Investigating Alkylated Prodigiosenes and Their Cu(II)‐Dependent Biological Activity: Interactions with DNA, Antimicrobial and Photoinduced Anticancer Activity
synthetic analogs of the natural product prodigiosin, exhibit self-activated DNA cleavage in the presence of Cu(II). In unprecedented Cu(II)-dependent cytotoxicity studies, we investigated the role of different alkyl chains at the C ring. Cytotoxicity was selective towards cancer cells and could be increased by irradiation. Some prodigiosenes also showed high antibacterial activity.