Chemical biology suggests pleiotropic effects for a novel hexanuclear copper(II) complex inducing apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

A novel hexanuclear copper(II)-based complex [Cu6(tpbb)2(NO3)12] (1) was synthesized, which shows potent cytotoxicity to hepatoma carcinoma cells by inducing apoptosis and apoptosis-related processes. Furthermore, mechanistic investigations based on proteomes revealed the induced apoptosis was mediated by acting several targets and mutiple pathways in a pleiotropic way.