Fig. 5

Thiuram structure is essential for anticancer activity of DS. a Chemical structures of thiol group containing compounds without thiuram structure. b Cytotoxicity of TMT, HDTA and IDTA on A549 cells. The cells were exposed to the compounds in combination with CuCl₂ (10 μM) for 72 h and subjected to MTT assay. c and d Apoptotic status of A549 cells exposed to 10 μM of TMT, HDTA, IDTA in combination with CuCl₂ (10 μM). The cells were treated with the above chemicals for 6 h and then subjected to Annexin V analysis. e Extracellular ROS detection. ROS activity generated from the mixture of TMT, HDTA, IDTA (10 μM of each) and CuCl₂ (10 μM) was measured. H₂O₂ (1:100) was used as a positive control