IC50: 51.31±4.56 μM (HeLa cell), 32.43±3.27 μM (HL60 cell), 15.42±2.16 μM (U937 cell)

Hoechst 33258, a fluorescent compound with a head-to-tail bis-benzimidazole structure, is initially found to be cytotoxic against L1210 murine leukemia. Hoechst 33258 is evaluated for their cytotoxicity against human tumor cell lines, which are cervix carcinoma cell line (HeLa), Human promyelocytic leukemia cell (HL60) and U937 cell Line. The IC ₅₀ determined in the case of HeLa, HL60 and U937 is 51.31±4.56, 32.43±3.27 and 15.42±2.16 μM for Hoechst 33258, respectively. The cytotoxic property of Hoechst 33258 is investigated on a panel of seven tumour cell lines of different histological origin and Madine-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) normal cells. All cell lines, except MCF-7, exposed to Hoechst 33258 exhibit GI ₅₀ from 84×10 ^-6 to 191.5×10 ^-6 mol/dm ³ . Under the same experimental conditions, Hoechst 33258, used as a binder reference compound, stops the cell cycle in S phase and G0/G1.