DNA interactions and in vitro anticancer evaluations of pyridine-benzimidazole-based Cu complexes

Synthesis, crystal structure and properties of chlorido-tetra-kis-(pyridine-3-carbo-nitrile)-thio-cyanato-iron(II)

Reaction of FeCl2·4H2O with KSCN and 3-cyano-pyridine (pyridine-3-carbo-nitrile) in ethanol accidentally leads to the formation of single crystals of Fe(NCS)(Cl)(3-cyano-pyridine)4 or [FeCl(NCS)(C6H4N2)4]. The asymmetric unit of this compound consists of one FeII cation, one chloride and one thio-cyanate anion that are located on a fourfold rotation axis as well as of one 3-cyano-pyridine coligand in a general position. The FeII cations are sixfold coordinated by one chloride anion and one terminally N-bonding thio-cyanate anion in trans-positions and four 3-cyano-pyridine coligands that coordinate via the pyridine N atom to the FeII cations. The complexes are arranged in columns with the chloride anions, with the thio-cyanate anions always oriented in the same direction, which shows the non-centrosymmetry of this structure. No pronounced inter-molecular inter-actions are observed between the complexes. Initially, FeCl2 and KSCN were reacted in a 1:2 ratio, which lead to a sample that contains the title compound as the major phase together with a small amount of an unknown crystalline phase, as proven by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). If FeCl2 and KSCN is reacted in a 1:1 ratio, the title compound is obtained as a nearly pure phase. IR investigations reveal that the CN stretching vibration for the thio-cyanate anion is observed at 2074 cm-1, and that of the cyano group at 2238 cm-1, which also proves that the anionic ligands are only terminally bonded and that the cyano group is not involved in the metal coordination. Measurements with thermogravimetry and differential thermoanalysis reveal that the title compound decomposes at 169°C when heated at a rate of 4°C min-1 and that the 3-cyano-pyridine ligands are emitted in two separate poorly resolved steps. After the first step, an inter-mediate compound with the composition Fe(NCS)(Cl)(3-cyano-pyridine)2 of unknown structure is formed, for which the CN stretching vibration of the thio-cyanate anion is observed at 2025 cm-1, whereas the CN stretching vibration of the cyano group remain constant. This strongly indicates that the FeII cations are linked by μ-1,3-bridg-ing thio-cyanate anions into chains or layers.

Synthesis and characterization of the new ligand, 1,2,4-triazino[5,6-b]indol-3-ylimino methyl naphthalene-2-ol and its Ni(II) and Cu(II) complexes: comparative studies of their in vitro DNA and HSA Binding

A new ligand 1,2,4-triazino[5,6-b]indol-3-ylimino methyl naphthalene-2-ol (HL) was derived from 5H-[1,2,4]triazino[5,6-b]indol-3-amine and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde. The metal complexes of the type [Ni(L)(Bipy)]1/2SO₄ (1), [Cu(L)(Bipy)(H₂O)₂]1/2SO₄ (2), [Ni(L)(Phen)]1/2SO₄ (3) and [Cu(L)(Phen)(H₂O)₂]1/2SO₄ (4) were synthesized. The ligand (HL) and complexes 1-4 were thoroughly characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic methods (FT-IR, ToF-MS, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR), molar conductance and magnetic moment determination. The Ni(II) complexes 1 and 3 adopt the square planar geometry and Cu(II) complexes 2 and 4 acquire distorted octahedral arrangement. In vitro DNA binding behavior of ligand (HL) and metal complexes 1-4 was explored by fluorescence spectral and ethidium bromide studies. The outcomes reveal that the complexes interact with DNA via non-covalent groove binding and electrostatic interactions. The higher binding constant (K) values of 4.35 × 10⁴ and 9.12 × 10⁴ M^-1 for complexes 2 and 4 indicate stronger binding ability with DNA. Moreover, in vitro human serum albumin (HSA) binding experiment with HL and complexes 1-4 reveals conformational modulations in the Trp-214 microenvironments in the subdomain IIA pocket.

Association between pre-diagnostic dietary copper, zinc, and copper-to-zinc ratio and severity of ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND

The impact of dietary trace elements intake on ovarian cancer (OC) severity is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

We firstly explore the relationship between dietary copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and copper-to-zinc (Cu/Zn) ratio and severity of OC.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 701 women from the OC follow-up study between 2015 and 2020. Dietary information was collected by a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The severity information of OC including age at diagnosis, histological type, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, and histopathologic grade was ascertained from medical records. Logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of aforementioned associations.

RESULTS

Among 701 participants, the number of patients age at diagnosis older than 50 were 443 (63.2%). The number of patients diagnosed as serous, III-IV stage, and poorly differentiation OC were 477 (68.05%), 336 (47.93%), and 597 (85.16%), respectively. In addition, compared with the lowest tertile intake, higher possibility of non-serous OC was associated with the pre-diagnosis dietary Cu (OR = 2.39, 95% CI = 1.28-4.47, p trend < 0.05) and Cu/Zn ratio (OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.26-3.39, P trend < 0.05) in the highest tertile intake. The risk of poorly differentiation OC at diagnosis was significant inversely related to dietary Cu intake (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.18-0.88, P trend < 0.05). Besides, the results of subgroup analyses were consistent with the main findings but not all of them showed statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

Pre-diagnostic dietary Cu and Cu/Zn ratio were contributed to reducing the severity of OC at diagnosis, especially for the risk of serous OC and poorly differentiation OC.

Synthesis of Carvacrol Derivatives as Potential New Anticancer Agent against Lung Cancer

Lung cancer remains a major public health concern among all cancer diseases due to the toxicity and side-effects of the available commercially synthesized drugs. Natural product-derived synthesized anticancer drugs are now of promising interest to fight against cancer death. Carvacrol is a major component of most essential oil-bearing plants with potential pharmacological activity, especially against various cancer cell lines. Among the other organometallic compounds, copper complexes have been reported to be effective anticancer agents against various cancer cell lines, especially lung and leukemia cancers, due to the nontoxic nature of copper in normal cells since it is an endogenic metal. In this study, we synthesized three carvacrol derivatives, i.e., carvacrol aldehyde, Schiff base, and copper–Schiff base complex, through an established synthesis protocol and characterized the synthesized product using various spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized derivatives were evaluated for in vitro cytotoxic activity against different cancer cell lines, including human lung cancer (A549) and human fibroblast (BALB-3T3). Our findings showed that the copper–Schiff base complex derived from carvacrol inhibited the proliferation and migration of the A549 cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. This activity might be due to the inhibition of cell proliferation and migration at the G₂/M cell-cycle phase, as well as apoptosis, possibly through the activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the activity of the copper–Schiff base complex of carvacrol against A549 cell lines. Our result highlights that a new synthesized copper complex from carvacrol could be a novel potential drug in the treatment of lung cancer.

Biochemical pathways of copper complexes: progress over the past 5 years

Copper is an essential trace element with vital roles in many metalloenzymes; it is also prominent among nonplatinum anticancer metallodrugs. Copper-based complexes are endogenously biocompatible, tenfold more potent than cisplatin, exhibit fewer adverse effects, and have a wide therapeutic window. In cancer biology, copper acts as an antitumor agent by inhibiting cancer via multiple pathways. Herein, we present an overview of advances in copper complexes as 'lead' antitumor drug candidates, and in understanding their biochemical and pharmacological pathways over the past 5 years. This review will help to develop more efficacious therapeutics to improve clinical outcomes for cancer treatments.

Novel Copper-Containing Cytotoxic Agents Based on 2-Thioxoimidazolones

A series of 73 ligands and 73 of their Cu⁺² and Cu⁺¹ copper complexes with different geometries, oxidation states of the metal, and redox activities were synthesized and characterized. The aim of the study was to establish the structure-activity relationship within a series of analogues with different substituents at the N(3) position, which govern the redox potentials of the Cu⁺²/Cu⁺¹ redox couples, ROS generation ability, and intracellular accumulation. Possible cytotoxicity mechanisms, such as DNA damage, DNA intercalation, telomerase inhibition, and apoptosis induction, have been investigated. ROS formation in MCF-7 cells and three-dimensional (3D) spheroids was proven using the Pt-nanoelectrode. Drug accumulation and ROS formation at 40-60 μm spheroid depths were found to be the key factors for the drug efficacy in the 3D tumor model, governed by the Cu⁺²/Cu⁺¹ redox potential. A nontoxic in vivo single-dose evaluation for two binuclear mixed-valence Cu⁺¹/Cu⁺² redox-active coordination compounds, 72k and 61k, was conducted.

Induction of Redox-Mediated Cell Death in ER-Positive and ER-Negative Breast Cancer Cells by a Copper(II)-Phenolate Complex: An In Vitro and In Silico Study

This research was aimed at finding the cytotoxic potential of the mixed ligand copper(II) complex [Cu(tdp)(phen)](ClO₄)—where H(tdp) is the tetradentate ligand 2-[(2-(2-hydroxyethylamino)-ethylimino)methyl]phenol, and phen is 1,10-phenanthroline—to two genotypically different breast cancer cells, MCF-7 (p53⁺ and ER⁺) and MDA-MB-231 (p53^- and ER^-). The complex has been already shown to be cytotoxic to ME180 cervical carcinoma cells. The special focus in this study was the induction of cell death by apoptosis and necrosis, and its link with ROS. The treatment brought about nuclear fragmentation, phosphatidylserine externalization, disruption of mitochondrial trans-membrane potential, DNA damage, cell cycle arrest at sub-G1 phase, and increase of ROS generation, followed by apoptotic death of cells during early hours and a late onset of necrosis in the cells surviving the apoptosis. The efficacy of the complex against genotypically different breast cancer cells is attributed to a strong association through p53-mitochondrial redox—cell cycle junction. The ADMET properties and docking of the complex at the active site of Top1 are desirable attributes of a lead molecule for development into a therapeutic. Thus, it is shown that the copper(II)–phenolate complex[Cu(tdp)(phen)]⁺ offers potential to be developed into a therapeutic for breast cancers in general and ER-negative ones in particular.

Design and Synthesis of 2-(5-Phenylindol-3-yl)benzimidazole Derivatives with Antiproliferative Effects towards Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells by Activation of ROS-Mediated Mitochondria Dysfunction

Benzimidazole derivatives are widely studied because of their broad-spectrum biological activity, such as antitumor properties and excellent fluorescence performance. Herein, two types of 2-(5-phenylindol-3-yl)benzimidazole derivatives (1 a-1 h and 2 a-2 e) were rationally designed and synthesized. When these compounds were investigated in vitro anti-screening assays, we found that all of them possessed antitumor effect, in particular compound 1 b, which showed an outstanding antiproliferative effect on MDA-MB-231 cells (IC₅₀ ≈2.6 μm). A study of the drug action mechanisms in cells showed that the antitumor activity of the compounds is proportional to their lipophilicity and cellular uptake; the tested compounds all entered the lysosome of MDA-MB-231 cells and caused changes in the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and then caused mitochondrial damage. Apparent differences in the ROS levels for each compound suggest that the lethality of these compounds towards MDA-MB-231 cells is closely related to the ROS levels. Taken together, this study not only provides a theoretical basis for 2-(5-phenylindol-3-yl)benzimidazole anticarcinogens but also offers new thinking on the rational design of next-generation antitumor benzimidazole derivatives.

Copper(ii) complexes based on tripodal pyridyl amine derivatives as efficient anticancer agents

The in vitro cytotoxicity of a series of chlorido-Cu(ii) complexes based on tripod pyridyl N4-donor derivatives revealed significant-to-moderate cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines with the best results obtained for [Cu(BQPA)Cl]ClO₄/PF₆ (5-ClO4/PF6) with IC₅₀ values of 4.7–10.8 μM.

Copper(ii) complexes based on quinoline-derived Schiff-base ligands: synthesis, characterization, HSA/DNA binding ability, and anticancer activity

Three copper(ii) complexes, [Cu(L1)(NO₃)₂] (C1), [Cu(L2)Cl₂] (C2) and [Cu(L2)SO₄]₂·H₂O (C3), were designed and synthesized by the reaction of Cu(NO₃)₂·3H₂O, CuCl₂·2H₂O and CuSO₄·5H₂O with a quinoline-derived Schiff base ligand, L1 or L2, prepared by the condensation of quinoline-8-carbaldehyde with 4-aminobenzoic acid methyl ester or 4-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester (benzocaine). The efficient bindings of the C1-C3 complexes with human serum albumin (HSA) and calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) were analyzed by spectroscopy and molecular docking. These complexes could significantly quench the fluorescence of HSA through the static quenching process, and hydrophobic interactions with HSA through the sub-domain IIA and IIIA cavities. The complexes bind to DNA via the intercalative mode and they fit well into the curved contour of the DNA target in the minor groove region. Furthermore, the interaction abilities of the Cu(ii) complexes with HSA/DNA were greater as compared to their corresponding ligands. Interestingly, C1-C3, particularly C3, exhibited more cytotoxicity toward HeLa cells compared to normal HL-7702 cells and three other tumor cell lines (Hep-G2, NCI-H460, and MGC80-3). Their cytotoxicity toward the HeLa cell lines was 1.9-3.5-fold more potent than cisplatin. Further studies indicated that these complexes arrested the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase and promoted tumor cell apoptosis via a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated mitochondrial pathway.