Key words quaternized 1,10-phenanthroline; transition metal complex; crystal structure; DNA cleavage Over the last few decades, transition metal complexes have been attracting considerable attentions in bioinorganic chemistry, because of their rich chemistry and wide potential applications, for example in creating of synthetic metallonucleases that are able to bind to and cleave DNA under physiological conditions. 1-3) As a consequence, many mono-, di-and multivalent transition metal complexes have been synthesized and found to efficiently catalyze the cleavage of DNA.4-6) Notable among them are those that are prepared from biocompatible endogenous metal ions, including Cu(II), Zn(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Mn(II). Such metal complexes can create open coordination positions for DNA binding, and generate reactive oxygencontaining species or other radicals that may cause damage to the sugar and/or base of DNA. 7,8) For example, Zn(II) and Cu(II) complexes that are derived from a wide range of ligands, such as Schiff bases, 9) macrocyclic polyamines 10,11) and terpyridine derivatives, [12][13][14][15] have been found to act as effective catalysts for phosphodiester cleavage. In addition, Co(III), Mn(II) and Ni(II) complexes have also been reported to show high catalytic activities. [16][17][18][19] However, most of the complexes to date are confined to mono-, di-and multi-nuclear metal complexes, and ionic metal complexes in which the binding parts are separated from the cleaving centers, are less explored. 20,21) In constructing of metal complexes, 1,10-phenanthroline is an attractive building motif because it is well known that metal-bound planar phenanthroline complexes act as strong binders for double-stranded DNA and facilitate the hydrogen atom abstraction from the sugar unit. 22,23) For example, metal complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline and its conjugates with natural products possess interesting anti-cancer properties.
24)On the other hand, recent studies by us 25) and others [26][27][28][29][30] have indicated that metal complexes with functional ammonium groups exhibit significantly enhanced DNA-cleaving activities. These findings make us reasoning that the metal complexes of quaternized 1,10-phenanthroline derivatives may serve as potent DNA cleavers.