocarbamate complex to fibroblast cells obtained IC50 = 8709.63 μg/mL.
Conclusion: The Zn(II) arginine dithiocarbamate complex has increased active cytotoxicity compared to cisplatin in inducing morphological changes in the T47D breast cancer cell line and is relatively non-toxic to fibroblast cells.
Keywords: Complexes; Zn(II) arginine dithiocarbamate; breast cancer; T47D; cytotoxic.