Synthesis, spectral characterization, crystal structure and antibacterial activity of nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes containing ONNO donor Schiff base ligands

Studies on synthesis and influence of sterically driven Ni(II)-terpyridine (NNN) complexes on BSA/DNA binding and anticancer activity

The present work demonstrates the synthesis, structural diversity and coordination behavior of some selected new Ni(II)-Tpy complexes. The structural analysis revealed the coordination of the selected terpyridine ligands with the core metal atom in two different modes via dimeric species (1:1 fashion) through the Cl-bridging and a bis(Tpy)-Ni complex (2:1 fashion). Perhaps the most striking manifestations of these Ni(II)-Tpy complexes are BSA/DNA binding ability and anticancer activity. In addition, the cytotoxicity studies of Tpy ligand (4-([2,2':6',2″-terpyridin]-4'-yl)phenyl 5-methylthiophene-2-carboxylate) and the Ni(II) complexes were carried out using lung cancer cell line (A549), breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) and normal cell line (Vero cell). The cytotoxicity results were compared with the cisplatin control group. Notably, bis-terpyridyl complex 3C (R = 4-([2,2':6',2″-terpyridin]-4'-yl)phenyl 4-isopropoxybenzoate) demonstrates better activity with the IC50 value of 23.13 ± 3 μm for A549 and 22.7 ± 3 for MCF-7. The DFT calculations reveal the significant energy differences of HOMO and LUMO for the ligands and their corresponding Ni(II) complexes. The Tpy ligands and Ni(II)-Tpy complexes were investigated for BSA binding and further all the Ni(II) complexes were analyzed for DNA binding studies.

Multi-Faceted Antimicrobial Efficacy of a Quinoline-Derived Bidentate Copper(II) Ligand Complex and Its Hydrogel Encapsulated Formulation in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Inhibition and Wound Management

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance, exemplified by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), poses a grave threat to public health globally. Over time, MRSA has evolved resistance to multiple antibiotics, challenging conventional treatment strategies. The relentless adaptability of MRSA underscores the urgent need for innovative and targeted antimicrobial approaches to combat this resilient pathogen. Ancient knowledge and practices, along with scientific evidence, have established that metallic copper, and its organic coordination complexes can act as potential antibacterial substances. In search of a smart and effective antimicrobial against MRSA, we designed, synthesized, and characterized a bidentate copper(II) ligand complex (SG-Cu) utilizing a comprehensive array of analytical techniques, including ESI-MS, elemental analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and others. Antibacterial efficacy and mechanism of action of the complex were assessed through bacterial growth analyses, bacterial membrane perturbation assays, ROS elicitation assays, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. SG-Cu was found to maintain robust biocompatibility against the mammalian cell lines HEK-293, WI-38, and NIH/3T3. Remarkably, SG-Cu demonstrated significant biofilm disruptive tendency evidenced by the retardation of sliding motility, reduction in slime production, reduction in biofilm viability, and enhanced biofilm eradication, both in vitro and in urinary catheters. In vivo studies on murine excisional wounds, with SG-Cu impregnated in a palmitic acid conjugated NAVSIQ hexapeptide (PA-NV) hydrogel, revealed the sustained release of SG-Cu from the gel matrix, facilitating accelerated wound healing and effective wound disinfection. This multifaceted investigation highlights the potential of SG-Cu as a versatile option for combating MRSA infections and promoting wound healing, solidifying its claim to be developed into a viable therapeutic.

Synthesis, crystal structure, thermal stability and biological study of bis{(2-methoxy-6-[(E)-(propylimino)methyl]phenolato}nickel(II) complex

A Schiff base complex of nickel, bis{(2-methoxy-6-[(E)-(propylimino)methyl]phenolato}nickel(II) was synthesised by condensing bis(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde) nickel (II) and n-propylamine in methanolic medium. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the complex revealed it to possess planar geometry with a monoclinic crystal system. The non-isothermal TG/DTA runs on this complex in a high purity (99.99 %) nitrogen environment at atmospheric pressure confirmed the absence of any coordinated water. A sharp endotherm in its DTA shows a melting temperature range of 168-171 °C. It is thermally stable up to 243 °C and decomposes in two steps, yielding NiO and carbon as residue. In addition to the methoxy group (-OCH3), infrared analysis (IR) confirmed the presence of the characteristic azomethine group (-C[bond, double bond]N-) which is also responsible for the biological action. It was further analysed by elemental analyser (C, H, N), 1H and 13C NMR as well as mass spectrometry. It showed considerable antibacterial activity towards Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus when the concentration exceeds 200 μg/ml. The antifungal study shows significant inhibition with the antifungal drug imidazole as a positive control (PC). Small values of MIC, MBC/MIC indicate a lesser quantity of complex is required to inhibit the growth of micro-organisms.

Synthesis, characterization, molecular docking, and antimicrobial activities of dinuclear nickel(ii), palladium(ii), and platinum(iv) complexes

New nickel(ii), palladium(ii), and platinum(iv) complexes were synthesized by reacting the metal ions with benzidinedioxime in a 1 : 1 mole ratio. The CHN elemental analysis, spectroscopic analyses, and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) results showed that two Ni(ii) and two Pd(ii) ions coordinated to two benzidinedioxime ligands via the nitrogen atoms of both oxime groups and the two azomethine nitrogen atoms. In the case of the dinuclear platinum(iv) complex, however, each Pt(iv) is coordinated with the two oxygen atoms of the oxime group and the two azomethine nitrogen atoms of the ligand. Both elemental analyses and PXRD indicated that the complex ions of Ni(ii) and Pt(iv) have distorted octahedral geometry, whereas Pd(ii) has a square planar geometry. Molecular docking studies showed that the nickel(ii) complex is the most potent dual DHPS/DHFR bacterial inhibitor. The receptor of the DHPS enzyme (3ZTE) showed the best interaction with the nickel(ii) complex when compared to a receptor of the DHFR enzyme (3FRB). All the synthesized complexes and ligand exhibited significant results against PS. Aeruginous than their corresponding SMX-TMP drug. Among the three synthesized complexes, the nickel(ii) complex possessed the highest antimicrobial activities against tested microorganisms.

Synthesis, Spectral Characterization, and Biological Activities of Some Metal Complexes Bearing an Unsymmetrical Salen-Type Ligand, (Z)-1-(((2-((E)-(2-Hydroxy-6-methoxybenzylidene)amino)phenyl)amino) methylene) Naphthalen-2(1H)-one

An unsymmetrical salen-type Schiff base ligand, (Z)-1-(((2-((E)-(2-hydroxy-6-methoxybenzylidene)amino)phenyl)amino)methylene)naphthalen-2(1H)-one, and its Zn(II), Cu(II), Co(II), Mn(II), and Fe(III) complexes were synthesized and characterized by mass (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared (IR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra, and effective magnetic moments. The thermal analyses of the obtained ligand and metal complexes were conducted by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Antimicrobial activity of the unsymmetrical Schiff base ligand and its metal complexes were examined for Staphylococcus aureus as Gram-positive bacteria and Escherichia coli as Gram-negative bacteria. In vitro anticancer property of synthetic compounds was estimated against human cancer cell lines, a subline of Hela tumor cell line (KB), and a human liver cancer cell line (HepG-2) as well.

Synthesis, Structural Characterization, Hirshfeld Surface Analysis, and Antibacterial Study of Pd(II) and Ni(II) Schiff Base Complexes Derived from Aliphatic Diamine

A Schiff base bearing two methyl substituents, namely, 6,6'-((1E,1'E)-((2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diyl) bis(azanylylidene)) bis(methanylylidene)) bis(2-methylphenol) [H₂AD1Me] was synthesized and characterized through physicochemical and spectroscopic analyses. Then, the Schiff base was complexed with Pd(II) and Ni(II) to form [Pd(AD1Me)] and [Ni(AD1Me)], respectively. Both metal complexes were successfully obtained and characterized through several analyses, viz., melting point, elemental analysis, molar conductivity, magnetic susceptibility, FTIR, ¹H NMR, UV-vis, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. A quantitative analysis of the intermolecular interactions in the crystal structures has been performed using Hirshfeld surface analysis. Both metal complexes were crystallized in a monoclinic crystal system with the space group of P2₁/c. Additionally, the deprotonated phenolic oxygen atom (O1/O2) and azomethine nitrogen atom (N1/N2) of the ligand chelate the Pd(II) and Ni(II) ions, forming a slightly distorted square-planar complex containing three six-membered rings encircling the metal core with dsp² hybridization. The shift of ν(C=N) to a higher frequency in FTIR by 26-28 cm^-1 indicated that the complexation to Pd(II) and Ni(II) through the azomethine N was established. It was further supported through the shifting of the azomethine proton signal to higher or lower chemical shifts with Δδ = 0.43-1.15 ppm in ¹H NMR. In addition, the shifting of the n-π*(C=N) band in UV-vis spectra with Δλ = 24-40 nm indicated the involvement of azomethine nitrogen in the complexation. All the compounds showed no significant antibacterial activity against three bacterial strains, namely, Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus Rosenbach (ATCC 6538), Streptococcus mutans Clarke (ATCC 700,610), and Proteus vulgaris (ATCC 6380), as the percent growth inhibition calculated was less than 90%.

Metal Complexes with Schiff Bases: Data Collection and Recent Studies on Biological Activities

Metal complexes play a crucial role in pharmaceutical sciences owing to their wide and significant activities. Schiff bases (SBs) are multifaceted pharmacophores capable of forming chelating complexes with various metals in different oxidation states. Complexes with SBs are extensively studied for their numerous advantages, including low cost and simple synthetic strategies. They have been reported to possess a variety of biological activities, including antimicrobial, anticancer, antioxidant, antimalarial, analgesic, antiviral, antipyretic, and antidiabetic ones. This review summarizes the most recent studies on the antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities of SBs-metal complexes. Moreover, recent studies regarding mononuclear and binuclear complexes with SBs are described, including antioxidant, antidiabetic, antimalarial, antileishmanial, anti-Alzheimer, and catecholase activities.

Synthesis, characterization, and biological activities of zinc(II), copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes of an aminoquinoline derivative

Interest is increasingly focused on the use of transition metal complexes as biochemical, medical, analytical, pharmaceutical, agronomic, anticancer, and antibacterial agents. In this study, three complexes of [Zn(H2L)Cl] (1), [Cu(H2L)(H2O)(NO3)] (2) and [Ni(H2L)(NO3)].2H2O (3) were synthesized from a 2-chloroquinoline-3-carbaldehyde derived ligand [H3L = ((E)-2-(((2-((2-hydroxyethyl)amino)quinolin-3-yl)methylene)amino)ethanol. The compounds were characterized using physicochemical and spectroscopic methods. The results demonstrate that the free ligand behaves as a tridentate ligand with one oxygen and two nitrogen (ONN) donor atoms in 1:1 metal:ligand ratio. The formation constants of the complexes were found to be (KZn(II) = 2.3 × 106, KCu(II) = 2.9 × 106, and KNi(II) = 3.8 × 105). The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the reactions were spontaneous with exothermic nature of metal-ligand interaction energies. Based on the analyses of the experimental (EDX, FTIR, PXRD, MS and TGA) and DFT results, a distorted tetrahedral, a distorted square pyramidal and square planar geometry for Zn(II), Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes, respectively, were proposed. The B3LYP calculated IR frequencies and TD-B3LYP calculated absorption spectra were found to be in good agreement with the corresponding experimental results. The powder XRD data confirmed that the Zn(II), Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes have polycrystalline nature with average crystallite sizes of 27.86, 33.54, 37.40 Å, respectively. In vitro antibacterial activity analyses of the complexes were studied with disk diffusion method, in which the complexes showed better activity than the precursor ligand. Particularly the Cu(II) complex showed higher percent activity index (62, 90%), than both Zn(II) (54, 82%) and Ni(II) (41, 68%) complexes against both E. coli and P. aeruginosa, respectively. Using the DPPH assay, the complexes were further assessed for their antioxidant capacities. All metal complexes showed improved antioxidant activity than the free ligand. Zn(II) and Cu(II) complexes, which had IC50 values of 10.46 and 8.62 μg/ml, respectively, showed the best antioxidant activity. The calculated results of Lipinski’s rule of five also showed that the target complexes have drug-like molecular nature and similarly, the results of binding mode of action of these compounds against E. coli DNA gyrase B and P. aeruginosa LasR.DNA were found to be in good agreement with the in vitro biological activities.

Synthesis, Structural, and Intriguing Electronic Properties of Symmetrical Bis-Aryl-α,β-Unsaturated Ketone Derivatives

Three symmetrical bis-aryl-α,β-unsaturated ketone derivatives, 2,6-di((E)-benzylidene)-cyclohexan-1-one (DBC), 2,6-bis((E)-4-chlorobenzylidene)cyclohexan-1-one (BCC), and (1E,1'E,4E,4'E)-5,5'-(1,4-phenylene)bis(2-methyl-1-phenylpenta-1,4-dien-3-one) (PBMP), have been prepared using the aldol condensation approach toward ketones having two enolizable sites. The structures of DBC, BCC, and PBMP have been resolved via spectrometric methods. Moreover, the crystal structure of PBMP is determined by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) technique, which revealed that the PBMP molecular assembly is stabilized by the intermolecular C-H···O bonding and C-O···π and weak T-shaped offset π···π stacking interactions. The Hirshfeld surface analysis (HSA) of the PBMP crystal structure was performed as well, and the results were compared with the results of DBC and BCC. The density functional theory (DFT) study results revealed that the longer conjugated molecule of PBMP has smaller but still quite significant HOMO-LUMO gaps compared to the smaller molecules of BCC and DBC. The natural population analysis (NPA) and natural bonding orbital (NBO) analysis were performed. Accordingly, the hydrogen bonding and dipole-dipole interactions stabilize the crystal structures of these compounds. Additionally, the NBO analysis showed numerous high-energy stabilizing interactions for the PBMP compound due to the presence of numerous delocalized and relatively easily polarizable π-electrons, thus implying its significant thermodynamic stability. According to the global reactivity parameter (GRP) analysis, the compounds BCC and DBC are relatively stable in redox processes and have high thermodynamic stability and relatively lower reactivity in general. The molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) analysis results imply potential formation of the intermolecular hydrogen bonding and dispersion interactions, which stabilizes the crystal structures of these compounds.

Novel Zinc(II) and Copper(II) Complexes of 2-((2-Hydroxyethyl)amino)quinoline-3-carbaldehyde for Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities: A Combined Experimental, DFT, and Docking Studies

In the present work, two novel complexes of zinc(II) and copper(II) were synthesized from the ligand 2-((2-hydroxyethyl)amino)quinoline-3-carbaldehyde (H ₂ L) in a 1:2 metal-to-ligand ratio in methanol. The complexes were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) experimental techniques and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The spectral data revealed that the mono-deprotonated (HL) ligand acted as a bidentate ligand, which bound to both Zn(II) and Cu(II) ions via the nitrogen atom of the amine (N-H) and the hydroxyl (O-H) groups through the deprotonated oxygen atom. Formation constants and thermal analysis indicated that both metal complexes are stable up to 100 °C with thermodynamically favored chemical reactions. The Cu(II) complex showed antibacterial activities with the zones of inhibition of 20.90 ± 2.00 mm against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 19.69 ± 0.71 mm against Staphylococcus aureus, and 18.58 ± 1.04 mm against Streptococcus pyogenes. These results are relatively higher compared with the Zn(II) complex at the same concentration. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results for the complexes also showed similar trends against the three bacteria. On the other hand, radical scavenging activities of both Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes showed half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of 4.72 and 8.2 μg/mL, respectively, while ascorbic acid (a positive control) has a value of 4.28 μg/mL. The Cu(II) complex exhibited better communication with the positive control, indicating its potential use for biological activities. The calculated and in silico molecular docking results also strongly support the experimental results.

Shedding Light on the Synthesis, Crystal Structure, Characterization, and Computational Study of Optoelectronic Properties and Bioactivity of Imine derivatives

Two imine compounds named as (E)-2-(((3,4-dichlorophenyl)imino)methyl)phenol (DC2H) and (E)-4-(((2,4-dimethylphenyl)imino)methyl)phenol (DM4H) are synthesized, and their crystal structures are verified using the single-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The crystal structures of the compounds are compared with the closely related crystal structures using the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD). The crystal packing in terms of intermolecular interactions is fully explored by Hirshfeld surface analysis. Void analysis is carried out for both compounds to check the strength of the crystal packing. Furthermore, a state-of-the-art dual computational technique consisting of quantum chemical and molecular docking methods is used to shed light on the molecular structure, optoelectronic properties, and bioactivity of indigenously synthesized compounds. The optimized molecular geometries are compared with their counterpart experimental values. Based on previous reports of biofunctions of the indigenously synthesized imine derivatives, they are explored for their potential inhibition properties against two very crucial proteins (main protease (M^pro) and nonstructural protein 9 (NSP9)) of SARS-CoV-2. The calculated interaction energy values of DC2H and DM4H with M^pro are found to be -6.3 and -6.6 kcal/mol, respectively, and for NSP9, the calculated interaction energy value is found to be -6.5 kcal/mol. We believe that the current combined study through experiments and computational techniques will not only pique the interest of the broad scientific community but also evoke interest in their further in vitro and in vivo investigations.

Role of hydrazone substituents in determining the nuclearity and antibacterial activity of Zn(II) complexes with pyrazolone-based hydrazones

Hydrazones and their metal derivatives are very important compounds in medicinal chemistry due to their reported variety of biological activities, such as antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer action. Five hydrazone-pyrazolone ligands...

Crystal structure of [6,6′-((1E,1′E)-(propane-1,3- diylbis(azaneylylidene))bis(methaneylylidene)) bis(3-chlorophenol)-κ 4 N,N′,O,O′] copper(II), C17H14Cl2CuN2O2

C17H14Cl2CuN2O2, monoclinic, C2/c (no. 15), a = 22.743(4) Å, b = 8.0434(15) Å, c = 8.9388(17) Å, V = 1630.8(5) Å3, Z = 4, R gt (F) = 0.0376, wR ref(F 2) = 0.0997, T = 296(2) K.