Study of the structure, prooxidative, and cytotoxic activity of some chelate copper(II) complexes

Abstract

© 2017 Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences. The six chelate N,O-copper(II) complexes were synthesised starting from salicylaldehyde anil Schiff bases, as ligands. Their structure is elucidated using experimental and theoretical tools. In vitro biological activities, i.e. cytotoxic and prooxidative effects against human epithelial mammary gland/breast metastatic carcinoma MDA-MB-231, epithelial colorectal carcinoma HCT-116, and foetal lung fibroblast healthy MRC-5 cell lines of investigated compounds are also determined. Complexes Cu-1, Cu-6, and especially Cu-7 showed significant cytotoxic effects, with IC50 values comparable with effects of positive control CisPt. In addition, investigated complexes induced extreme oxidative and nitrosative stress in all treated cell lines. The most prominent effect is observed on HCT-116 cells, and on MRC-5 cells, while MDA-MB-231 cells showed higher resistance to the investigated cell lines, giving us direction towards the substances with more specific selectivity.