The effect of new palladium (II) complexes of dithiocarbamate derivatives on the morphology and clonogenicity of liver cancer cell line

While today different drugs have been used to treat cancer, none of them have proved to be effective. Heavy metal complexes (e.g., platinum and palladium) can be useful in the treatment of cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of newly synthetized palladium complexes on the morphology and clonogenicity of liver cancer cell line (HepG2). New palladium complexes were synthesized in the chemistry lab, University of Sistan and Baluchesta. The cytotoxicity and anti-cancer effects of newly synthesized complexes were evaluated using the clonogenic and cell death assay (apoptosis and necrosis) using acridine orange/ ethidium bromide double staining. The results of this study showed that the new complexes had potential concentration-dependent effects on HepG2 cell line. There was a significant difference between the number of colonies formed after treatment with different concentrations of palladium complexes (0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 µg/ml) compared to those in the control group (P<0.01). Furthermore, the cells stained with acridine orange/ethidium bromide indicated the occurrence of apoptosis in cancer cells after the treatment with various concentrations of palladium complexes. The results of this study show the anti-cancer effect of palladium complexes on HepG2 cell lines. Also, the palladium complexes can reduce the number of cell colonies and cause cell death by apoptosis.