Cytotoxicity of Co(III) Complexes of Arginine.

The cytotoxicity of four Co(III) complexes of arginine on nontumour MDBK cells and on two cell lines derived from transplantable tumors, LSCC-SF(Mc29) and LSR-SF (SR), was evaluated comparative!y. Based on the cytotoxic concentration required to inhibit cell surveillance by 50% cc(nabla') it was found that: (i) the cytotoxicity of complexes tested increases when the concentration decreased; (ii) the cell surveillance depends on both complex and cell specificities. The complex specificity was illustrated by the order 1 > 4 > 2 >/= 3 .

Increased Efficacy of Zinc Complexes With Picolinic and Aspartic Acids Against Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Infection When Combined With the Pavine Alkaloid (-)-Thalimonine.

Complexes of zinc with picolinic and aspartic acids inhibit key steps of HSV-1 replication affecting different virus-specific targets. As was recently demonstrated by us, the pavine alkaloid (-)-thalimonine irreversibly inhibits HSV-1 infection in cultured cells. The aim of the present study was the evaluation of the combined effect of zinc complexes and (-)-thalimonine on uninfected and HSV-1 infected cells.

Zinc(II) Complexes - A New Group of Non-Mutagenic Herpes Simplex Virus Inhibitors.

Former studies showed that complexes of Zn(II) with picolinic and with aspartic acids, Zn(pic)(2) and Zn(asp)(2), are able to inhibit HSV infection in cultured cells by affecting key steps of virus replication. As these complexes are candidates for a novel class anti-HSV drugs, further studies on their mutagenicity are of particular interest. In the present paper we present data showing that Zn(pic)(2) and Zn(asp)(2) do not express mutagenic effect in both prokaryotic (Salmonella typhimurium) and eukaryotic (Saccharomices cerevisiae) test systems.

Effect of Copper Acyclovir Complexes on Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 and Type 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2) Infection in Cultured Cells.

We have found that when copper, zinc or cobalt is bound to a suitable ligand, the appropriate complex exhibited a significant anti-HSV effect (Varadinova et al., 1993; 1996). Recently published data by Sagripanti et al.