One-pot synthesis, crystallographic characterization, evaluation as in vitro antibacterial and cytotoxic agents of two mercury(II) complexes containing pyridine dicarboxylic acid derivatives

Unveiling the promising anticancer effect of copper-based compounds: a comprehensive review

Copper is a necessary micronutrient for maintaining the well-being of the human body. The biological activity of organic ligands, especially their anticancer activity, is often enhanced when they coordinate with copper(I) and (II) ions. Copper and its compounds are capable of inducing tumor cell death through various mechanisms of action, including activation of apoptosis signaling pathways by reactive oxygen species (ROS), inhibition of angiogenesis, induction of cuproptosis, and paraptosis. Some of the copper complexes are currently being evaluated in clinical trials for their ability to map tumor hypoxia in various cancers, including locally advanced rectal cancer and bulky tumors. Several studies have shown that copper nanoparticles can be used as effective agents in chemodynamic therapy, phototherapy, hyperthermia, and immunotherapy. Despite the promising anticancer activity of copper-based compounds, their use in clinical trials is subject to certain limitations. Elevated copper concentrations may promote tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis by affecting cellular processes.

Synthesis, spectroscopic, DFT calculations, biological activity, SAR, and molecular docking studies of novel bioactive pyridine derivatives

Enaminonitrile pyridine derivative was used as a precursor for preparation of fourteen heterocyclic compounds using both conventional thermal and microwave techniques. Diverse organic reagents, such as chloroacetyl chloride, acetic anhydride, chloroacetic acid, carbon disulfide, p-toluene sulfonyl chloride, maleic anhydride, phthalic anhydride, were used. The chemical formulae and structures of isolated derivatives were obtained using different analytical and spectroscopic techniques such as IR, 1H-, 13C-NMR as well as mass spectrometry. The spectroscopic analyses revealed diverse structure arrangements for the products. Molecular structure optimization of certain compounds were performed by the density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) method and the basis set 6-31 G with double zeta plus polarization (d,p). The antimicrobial inhibition and the antioxidant activity of the reported compounds were screened. Compounds 5, 6, 11 and 13 exhibited the highest antibacterial inhibition, while compound 8 gave the highest scavenging activity (IC50 43.39 µg/ml) against the DPPH radical. Structure-activity relationship of the reported compounds were correlated with the data of antibacterial and the antioxidant activity. The global reactivity descriptors were also correlated with the biological properties of compounds. The molecular docking studies of reported compounds were investigated, and the analysis showed that the docked compounds have highly negative values for the functional binding scores. The binding interaction was found to be correlated with the substituent fragments of the compounds.

Cytotoxicity and mechanism of action of metal complexes: An overview

After the discovery of cisplatin, many metal compounds were investigated for the therapy of diseases, especially cancer. The high therapeutic potential of metal-based compounds is related to the special properties of these compounds, such as their redox activity and ability to target vital biological sites. The overproduction of ROS and the consequent destruction of the membrane potential of mitochondria and/or the DNA helix is one of the known pathways leading to the induction of apoptosis by metal complexes. The apoptosis process can occur via the death receptor pathway and/or the mitochondrial pathway. The expression of Bcl2 proteins and the caspase family play critical roles in these pathways. In addition to apoptosis, autophagy is another process that regulates the suppression or promotion of various cancers through a dual action. On the other hand, the ability to interact with DNA is an important property found in several metal complexes with potent antiproliferative effects against cancer cells. These interactions were classified into two important categories: covalent/coordinated or subtle, and non-coordinated interactions. The anticancer activity of metal complexes is sometimes achieved by the simultaneous combination of several mechanisms. In this review, the anticancer effect of metal complexes is mechanistically discussed by different pathways, and some effective agents on their antiproliferative properties are explained.

The preparation of novel poly(ether-amide)s based on spiro[fluorene-9,9′-xanthene] and a polyamide/polymer-coated ZnO nanocomposite: thermal, optical, biological, and methylene blue dye adsorption attributes

Novel thermostable, photoactive, and solvable polyamides containing fluorene and xanthene groups were synthesized, as was a ZnO-based composite. These compounds were used as antibacterial and anticancer agents and as absorbents to remove MB dye.

Novel Tl(III) complexes containing pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate derivatives with selective anticancer activity through inducing mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in A375 cells

Three novel Tl(III) complexes (C1), (C2) and (C3) were synthesized using the one-pot reactions of pyridine dicarboxylic acid derivatives, 2-aminobenzimidazole and/or 4-aminopyridine, and also thallium(III) nitrate trihydrate metal salt. The structure of all three complexes was determined by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction. C1 and C2 were realized to be isostructural with disordered square anti-prismatic geometry and for C3 arrangement of the distorted tricapped triangular prism was proposed. Cyclic voltammetry measurements on the complexes exhibited that formal potential values are more positive for C1 (E⁰' 0.109 V) and C3 (E⁰' 0.244 V) compared to C2 (E⁰' -0.051 V), versus Ag/AgCl under argon. Moreover, cytotoxicity of the compounds was evaluated in vitro against two cancer cell lines including a human melanoma (A375), a human colon adenocarcinoma (HT29), and also one normal cell human foreskin fibroblast (HFF). The selective and potent cytotoxicity effect was exhibited by C1 and C3 on cancer cell lines. The apoptosis through a caspase-dependent mitochondrion pathway was confirmed by ROS production, MMP reduction, p53 activation, Bax up-regulation, and Bcl-2 down-regulation, cytochrome c release, procaspase-9, and 3 expression, for A375 cells treated to C1 and C3. According to similar cellular uptake of the complexes in A375 cell line, the generation of ROS was considered as an effective agent to justify the inhibition effect C1 and C3 on mentioned cells. Furthermore, arresting the cell cycle in the G2-M phase and inducing apoptosis were indicated by these two complexes.