Enantiomers of tetrahedral metal–organic cages: a new class of highly efficient G-quadruplex ligands with potential anticancer activities

Abstract

Four pairs of enantiomers of water-stable tetrahedral metal–organic cages [Ni₄L₆]⁸⁺ were facilely synthesized. They efficiently stabilized antiparallel G-quadruplex DNA with moderate enantioselectivity, and displayed promising cytotoxicity against the human cancer cell lines HCT116, HepG2 and MCF-7. These results provide a new insight into the rational design of chiral G-quadruplex-based anticancer agents.