Synthesis, characterization, DNA binding, DNA cleavage, antioxidant and <i>in vitro</i> cytotoxicity studies of ruthenium(II) complexes containing hydrazone ligands

<p>The synthesis, spectral characterization, and biological studies of ruthenium(II) hydrazone complexes [RuCl(CO)(PPh₃)₂L] (where L = hydrazone ligands) have been carried out. The hydrazones are monobasic bidentate ligands with O and N as the donors and are preferably found in the enol form in all the complexes. The molecular structure of the ligands HL¹, HL²_, and HL³ were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The DNA binding studies of the ligands and complexes were carried out by absorption spectroscopic and viscosity measurements. The results revealed that the ligands and complexes bind to DNA via intercalation. The DNA cleavage activity of the complexes, evaluated by gel electrophoresis assay, revealed that the complexes are good DNA cleaving agents. The antioxidant properties of the complexes were evaluated against DPPH, OH, and NO radicals, which showed that the complexes have strong radical-scavenging. Further, the <i>in vitro</i> cytotoxic effect of the complexes examined on HeLa and MCF-7 cancer cell lines showed that the complexes exhibited significant anticancer activity.</p