Four copper(II) compounds synthesized by anion regulation: Structure, anticancer function and anticancer mechanism.

Copper (Cu) compounds are a promising candidate for next generation metal anticancer drugs. Therefore, we regulated anions to synthesize four mononuclear and binuclear Cu(II) compounds derived from thiosemicarbazone Schiff base ligands and characterized them. 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 and had a capacity to arrest the cell cycle at S phase of those cells. Furthermore, reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential and Western blot analyses revealed that these Cu(II) compounds exert their cytotoxicity through an ROS-mediated intrinsic mitochondrial pathway accompanied by the regulation of Bcl-2 family proteins.