Unsymmetrical 3- and 5-substituted bis(pyrazolyl)borate system

In vitro and in vivo anticancer activity of copper(I) complexes with homoscorpionate tridentate tris(pyrazolyl)borate and auxiliary monodentate phosphine ligands

Tetrahedral copper(I) TpCuP complexes 1-15, where Tp is a N,N,N-tris(azolyl)borate and P is a tertiary phosphine, have been synthesized and characterized by means of NMR, ESI-MS, and XAS-EXAFS, and X-ray diffraction analyses on the representative complexes 1 and 10, respectively. All copper(I) complexes were evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against a panel of human cancer cell lines (including cisplatin and multidrug-resistant sublines). The two most effective complexes [HB(pz)3]Cu(PCN), 1, and [HB(pz)3]Cu(PTA), 2, showed selectivity toward tumor vs normal cells, inhibition of 26S proteasome activity associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and unfolded protein response (UPR) activation. No biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis were detected, and morphology studies revealed an extensive cytoplasmic vacuolization coherently with a paraptosis-like cell death mechanism. Finally, the antitumor efficacy of complex 1 was validated in the murine Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) model.

Thallium(I) complexes of fluorinated bis- and tris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands: [H2B{3,5-(CF3)2pz}2]Tl and [HB{3,5-(CF3)2pz}3]Tl

X-ray crystal structural data at 100 (2) K for the thallium(I) complex of a fluorinated bis(pyrazolyl)borate, {bis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl-κN2]borato}thallium(I), [Tl(C10H4BF12N4)], abbreviated as [H2B{3,5-(CF3)2pz}2]Tl, and the related tris(pyrazolyl)borate, {tris[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl-κN2]borato}thallium(I), [Tl(C15H4BF18N6)], abbreviated as [HB{3,5-(CF3)2pz}3]Tl, are reported. [H2B{3,5-(CF3)2pz}2]Tl features a two-coordinate TlIatom with a bent geometry and a boat-shaped bis(pyrazolyl)borate ligand. It also has several additional inter- and intramolecular Tl...H and Tl...F contacts in the solid state. The tris(pyrazolyl)borate analogue [HB{3,5-(CF3)2pz}3]Tl has a trigonal–pyramidal thallium centre and features inter- and intramolecular Tl...F contacts.