Recently, it was reported that a cationic tetrazolato-bridged dinuclear Pt(II) complex, 5-H-Y, is a promising anticancer drug candidate. Here, we investigated the effects of a series of tetrazolato-bridged dinuclear Pt(II) complexes on the higher-order structure of DNA by using fluorescence and atomic force microscopies. The results showed that these dinuclear Pt(II) complexes cause marked shrinkage on the conformation of genomic DNA. We also found highly cooperative inhibitory effects of these drugs on in vitro gene expression. The unique mechanism of action of these dinuclear Pt(II) complexes is discussed in terms of their bridging effect on DNA segments. (C) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.