Transition metal ion complexes of thiosemicarbazones derived from 2-acetylpyridine. Part 6. The chemical and antifungal properties of 2-acetylpyridine4 N-diethyl- and4 N-dipropylthiosemicarbazones and their copper(II) complexes

Antifungal activity of thiosemicarbazones, bis(thiosemicarbazones), and their metal complexes

Fungi are ubiquitous in nature, and typically cause little or no environmental or pathogenic damage to their plant, animal, and human hosts. However, a small but growing number of pathogenic fungi are spreading world-wide at an alarming rate threatening global ecosystem health and proliferation. Many of these emerging pathogens have developed multi-drug resistance to front line therapeutics increasing the urgency for the development of new antifungal agents. This review examines the development of thiosemicarbazones, bis(thiosemicarbazones), and their metal complexes as potential antifungal agents against more than 65 different fungal strains. The fungistatic activity of the compounds are quantified based on the zone of inhibition, minimum inhibitory concentration, or growth inhibition percentage. In this review, reported activities were standardized based on molar concentrations to simplify comparisons between different compounds. Of all the fungal strains reported in the review, A. niger in particular was very resistant towards a majority of tested compounds. Our analysis of the data shows that metal complexes are typically more active than non-coordinated ligands with copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes generally displaying the highest activity.

Novel Papaverine Metal Complexes with Potential Anticancer Activities

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Although several potential therapeutic agents have been developed to efficiently treat cancer, some side effects can occur simultaneously. Papaverine, a non-narcotic opium alkaloid, is a potential anticancer drug that showed selective antitumor activity in various tumor cells. Recent studies have demonstrated that metal complexes improve the biological activity of the parent bioactive ligands. Based on those facts, herein we describe the synthesis of novel papaverine–vanadium(III), ruthenium(III) and gold(III) metal complexes aiming at enhancing the biological activity of papaverine drug. The structures of the synthesized complexes were characterized by various spectroscopic methods (IR, UV–Vis, NMR, TGA, XRD, SEM). The anticancer activity of synthesized metal complexes was evaluated in vitro against two types of cancer cell lines: human breast cancer MCF-7 cells and hepatocellular carcinoma HepG-2 cells. The results revealed that papaverine-Au(III) complex, among the synthesized complexes, possess potential antimicrobial and anticancer activities. Interestingly, the anticancer activity of papaverine–Au(III) complex against the examined cancer cell lines was higher than that of the papaverine alone, which indicates that Au-metal complexation improved the anticancer activity of the parent drug. Additionally, the Au complex showed anticancer activity against the breast cancer MCF-7 cells better than that of cisplatin. The biocompatibility experiments showed that Au complex is less toxic than the papaverine drug alone with IC₅₀ ≈ 111µg/mL. These results indicate that papaverine–Au(III) complex is a promising anticancer complex-drug which would make it a suitable candidate for further in vivo investigations.

Targeting triple negative breast cancer cells by N3-substituted 9,10-phenanthrenequinone thiosemicarbazones and their metal complexes

Novel N(3)-substituted 9,10-Phenanthrenequinone thiosemicarbazones and their copper, nickel and palladium complexes are structurally characterized and reported along with the single crystal X-ray structures of three ligands and one nickel complex. All compounds were evaluated for their antiproliferative potential against Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) cells which have poor prognosis and no effective drugs to treat with. All compounds exhibited antiproliferative activity against these cells. Among the metal complexes evaluated, redox active copper complexes were found to be more potent. The possible mechanism for such enhanced activity can be attributed to the generation of oxidative stress, which was amenable for targeting through metal complexation.

Synthesis, characterization, cytotoxicity, antibacterial and antifungal evaluation of some new platinum (IV) and palladium (II) complexes of thiodiamines

Some new platinum (IV) and palladium (II) thiodiamine complexes of type [Pt(L)2Cl2] and [Pd(L)Cl2], [where, L=(cyclohexyl-N-thio)-1,2-ethylenediamine (L(1)) and (cyclohexyl-N-thio)-1,3-propanediamine (L(2))] have been synthesized. The thiodiamines coordinate as a bidentate N-S ligand. The synthesized platinum (IV) and palladium (II) complexes of the thiodiamines were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, mass, electronic and (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies. These complexes were also screened for cytotoxicity, in vitro antifungal and in vitro antibacterial activities. Thermodynamic parameters such as activation energy (Ea), apparent activation entropy (S(#)) and enthalpy change (DeltaH) for the dehydration and decomposition reactions of one complex has also been evaluated.

Synthesis, characterization, and antibacterial activity of novel Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) complexes with vitamin K3-thiosemicarbazone

Vitamin K3-thiosemicarbazone (C12H11N3NaO4S2 x 5H2O, abbreviated as VT), a new Schiff base derivative, has been synthesized. Its crystal structure, determined by X-ray diffraction, is triclinic, space group P1. We have also prepared five novel complexes of VT with transition metals: [M(VT)(2)2H2O] x nH2O, (n = 1 and 2 for M = Cu(II) and Zn(II), respectively) and [M'(HVT)2Cl2] x mH2O, (m = 4, 5, and 7 for M' = Co(II), Mn(II), and Ni(II), respectively). These compounds were characterized by IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy, molar conductivity, thermal analyses, complexometric titration, and elemental analysis. In all the complexes, the VT ligand coordinates through sulfur and oxygen atoms, and the geometry around metal atom is best described as octahedral. In vitro tests of antibacterial activity showed that VT and its complexes with Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) all had strong inhibitory actions against G(+) Staphylococcus aureus, G(+) Hay bacillus, and G(-) Escherichia coli.

Antifungal and antitumor activity of heterocyclic thiosemicarbazones and their metal complexes: current status

More than 75 substituted thiosemicarbazones and a number of metal complexes of each have been assayed for their antifungal activity. Their activity is significantly affected by the substituted groups attached at both 1N and 4N of the thiosemicarbazone moiety. Greatest activity occurs for 2-substituted pyridine thiosemicarbazones with differences observed for 2-formylpyridine, 2-acetylpyridine and 2-benzoylpyridine derivatives and their metal complexes. Further, there are activity differences for 4N-alkyl-, 4N-aryl-, 4N-dialkyl- and 3-azacyclothiosemicarbazones and their metal complexes as well as changes in the substituent size among each of these subgroups. Cu(II) complexes are often more active than the uncomplexed thiosemicarbazones, with the latter showing similar activity to Ni(II) complexes in many instances. The reduction potential of the thiosemicarbazone ligand in a Cu(II) complex, the strength of the ligand field and various spectral properties can be correlated to the inhibitory activity.

Novel broad-spectrum metal-based antifungal agents. Correlations amongst the structural and biological properties of copper (II) 2-acetylpyridine N4-dialkylthiosemicarbazones

Copper(II) complexes of the type [Cu(L)X], where L = tridentate anion of 2-acetylpyridine N4-diethyl thiosemicarbazone and X = C1 or Br, were screened against seven fungal strains pathogenic to man viz. Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Tricophyton rubrum, Epidermophyton floccosum and Microsporum canis. The greater growth inhibition exhibited by the bromo complex can be explained on the basis of its lower Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox couple and greater covalent bonding. These compounds represent a novel class of metal-based antifungal agents which provide opportunities for a large number of synthetic variations for modulation of the activities.