A series of 3-substituted-β-carboline derivatives was synthesized from L-tryptophan. The intercalating binding mode of these compounds with DNA, the effects of the flexible alkylamine side chain on the intercalating a bility and their antitumor activity were studied, which agreed well with the molecular modeling results.

A new Mn(II) complex with the planar ligand 6,7-dicycanodipyrido[2, 2-d: 29, 39-ƒ]quinoxaline (L) [MnL(NO3)(H2O)3]NO 3-CH3OH 3 (1) has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, TG-DTA and molar conductance. Its crystal structure was determined by X-ray diffraction, crystal data: yellow, triclinic, space group P1, Z=2, a =7.3743 (8)Å, b=11.2487 (15)Å, c=14.1655 (15)Å,α=79.412 (2)°,β=83.208(2) °, γ=80.466(2) °. The Mn atom was hexa-coordinated to form a distorted octahedral geometry by two nitrogen atoms of L and four oxygen atoms of three H2O and NO-3 in the complex. The binding mode of the complex with calf thymus DNA has also been investigated with spectrophotometric methods, viscosity and thermal denaturation measurements. The experimental results indicate that the complex intercalated into DNA base pairs via the ligand L. The intrinsic binding constant Kb values for 1 (5.00×10M-1) and L (1.65×105 M-1) were determined by absorption titration and calculated with the model of McGhee and Von Hippel. Biological tests against four different cell lines (HL-60, KB, Hela and BGC-823) in vitro showed that the complex had significant antitumor properties since the 50% inhibition concentrations (IC50) of the complex were within a μM range similar to those of antitumor 50 drug 5-fluorouracil.