Synthesis of four binuclear copper(II) complexes: Structure, anticancer properties and anticancer mechanism.

Copper (Cu) compounds are a promising candidate for next generation metal anticancer drugs and have been extensively studied. Therefore, four binuclear copper(II) compounds derived from Schiff base thiosemicarbazones (L1-L4), namely [CuCl(L1)]2 (C1), [CuNO3(L2)]2 (C2), [Cu(NCS) (L3)]2 (C3) and [Cu(CH3COO) (L4)]2 (C4) were synthesized and characterized. Four of these compounds showed very high cytotoxicity to cancer cell lines in vitro. These Cu(II) compounds strongly promoted the apoptosis of BEL-7404 cells. The formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), change in mitochondrial membrane potential and western blot analysis revealed that Cu compounds could induce cancer cell apoptosis through the intrinsic ROS-mediated mitochondrial pathway accompanied by the regulation of Bcl-2 family proteins.