Spectroscopic Study of the Interaction of Mitoxantrone with Copper(I), Copper(II), and Neocuproine

Both reductive and oxidatlve mode of metabolism have been hypothesized for the antitumor agent mitoxantrone. This work aims to better understand the redox properties of mitoxantrone in the presence of the physiological redox couple, copper(I)/copper(II), by means of polarograpy and spectrophotometry. The first quasi-reversible one-electron reduction of mitoxantrone to the semiquinone and the second reduction to the hydroquinone have been shown to be considerably affected by copper. Visible spectra of mitoxantrone-copper mixtures in nitrogen and oxygen purged solutions taken in a one-week period exhibit varying degrees of complexation and oxido-reduction.

When copper(II), neocuprolne and mitoxantrone are mixed in a certain ratio in pH 7. 4 phosphate buffer solution, two new peaks at 584 and 632 nm emerge in the spectra indicating a ternary charge transfer complex. The complex atoichiometry was established as Cu(IT): neocuproine: tritoxan-trone = 2:4:1 by Job's method of continuous variations. The ternary complex is sensitive to the relative concentrations of mitoxantrone and copper(II), an excess of the latter giving rise to complete red ox products. This complex may be important in modeling the drug's oxidative mode of ant tumor action.