PHENANTHROLINE BASED METAL COMPLEXES AS G-QUADRUPLEX BINDING LIGANDS

Telomeric DNA present at the ends of chromosomes in normal somatic cells is progressively shortened after each cell replication, which eventually triggers cell death. In contrast, the length of telomeric DNA in cancer cells is maintained by over-expressed telomerase, a reverse transcriptase, making cancer cells immortal. Due to this apparent difference, telomerase has recently emerged as an attractive target for cancer intervention. One of the efficient approaches to inhibit the telomerase activity is to induce G-quadruplex formation in the telomeric DNA regions by small molecules to block the binding of telomerase. Such small molecules, known as G-quadruplex binding ligands, are being developed as potential anti-cancer drugs