Mono and binuclear cobalt(II) mixed ligand complexes containing 1,10-phenanthroline and adenine using 1,3-diaminopropane as a spacer: synthesis, characterization, and antibacterial activity investigations

Synthesis, characterisation and antimicrobial activity of supramolecular cobalt-peptide conjugates

Herein, we describe the synthesis and characterisation of four new supramolecular cobalt conjugates of antimicrobial peptides functionalised with terpyridine ligands (L). Peptides were chosen based on the well-established arginine-tryptophan (RW)3 motif, with terpyridine-derivatized lysine (Lys(tpy)) added to the sequence, or replacing tryptophan residues. Self-assembly of the antimicrobial peptides with Co(BF4)2·6H2O formed exclusively CoL2 dimers (for peptides with one tpy ligand each) and Co2L4 metallo-macrocycles (for peptides with two tpy ligands for each peptide), which could be 'locked' by oxidation of Co(+II) to Co(+III) with ammonium ceric nitrate. The Co-peptide complexes were characterised by mass spectrometry and in solution by NMR spectroscopy, including 2D diffusion ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY) which confirmed the proposed stoichiometries. The antimicrobial activity of the novel peptides and their metallo-supramolecular assemblies was investigated by determination of their minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) against a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Complexation with cobalt increases the activity of the peptides in almost every case. Most of the new metal-peptide conjugates showed good activity against Gram-positive bacteria, including a multi-resistant S. aureus strain and the opportunistic pathogenic yeast C. albicans (down to 7 μmol l-1 for the most active Co2L4 derivate), a value that is increased five-fold compared to the lysine-derivatized peptide ligand alone. Interestingly, conjugates of the CoL2 type also showed decent activity against Gram-negative bacteria including the WHO-flagged problematic A. baumannii strain (down to 18 μmol l-1 for the most active derivative).

Cytotoxicity and Antibacterial Potentials of Mixed Ligand Cu(II) and Zn(II) Complexes: A Combined Experimental and Computational Study

[Cu(C₁₅H₉O₄)(C₁₂H₈N₂)O₂C₂H₃]·3H₂O (1) and [Zn(C₁₅H₉O₄)(C₁₂H₈N₂)]O₂C₂H₃ (2) have been synthesized and characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), and molar conductance, and supported by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations. Square pyramidal and tetrahedral geometries are proposed for Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes, respectively, and the XRD patterns showed the polycrystalline nature of the complexes. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxic activity of the complexes was evaluated against the human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). A Cu(II) centered complex with an IC₅₀ value of 4.09 μM was more effective than the Zn(II) centered complex and positive control, cisplatin, which displayed IC₅₀ values of 75.78 and 18.62 μM, respectively. In addition, the newly synthesized complexes experienced the innate antioxidant nature of the metal centers for scavenging the DPPH free radical (up to 81% at 400 ppm). The biological significance of the metal complexes was inferred from the highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) energy band gap, which was found to be 2.784 and 3.333 eV, respectively for 1 and 2, compared to the ligands, 1,10-phenathroline (4.755 eV) and chrysin (4.403 eV). Moreover, the molecular docking simulations against estrogen receptor alpha (ERα; PDB: 5GS4) were strongly associated with the in vitro biological activity results (E _B and K _i are -8.35 kcal/mol and 0.76 μM for 1, -7.52 kcal/mol and 3.07 μM for 2, and -6.32 kcal/mol and 23.42 μM for cisplatin). However, more research on in vivo cytotoxicity is suggested to confirm the promising cytotoxicity results.

Synthesis, structural investigations, and in vitro biological activity of Co(II) and Fe(III) mixed ligand complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline and 2,2'-bipyridine

Herein, we report, four new mixed ligand complexes of Cobalt(II) and Iron(III), viz., [Co(L₁ )(L₂ )(H₂ O)₂ ]Cl₂ (1), [Co(L₁ )(L₂ )(L₃ )(H₂ O)]Cl₂ (2), [Fe(L₁ )(L₂ )(H₂ O)₂ ]Cl₃ (3), and [Fe(L₁ )(L₂ )(L₃ )(H₂ O)]Cl₃ (4), where L₁  = 1,10-phenanthroline (C₁₂ H₈ N₂ ), L₂  = 2,2'-bipyridine (C₁₀ H₈ N₂ ), and L₃  = acetamide (C₂ H₅ NO)). They were synthesized and characterized using spectroscopic analysis (ESI-MS, ICP-OES, FT-IR, and UV-Vis), elemental analysis, melting point determination, and conductance measurement. The in vitro antibacterial activity was tested on two Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes) and two Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. Coli)and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) bacteria using the disc diffusion method. Based on the analytical and spectroscopic data, octahedral geometries are assigned to the complexes. Co(II) complexes were found more active against K. pneumoniae than the corresponding Fe(III) complexes which indicated that antibacterial activities of metal complexes have tuned with the nature of the metal. The results provide an insight to design and readily prepare task-specific metal-based drugs for interaction with particular bacterial strains.

Organic-inorganic hybrid salt and mixed ligand Cr(III) complexes containing the natural flavonoid chrysin: Synthesis, characterization, computational, and biological studies

Organic-inorganic hybrid salt and mixed ligand Cr(III) complexes (Cr1 and Cr2) containing the natural flavonoid chrysin were synthesized. The metal complexes were characterized using UV-Vis, Fourier-transform infrared, MS, SEM-EDX, XRD, and molar conductance measurements. Based on experimental and DFT/TD-DFT calculations, octahedral geometries for the synthesized complexes were suggested. The powder XRD analysis confirms that the synthesized complexes were polycrystalline, with orthorhombic and monoclinic crystal systems having average crystallite sizes of 21.453 and 19.600 nm, percent crystallinities of 51% and 31.37%, and dislocation densities of 2.324 × 10^-3 and 2.603 × 10^-3 nm^-2 for Cr1 and Cr2, respectively. The complexes were subjected to cytotoxicity, antibacterial, and antioxidant studies. The in vitro biological studies were supported with quantum chemical and molecular docking computational studies. Cr1 showed significant cytotoxicity to the MCF-7 cell line, with an IC₅₀ value of 8.08 μM compared to 30.85 μM for Cr2 and 18.62 μM for cisplatin. Cr2 showed better antibacterial activity than Cr1. The higher E _HOMO (-5.959 eV) and dipole moment (10.838 Debye) values of Cr2 obtained from the quantum chemical calculations support the observed in vitro antibacterial activities. The overall results indicated that Cr1 is a promising cytotoxic drug candidate.

Cytotoxic mixed-ligand complexes of Cu(II): A combined experimental and computational study

Herein, we report the synthesis of mixed-ligand Cu(II) complexes of metformin and ciprofloxacin drugs together with 1,10-phenanthroline as a co-ligand. The synthesized complexes were characterized using different spectroscopic and spectrometric techniques. In vitro cytotoxic activity against human breast adenocarcinoma cancer cell line (MCF-7) as well as antibacterial activity against two gram-negative and two gram-positive bacterial strains were also investigated. The analyses of the experimental results were supported using quantum chemical calculations and molecular docking studies against estrogen receptor alpha (ERα; PDB: 5GS4). The cytotoxicity of the [Cu(II) (metformin) (1,10-phenanthroline)] complex (1), with IC₅₀ of 4.29 µM, and the [Cu(II) (ciprofloxacin) (1,10-phenanthroline)] complex (2), with IC₅₀ of 7.58 µM, were found to be more effective than the referenced drug, cisplatin which has IC₅₀ of 18.62 µM against MCF-7 cell line. The molecular docking analysis is also in good agreement with the experimental results, with binding affinities of –7.35, –8.76 and –6.32 kcal/mol, respectively, for complexes 1, 2 and cisplatin against ERα. Moreover, complex 2 showed significant antibacterial activity against E. coli (inhibition diameter zone, IDZ, = 17.3 mm), P. aeruginosa (IDZ = 17.08 mm), and S. pyogen (IDZ = 17.33 mm), at 25 μg/ml compared to ciprofloxacin (IDZ = 20.0, 20.3, and 21.3 mm), respectively. Our BOILED-egg model indicated that the synthesized metal complexes have potentially minimal neurotoxicity than that of cisplatin.