Abstract
Knoevenagel condensates of curcumin I were synthesized with p-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy benzaldehyde and allowed to react with semicarbazide to form the corresponding curcumin I-based ligands. The ligands were complexed with ruthenium(III) metal ions. These complexes (C-1 and C-2) were purified by chromatography and characterized as octahedral geometries by analytical techniques. The binding affinities of these compounds for calf thymus DNA were determined. DNA binding constants (K (b) ) for the two complexes were 1.46 x 10(4) and 3.54 x 10(4) M-1, respectively. Similarly, the binding constants (K (sv)) for C-1 and C-2 were 9.40 x 10(3) and 9.30 x 10(3) M-1, respectively. Hemolytic assays of the compounds showed less toxicity than the standard anti-cancer drug letrazole. The compounds showed good activity against the cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) and moderate activity against liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) and human colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29) cells lines. These compounds showed potential for treatment of cervical cancer in the future.