[Di-aqua-sesqui(nitrato-κO)hemi(perchlorato-κO)copper(II)]-μ-{bis-[5-methyl-3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl] selenide}-[tri-aqua-(perchlorato-κO)copper(II)] nitrate monohydrate

Synthesis, structure and in vitro biological properties of a new copper(II) complex with 4-{[3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]methyl}benzoic acid

The new copper(II) complex dichloridobis(4-{[3-(pyridin-2-yl-κN)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl-κN²]methyl}benzoic acid)copper(II) methanol sesquisolvate hemihydrate, [CuCl₂L₂]·1.5CH₃OH·0.5H₂O, (1), has been synthesized from CuCl₂·2H₂O and the ligand 4-{[3-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]methyl}benzoic acid (L, C₁₅H₁₁N₃O₂). The complex was characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Two chloride ligands and two bidentate L ligands coordinate the Cu^II centre in 1 in a Jahn-Teller-distorted octahedral geometry of rather unusual configuration: a chloride substituent and a pyrazole N atom of an N,N'-chelating ligand occupy the more distant axial positions. Classical O-H...O hydrogen bonds and O-H...Cl interactions link neighbouring complex molecules and cocrystallized methanol molecules into chains that propagate parallel to the b direction. The title compound shows intriguing bioactivity: the effects of 1 on the enzymatic activity of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and on the viability of human breast cancer cells of cell line MCF7 were evaluated. Complex 1, with an IC₅₀ value of 0.51 µM, can efficiently inhibit PTP1B activity. An enzyme kinetic assay suggests that 1 inhibits PTP1B in a noncompetitive manner. A fluorescence titration assay indicates that 1 has a strong affinity for PTP1B, with a binding constant of 4.39 × 10⁶ M^-1. Complex 1 may also effectively decrease the viability of MCF7 cells in an extent comparable to that of cisplatin (IC₅₀ = 6.3 µM). The new copper complex therefore represents a promising PTP1B inhibitor and an efficient antiproliferation reagent against MCF7 cells.

Bis[3-methyl-5-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl] selenide methanol hemisolvate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C₁₈H₁₆N₆Se·0.5CH₃OH, contains two independent mol­ecules of bis­[3-methyl-5-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl] selenide with similar C—Se—C bond angles [99.30 (14) and 98.26 (13)°], and a methanol molecule of solvation. In one mol­ecule, the dihedral angles between pyrazole and neighbouring pyridine rings are 18.3 (2) and 15.8 (2)°, and the corresponding angles in the other mol­ecule are 13.5 (2) and 8.3 (2)°. In the crystal, the selenide and solvent mol­ecules are linked by classical O—H⋯N and N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, as well as by weak C—H⋯O and C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming a three-dimensional supra­molecular architecture.