Linking thione-ligated copper(I) centres with trans-1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethene (trans-dppen): crystal structures of the pyrimidine-2-thione derivatives [CuBr(μ2-trans-dppen)(pymtH)]2 and [CuI(μ2-trans-dppen)(pymtH)]2

Copper(i) halide cluster-based coordination polymers modulated by chiral ditopic dithiodianthranilide ligands: synthesis, crystal structure and photoluminescence

The influence of ligand chirality on the self-assembly and spectroscopic properties of copper(i) halide coordination polymers was investigated.

New copper(I) complexes selective for prostate cancer cells

A new family of eighteen Cu(i) complexes of the general formula [Cu(PP)(LL)][BF4], where PP is a phosphane ligand and LL represents an N,O-heteroaromatic bidentate ligand, has been synthesized and fully characterized by classical analytical and spectroscopic methods. Five complexes of this series were also characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The cytotoxicity of all compounds was evaluated in breast (MCF7) and prostate (LNCap) human cancer cells and in a normal prostate cell line (RWPE). In general, all compounds showed higher cytotoxicity for the prostate cancer cells than for the breast cells, with IC50 values in the range 0.2-2 μM after 24 h of treatment. The most cytotoxic compound, [Cu(dppe)(2-ap)][BF4] (16), where dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphano) ethane and 2-ap = 2-acetylpyridine, showed a high level of cellular internalization, generation of intracellular ROS and activation of the cell death mechanism via apoptosis/necrosis. Owing to its high cytotoxic activity for LNCap cells, being 70-fold higher than that for normal prostate cells (RWPE), complex (16) was found to be the most promising for further research in prostate cancer models.