Abstract
Methotrexate (MTX), an anticancer drug used for treatment of the malignancies is able to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon illumination. Copper has been shown to be capable of mediating the action of several anticancer drugs through production of ROS. Present study is an attempt to characterize the MTX-Cu(II) interaction by spectroscopy. UV-visible and fluorescence spectra shown an enhancement in photoinduced oxidation of MTX when subjected to irradiation with Cu(II) as compared to MTX alone. This may be attributed to the interaction of MTX with Cu(II); which was further confirmed by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. We have also demonstrated that MTX upon irradiation with white light caused oxidative damage to protein and DNA. This damage to protein and DNA got enhanced in presence of Cu(II). This is probably due to the enhanced generation of hydroxyl radical via Fenton/Haber-Weiss reaction. As Cu(I) is present bound to chromatin thus, when MTX is given as chemotherapeutic agent it possibly could mobilize endogenous Cu(I) and mediate killing of cancer cells through ROS generation.