Merrifield resin-supported cyclen (MRC) was directly prepared by attaching 1, 4, 7, 10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen) to Merrifield resin (MR). Subsequent coordination with Cu(II), Co(II), and Ni(II) gave immobilized cyclen complex MRC-Cu, MRC-Co, and MRC-Ni as "solid artificial enzymes." These complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, ICP-AES, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the DNA cleavage activities of these complexes were investigated by agarose gel electrophoresis. The results indicated that MRC-Cu was superior to other solid artificial enzymes, and the cleavage process was carried out via oxidative pathway. Moreover, the solid catalyst MRC-Cu was very stable and it could be reused at least four times without any loss of catalytic activity. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 111: 2485-2492, 2009