Anion-directed supramolecular assembly of cobalt(II)-fluconazole coordination polymers: Structural diversity, fluorescent and magnetic properties

Resurgence and Repurposing of Antifungal Azoles by Transition Metal Coordination for Drug Discovery

Coordination compounds featuring one or more antifungal azole (AA) ligands constitute an interesting family of candidate molecules, given their medicinal polyvalence and the viability of drug complexation as a strategy to improve and repurpose available medications. This review reports the work performed in the field of coordination derivatives of AAs synthesized for medical purposes by discussing the corresponding publications and emphasizing the most promising compounds discovered so far. The resulting overview highlights the efficiency of AAs and their metallic species, as well as the potential still lying in this research area.

The Cu(II)-fluconazole complex revisited. Part I: Structural characteristics of the system

Protonation equilibria and Cu(II) binding processes by an antifungal agent fluconazole, α-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-α-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl-methyl)-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-ethanol, were studied using the UV-Vis, EPR and NMR spectroscopic techniques. The protonation constant of fluconazole was determined from NMR titration and attributed to N4' nitrogen atoms using the DFT methods. The spectroscopic data suggest that at pH as low as 0.4 the first complex is formed, in which one or two Cu(II) ions are bound to one of the nitrogen atoms (N4') from triazole rings. Above pH 1.5 each Cu(II) ion is surrounded by two nitrogen atoms (also N4') from two different ligand molecules, forming primary monomeric complexes and above pH=5, both dimeric or oligomeric species occur, which is well registered by the EPR technique. The mixture of Cu(NO(3))(2) with fluconazole in a 1:1 molar ratio in a water (pH=4.5)/ethanol solution gave crystals of [Cu(2)(H(2)O){(C(6)H(3)-2,4-F(2))(CH(2)N(3)C(2)H(2))(2)C-OH}{(C(6)H(3)-2,4-F(2))(CH(2)N(3)C(2)H(2))(2)C-O}(NO(3))](NO(3))(2)·9(H(2)O). This complex is the first example of a cupric 3D polymeric structure with a fluconazole ligand coordinated via both N2' and N4' atoms from the same triazole rings. At higher pH values, we obtained a binuclear complex [Cu(2)(L)(2)(H(2)O)(2)(NO(3))(2)], in which the copper(II) atoms were bridged by the oxygen atoms of the deprotonated OH group of fluconazole. The hypothetical oxidative properties of this system were also examined, however it failed to generate either reactive oxygen species or DNA scission products.