Synthesis, Structure and in Vitro Biological Screening of Palladium(II) Complexes of Functionalised Salicylaldimine Thiosemicarbazones as Antimalarial and Anticancer Agents

Palladium-mediated C–O bond activation of benzopyrone in 4-oxo-4H-chromone-3-carbaldehyde-4(N)-substituted thiosemicarbazone: synthesis, structure, nucleic acid/albumin interaction, DNA cleavage, antioxidant and cytotoxic studies

Palladium ion-mediated C–O activation at the C2 carbon of the benzopyrone moiety of 3-formylchromone-4(N)-substituted thiosemicarbazone (HL1–4) has been observed in square-planar palladium(ii) complexes.

Recent Advances in the Biological Investigation of Organometallic Platinum-Group Metal (Ir, Ru, Rh, Os, Pd, Pt) Complexes as Antimalarial Agents

In the face of the recent pandemic and emergence of infectious diseases of viral origin, research on parasitic diseases such as malaria continues to remain critical and innovative methods are required to target the rising widespread resistance that renders conventional therapies unusable. The prolific use of auxiliary metallo-fragments has augmented the search for novel drug regimens in an attempt to combat rising resistance. The development of organometallic compounds (those containing metal-carbon bonds) as antimalarial drugs has been exemplified by the clinical development of ferroquine in the nascent field of Bioorganometallic Chemistry. With their inherent physicochemical properties, organometallic complexes can modulate the discipline of chemical biology by proffering different modes of action and targeting various enzymes. With the beneficiation of platinum group metals (PGMs) in mind, this review aims to describe recent studies on the antimalarial activity of PGM-based organometallic complexes. This review does not provide an exhaustive coverage of the literature but focusses on recent advances of bioorganometallic antimalarial drug leads, including a brief mention of recent trends comprising interactions with biomolecules such as heme and intracellular catalysis. This resource can be used in parallel with complementary reviews on metal-based complexes tested against malaria.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel thiosemicarbazone-indole derivatives targeting prostate cancer cells

To discover novel anticancer agents with potent and low toxicity, we designed and synthesized a range of new thiosemicarbazone-indole analogues based on lead compound 4 we reported previously. Most compounds displayed moderate to high anticancer activities against five tested tumor cells (PC3, EC109, DU-145, MGC803, MCF-7). Specifically, the represented compound 16f possessed strong antiproliferative potency and high selectivity toward PC3 cells with the IC₅₀ value of 0.054 μM, compared with normal WPMY-1 cells with the IC₅₀ value of 19.470 μM. Preliminary mechanism research indicated that compound 16f could significantly suppress prostate cancer cells (PC3, DU-145) growth and colony formation in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, derivative 16f induced G1/S cycle arrest and apoptosis, which may be related to ROS accumulation due to the activation of MAPK signaling pathway. Furthermore, molecule 16f could effectively inhibit tumor growth through a xenograft model bearing PC3 cells and had no evident toxicity in vivo. Overall, based on the biological activity evaluation, analogue 16f can be viewed as a potential lead compound for further development of novel anti-prostate cancer drug.

Unprecedented formation of palladium(II)-pyrazole based thiourea from chromone thiosemicarbazone and [PdCl2(PPh3)2]: Interaction with biomolecules and apoptosis through mitochondrial signaling pathway

Two novel pyrazole based thiourea palladium(II) complexes, [PdCl(PPh₃)(C₉H₈NO₂S-pz)] (1) and [PdCl(PPh₃)(C₁₄H₁₀NO₂S-pz)] (2) [pz = pyrazole (C₃H₂N₂)] have been obtained unexpectedly from chromone thiosemicarbazones (L1 and L2) and [PdCl₂(PPh₃)₂]. The compounds have been fully characterized by physicochemical studies. The single crystal X-ray diffraction and spectral studies revealed square planar geometry for the complexes. The conversion of chromone thiosemicarbazone into pyrazole based thiourea might have happened through coordination to palladium(II) ion after enolization, Michael addition and ring opening followed by cyclization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report for the conversion of chromone thiosemicarbazone into pyrazole based thiourea moiety. Plausible mechanism was proposed based on the spectroscopic studies. Calf thymus (CT) DNA binding of the compounds was explored using various spectroscopic and molecular docking methods. DNA cleavage studies suggested that complexes 1 and 2 had the capacity to cleave the supercoiled DNA (pUC19) to its naked form. In vitro cytotoxic property of the ligands and complexes has been evaluated against three human cancer cells such as A549, HepG-2 and U937. Complex 2 exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against HepG-2 cells with the IC₅₀ value of 10.4 μM. In addition, mechanistic studies showed that complex 2 induced apoptosis through mitochondrial signaling pathway in HepG-2 cells. Beneficially, complex 2 showed less toxicity against human lung (IMR90) normal cells and hence it emerges as a potential candidate for further studies.

para metallation of 3-acetyl-chromen-2-one Schiff bases in tetranuclear palladacycles: focus on their biomolecular interaction and in vitro cytotoxicity

Three tetranuclear (1-3) complexes and a mononuclear (4) palladium(ii) complex were synthesized from 3-acetyl-chromen-2-one Schiff base ligands [H₂-3MAC-Rtsc] (where R = H [H₂-3MAC-tsc]; CH₃[H₂-3MAC-mtsc]; C₂H₅[H₂-3MAC-etsc] or C₆H₅[H₂-3MAC-ptsc]) and potassium tetrachloropalladate. Their formation was confirmed by spectroscopic techniques and X-ray crystallographic analysis. Their ability to bind with DNA and albumin was analysed by using absorption and emission titrations. The MTT assay was carried out to analyze the anticancer potential of the ligands and synthesized complexes against HepG2 (human liver cancer) and HT-29 (human colon cancer) cells. In addition, the compounds were less toxic when tested against the human normal keratinocyte cells (HaCaT). Ligands and complexes displayed better cytotoxicity with lower IC₅₀ values than the standard drug cisplatin. Further AO-EB and DAPI staining assays were carried out to detect the mode of cell death induced by the complexes i.e. apoptosis or necrosis. The complex 3 showed better cytotoxicity and was further subjected to flow cytometric analysis. The results suggested that the complex 3 induced apoptotic cell death.

Thiosemicarbazone derivatives: Design, synthesis and in vitro antimalarial activity studies

Different types of thiosemicarbazone derivatives were designed and tested for their Drug-Like Molecular (DLM) nature by using Lipinski and Veber rules. Subsequently, compounds with DLM properties were synthesized and characterized by spectral methods. In vitro antimalarial activity studies of the synthesized thiosemicarbazone derivatives have been carried out against Plasmodium falciparum, 3D7 strain using fluorescence assay method and found that the compounds, (E)-2-(1-(4-fluorophenyl)ethylidene)hydrazine-1-carbothioamide (6), (E)-2-(1-(3-bromophenyl) ethylidene) hydrazine-1-carbothioamide (15) and (E)-2-(3,4,5-trimethoxybenzylidene) hydrazine-1-carbothioamide (29) showed notable antimalarial activity with EC₅₀ values of 13.54 μM, 15.83 μM and 14.52 μM respectively.

Palladium complexes containing imino phenoxide ligands: synthesis, luminescence, and their use as catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide

Abstract

The preparation, structural characterization, luminescence, and catalytic activity of three palladium(II) complexes bearing imino phenoxide ligands are reported. The X-ray studies revealed that the complexes are mononuclear with palladium centres coordinated in a square-planar coordination environment. Two of the complexes are emissive in solution at room temperature. The catalytic activities towards the ring-opening polymerization of rac-lactide (rac-LA) were tested. Polymers with moderate molecular weights and relatively broad dispersity (Ð) were obtained. Kinetic studies revealed that the polymerization followed first-order kinetics.

Graphical abstract

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s00706-017-2119-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Antitumor activity of a Trans-thiosemicarbazone schiff base palladium (II) complex on human gastric adenocarcinoma cells

The development of transition-metal-based antitumor drug candidates increases the metallopharmaceuticals study dramatically. Two trans-thiosemicarbazone-based, Schiff base palladium (Pd) (II) complexes, DMABTSPd (TSPd) and DMABPTSPd (PTSPd), were prepared and characterized as described in our previous study. Here, we investigated whether the two complexes have antitumor effect on human gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines, BGC-823 and SGC-7901, compared with normal human gastric mucosal epithelial cell line, Ges-1. The results show that the Pd complex with the bare amino group (DMABTSPd(TSPd)) can inhibit cell viabilities and induce apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma cells, rather than the Pd complex without the bare amino group (DMABPTSPd (PTSPd)). This occurs via a mitochondrial-related pathway by down-regulating the level of Bcl-2 expression and up-regulating the level of Bid expression. Meanwhile, DMABTSPd (TSPd) suppressed tumor growth via a mitochondrial-related pathway in a nude mouse tumor xenograft model derived from BGC-823 cells. These findings demonstrate that DMABTSPd (TSPd) is worthy of further structural optimization and representing a promising Pd complex for the development of a new antitumor therapeutic agent.

Structurally different mono-, bi- and trinuclear Pd(ii) complexes and their DNA/protein interaction, DNA cleavage, and anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and cytotoxic studies

A series of new structurally different Pd(ii) complexes was obtained by the reactions between K₂[PdCl₄], 3-methoxysalicylaldehyde-4(N)-substituted thiosemicarbazone [H₂L1–H₂L4] and bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane [dppe].

Structure-antiproliferative activity studies on l-proline- and homoproline-4-N-pyrrolidine-3-thiosemicarbazone hybrids and their nickel(ii), palladium(ii) and copper(ii) complexes

Two water-soluble thiosemicarbazone-proline (H2L(1)) and thiosemicarbazone-homoproline hybrids (H2L(2)) were synthesised. By reaction of H2L(1) with NiCl2·6H2O, PdCl2 and CuCl2·2H2O in ethanol, the series of square-planar complexes [Ni(H2L(1))Cl]Cl·1.3H2O (1·1.3H2O), [Pd(H2L(1))Cl]Cl·H2O (2·H2O) and [Cu(H2L(1))Cl]Cl·0.7H2O (3·0.7H2O) was prepared, and starting from H2L(2) and CuCl2·2H2O in methanol, the complex [Cu(H2L(2))Cl2]·H2O (4·H2O) was obtained. The compounds have been characterised by elemental analysis, spectroscopic methods (IR, UV-vis and NMR spectroscopy), ESI mass spectrometry and single crystal X-ray crystallography (H2L(1), 1, 2 and 4). As a solid, 1 is diamagnetic, while it is paramagnetic in methanolic solution. The effective magnetic moment of 3.26 B.M. at room temperature indicates the change in coordination geometry from square-planar to octahedral upon dissolution. The in vitro anticancer potency of ligand precursors H2L(1) and H2L(2) and metal complexes 1-4 was studied in three human cancer cell lines (A549, CH1 and SW480) and in noncancerous murine embryonal fibroblasts (NIH/3T3), and the mechanism of cell death was also assayed by flow cytometry. Clear-cut structure-activity relationships have been established. The metal ions exert marked effects in a divergent manner: copper(ii) increases, whereas nickel(ii) and palladium(ii) decrease the cytotoxicity of the hybrids. The antiproliferative activity of H2L(1) and metal complexes 1-3 decreases in all three tumour cell lines in the following rank order: 3 > H2L(1) > 1 > 2. The role of square-planar geometry in the underlying mechanism of cytotoxicity of the metal complexes studied seems to be negligible, while structural modifications at the terminal amino group of thiosemicarbazide and proline moieties are significant for enhancing the antiproliferative activity of both hybrids and copper(ii) complexes.

The crystal structure of 1-(2-hydroxy-5-meth-oxy-phen-yl)ethanone 4,4-di-methyl-thio-semicarbazone

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C12H17N3O2S, contains two independent mol-ecules, A and B. Both mol-ecules are nearly planar with the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the thio-amide group and benzene ring being 7.5 (1)° in A and 4.3 (2)° in B. In each mol-ecule, the hy-droxy group participates in intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bonding, while the amino H atom is not involved in hydrogen bonding because of the steric hinderence caused by two neighboring methyl groups. In the crystal, the individual molecules are linked by weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming A-A and B-B inversion dimers. The dimers are linked via C-H⋯π inter-actions which help stabilize the packing.

Crystal structure of 2-[2-(hy-droxy-imino)-1-phenyl-propyl-idene]-N-phen-ylhydrazinecarbo-thio-amide

In the title compound, C16H16N4OS, an intra-molecular C-H⋯S hydrogen bond is observed. With the exception of the phenyl ring of the phenyl-propyl-idene unit, the remainder of the mol-ecule has an almost planar skeleton with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.121 (5) Å from the plane through the remaining 16 atoms. In the crystal O-H⋯N hydrogen bonds are observed between the terminal hy-droxy-imino groups, forming inverson dimers with R 2 (2)(6) graph-set motifs. Additional C-H⋯N contacts stack the dimers along [100]. While no π-π inter-actions are present, weak C-H⋯O and O-H⋯Cg inter-actions are also observed and help stabilize the crystal packing.

Crystal structure of (Z)-2-(1-benzyl-2-oxoindolin-3-yl-idene)-N-phenyl-hydra-zine-1-carbo-thio-amide

The title compound, C₂₂H₁₈N₄OS, crystallized with four independent mol­ecules (A, B, C and D) in the asymmetric unit. All four mol­ecules have a Z conformation about the C=N bond with the benzyl ring being inclined to the indoline ring mean planes by 73.4 (2), 77.9 (2), 73.2 (2) and 77.2 (2)° in mol­ecules A, B, C and D, respectively. In mol­ecules A and B, the phenyl ring is inclined to the mean plane of the indoline ring mean plane by 12.0 (2) and 12.2 (2)°, respectively. However, in mol­ecules C and D, the same dihedral angles are larger, viz. 37.3 (2) and 36.4 (2)°, respectively. Consequently, the benzyl and phenyl rings are almost normal to one another in mol­ecules A and B [dihedral angles = 80.3 (3) and 87.1 (3)°, respectively], while in mol­ecules C and D, the same dihedral angles are only 48.8 (2) and 43.8 (3)°, respectively. There is an intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond in each mol­ecule with an S(6) ring motif. There are also short intra­molecular N—H⋯N and C—H⋯S contacts in each mol­ecule. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked via C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds and C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming a three-dimensional structure. The crystal was refined as a non-merohedral twin with a final BASF value of 0.110 (1).

Activation of C–H bonds of thiosemicarbazones by transition metals: synthesis, structures and importance of cyclometallated compounds

Transition metals (Pd^II, Pt^II, Ru^II, Rh^IIIand Ir^III) have induced activation of C–H bonds of thiosemicarbazones and yielded mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-nuclear complexes.

Crystal structure of (2E)-N-methyl-2-(2-oxo-1,2-di-hydroacenaphthylen-1-ylidene)hydrazinecarbo-thioamide

In the title compound, the acenapthylene ring system and the hydrazinecarbo­thio­amide unit (=N—NH—C=S—NH–) are essentially coplanar, making a dihedral angle of 1.59 (9)°. The mol­ecular conformation is stabilized by two weak intra­molecular hydrogen bonds (N—H⋯O and N—H⋯N), which generate S(6) and S(5) ring motifs.

In the title compound, C₁₄H₁₁N₃OS, the ace­naphthyl­ene ring system and hydrazinecarbo­thio­amide unit (=N—NH—C=S—NH–) are essentially coplanar [with maximum deviations from their mean planes of −0.009 (2) and 0.033 (2) Å, respectively], and make a dihedral angle of 1.59 (9)°. The mol­ecular conformation is stabilized by two weak intra­molecular hydrogen bonds (N—H⋯O and N—H⋯N), which generate S(6) and S(5) ring motifs. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by N—H⋯S hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [010]. The chains are linked via pairs of C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, enclosing R²₂(10) ring motifs, and C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming a three-dimensional framework. The absolute structure of the title compound was determined by resonant scattering.

Indole-7-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone as a flexidentate ligand toward ZnII, CdII, PdII and PtII ions: cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing properties of the PtII complex

A new thiosemicarbazone (LH2) derived from indole-7-carbaldehyde was synthesized and reacted with Zn(II), Cd(II), Pd(II) and Pt(II) salts. The reactions with zinc and cadmium salts in 2 : 1 (ligand-metal) molar ratio afforded complexes of the type MX2(LH2)2, (X = Cl, Br or OAc), in which the thiosemicarbazone acts as a neutral S-monodentate ligand. In the presence of potassium hydroxide, the reaction of LH2 with ZnBr2 resulted in deprotonation of the thiosemicarbazone at the hydrazine and indole nitrogens to form Zn(L)(CH3OH). The reaction of LH2 with K2PdCl4 in the presence of triethylamine, afforded Pd(L)(LH2) which contains two thiosemicarbazone ligands: one being dianionic N,N,S-tridentate while the other one is neutral S-monodentate. When PdCl2(PPh3)2 was used as the Pd(II) ion source, Pd(L)(PPh3) was obtained. In a similar manner, the analogous platinum complex, Pt(L)(PPh3), was synthesized. The thiosemicarbazone in the latter two complexes behaves in a dianionic N,N,S-tridentate fashion. The platinum complex was found to have significant cytotoxicity toward four cancer cells lines, namely MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, HT-29, and HCT-116 but not toward the normal liver WRL-68 cell line. The apoptosis-inducing properties of the Pt complex was explored through fluorescence microscopy visualization, DNA fragmentation analysis and propidium iodide flow cytometry.

N-Ethyl-2-[1-(2-hy-droxy-naphthalen-1-yl)ethyl-idene]hydrazinecarbo-thio-amide

In the title compound, C15H17N3OS, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the 2-hy-droxy-napthyl ring system and the hydrazinecarbo-thio-amide group is 73.7 (3)°. In the crystal, weak O-H⋯S and C-H⋯O inter-actions and π-π stacking inter-actions involving one of the hy-droxy-napthyl rings with a centroid-centroid distance of 3.6648 (14) Å are observed, forming infinite chains along [010]. In addition, N-H⋯S inter-actions occur.

N-Ethyl-2-[1-(2-hy-droxy-4-methyl-phen-yl)ethyl-idene]hydrazinecarbo-thio-amide

The title compound, C12H17N3OS, crystallizes with two independent mol-ecules (A and B) in the asymmetric unit. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzene ring and the hydrazinecarbo-thio-amide group are 6.9 (4) and 37.2 (5)° in mol-ecules A and B, respectively. An intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bond is observed in each mol-ecule. This serves to maintain an approximately planar conformation for mol-ecule A, but leaves a significant twist between these two groups in mol-ecule B. In the crystal, a weak N-H⋯S inter-action is observed, forming inversion dimers among the B mol-ecules and resulting in an R 2 (2)(8) motif. These dimers are further inter-connected by weak N-H⋯O and C-H⋯O inter-molecular inter-actions, forming chains along [011].

Synthesis, spectral characterization, and antiproliferative studies of mixed ligand titanium complexes of adamantylamine

Titanium complexes have been synthesized by the reaction between titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4), respective bidentate ligand [4,4' -dimethoxy-2,2' -bipyridine (bpome), 6,6'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine (dpme), 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (dach), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), and benzoylacetone (bzac)], and adamantylamine (ada) in 1 : 2 : 2 molar ratios, respectively. The structure of synthesized complexes was confirmed using elemental analysis, FTIR, UV-visible, (1)H NMR, and mass spectrometry techniques. The nanocrystalline nature of complexes was confirmed by powder XRD study. The complexes were evaluated for cytotoxic potential in HeLa (cervical), C6 (glioma), and CHO (Chinese hamster ovarian) cell lines. The complex E was found to be more effective cytotoxic agent against HeLa cell line with an IC50 value of 4.06 µM. Furthermore, the effect of synthesized complexes was studied on different stages of the cell cycle in CHO cells. All complexes exhibited the dose dependent increase in cytotoxicity. The results have shown an increase in sub-G0 population with increase in concentration which is an indicative measure of apoptosis.

2-[1-(2-Hy-droxy-4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)ethyl-idene]-N-methyl-hydrazinecarbo-thio-amide

In the title compound, C11H15N3O2S, the dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzene ring and hydrazinecarbo-thio-amide group is 9.2 (1)°. An intra-molecular O-H⋯N hydrogen bond is observed, serving to maintain an approximately planar conformation for the molecule. In the crystal, inversion dimers linked by C-H⋯O inter-actions occur. Further C-H⋯O contacts link dimers into (010) chains.

{2-[1-(2-Meth-oxy-6-oxidophenyl-κO (6))ethyl-idene]-N-methyl-hydrazinecarbo-thio-amidato-κ(2) N (2),S}(tri-phenyl-phosphane-κP)palladium(II) ethanol monosolvate

In the title compound, [Pd(C₁₁H₁₃N₃O₂S)(C₁₈H₁₅P)]·C₂H₅OH, the Pd^II atom is tetra­coordinated in a slightly distorted square-planar environment by three donor atoms (NOS) from a thio­semicarbazonate ligand, forming five- and six-membered chelate rings, and a P atom from a neutral tri­phenyl­phosphane group. The five-membered ring adopts a distorted envelope conformation with Pd^II as the flap atom, while the six-membered ring forms a slightly twisted screw-boat conformation. A slightly distorted screw-boat form of a meth­oxy­phenyl group is fused to the six-membered ring. Weak C—H⋯O inter­actions form dimers in the asymmetric unit and along [001] which help to stabilize the crystal packing.