Association of structural modifications with bioactivity in three new copper(II) complexes of Schiff base ligands derived from 5-chlorosalicylaldehyde and amino acids

J Inorg Biochem. 2015 May:146:52-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2015.02.013. Epub 2015 Mar 2.

Abstract

Three novel structurally associated copper(II) complexes [Cu(II)(SalCl-Gly)(H2O)2] (1), [Cu(II)(SalCl-Ala)(H2O)] (2) and [Cu(II)(SalCl-Gly)(bipy)]·0.5H2O (3) (SalCl-Gly=5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene-glycine, SalCl-Ala=5-chloro-2-hydroxybenzylidene-alanine, bipy=2,2'-bipyridine) have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography, elemental analysis, IR and fluorescence spectroscopy. Single-crystal diffraction reveals that complex 1 is an infinite 1D zigzag chain in which SalCl-Gly serves as both a chelating and a bridging ligand, while complexes 2 and 3 are mononuclear. Cu(II) ions in complexes 1-3 exhibit distorted quasi-hexacoordinated octahedral, tetracoordinated square planar, and pentacoordinated square pyramid geometry, respectively. Their interactions with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) have been investigated by viscosity measurements and fluorescence spectroscopy. The apparent binding constant (Kapp) values for 1-3 are 1.02×10(5), 0.98×10(5) and 1.57×10(5)M(-1), respectively. All complexes displayed efficient oxidative cleavage of supercoiled DNA in the presence of H2O2. Complex 2, whose ligand can be regarded as a methyl-modification of SalCl-Gly of 1, showed a reduced DNA cleavage activity and a little-changed DNA-binding ability compared with 1. While attaching a 2,2'-bipyridine group to 1, the resulting complex 3 was conferred an enhanced intercalation into DNA. Moreover, cytotoxicity studies of three complexes against HepG-2 (human liver hepatocellular carcinoma) and NCI-H460 (human large-cell lung carcinoma) cells indicated that, thereto, complex 3 possessed the highest inhibition on viability of tested cells.

Keywords: Amino acid; Copper complex; Cytotoxic activity; DNA binding; Schiff base.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aldehydes / chemistry*
  • Amino Acids / chemistry*
  • Copper / chemistry*
  • DNA / chemistry
  • Hep G2 Cells
  • Humans
  • Organometallic Compounds / chemical synthesis*
  • Organometallic Compounds / toxicity
  • Schiff Bases / chemistry*

Substances

  • 5-chloro-salicylaldehyde
  • Aldehydes
  • Amino Acids
  • Organometallic Compounds
  • Schiff Bases
  • Copper
  • DNA
  • calf thymus DNA