A series of cis-cis-triaminocyclohexane Zn(II) complex-anthraquinone intercalator conjugates, designed in such a way to allow their easy synthesis and modification, have been investigated as hydrolytic cleaving agents for plasmid DNA. The ligand structure comprises a triaminocyclohexane platform linked by means of alkyl spacers of different length (from C4 to C8) to the anthraquinone group which may intercalate the DNA. At a concentration of 5 íM, the complex of the derivative with a C8 alkyl spacer induces the hydrolytic stand scission of supercoiled DNA with a rate of 4.6 10-6 s-1 at pH 7 and 37 °C. The conjugation of the metal complex with the anthraquinone group leads to a 15-fold increase of the cleavage efficiency when compared with the anthraquinone lacking Zn-triaminocyclohexane complex.
