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Plumbago indica L. is a plant belonging to the family Plumbaginaceae and is used in traditional system
of medicine worldwide including Sri Lanka. The roots of these plants are rich in plumbagin with
antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and also anticancer activities. Although
plumbagin has been shown to be more toxic to cancer cells, it has also been shown to be toxic to normal
cells at high concentrations. Therefore, design of a “hybrid drug molecule” of plumbagin with an
appropriate transition metal may provide an opportunity to reduce the toxicity and enhance the
therapeutic potential of plumbagin in its use for cancer treatment. The metal complex
[Cu(PLN)(PHEN)]NO3 was synthesized and characterized by IR and UV-Visible spectroscopy and
ESMS. The synthesized metal complex is able to intercalate to DNA replacing ethidium bromide and is
also able to cleave plasmid pBR322 DNA successfully. These findings may lead to the possible use of
plumbagin as a “hybrid drug molecule” for the treatment of human cancers.
