Cu(2+)-dependent DNA-cleaving activity of arenes

Abstract

In the presence of Cu(II) ions, plasmid DNA is cleaved under physiological condition by different arenes at low concentrations. The cleavage was dependent on the presence of O2. The DNA cleavage efficiency of the designed system arene-Cu is comparable to that of the well-known DNA cleaving reagents such as phenanthroline-Cu and ascorbic acid-Cu. However in contrast to the mentioned reagents, the system arene-Cu does not require external reducing agents or H2O2.