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.