Co(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II) complexes of (3E)-3-[(2-{(E)-[1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethylidene]amino}ethyl)imino]-1-phenylbutan-1-one (DEPH2) derived from ethylenediamine, 2′,4′-dihydroxyacetophenone and 1-phenylbutane-1,3-dione have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR, UV-Visible spectroscopy, and screened to establish their potential as antibacterial agents, antioxidants and DPPH radical scavengers. The FTIR spectra showed that the ligand behaves as a dibasic tetradentate ligand with the dioxygen-dinitrogen donor atom system oriented towards the central metal ion. The analytical and spectroscopic data suggest a square planar geometry for Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes and an octahedral geometry for the Co(II) complex. The ligand and their metal complexes were screened for antibacterial activity against Gram (+) and Gram (−) bacteria by the agar well diffusion method. In addition, the antioxidant activities of the complexes were also investigated through their scavenging effect on DPPH and ABTS radicals. The obtained IC50 value of the DPPH activity for the copper complex (2.08 ± 0.47 µM) and that of the ABTS activity for the copper complex (IC50 = 2.11 + 1.69 µM) were higher than the values obtained for the other compounds.

Ruthenium compounds are highly regarded as potential drug candidates. The compounds offer the potential of reduced toxicity and can be tolerated in vivo. The various oxidation states, different mechanism of action, and the ligand substitution kinetics of ruthenium compounds give them advantages over platinum-based complexes, thereby making them suitable for use in biological applications. Several studies have focused attention on the interaction between active ruthenium complexes and their possible biological targets. In this paper, we review several ruthenium compounds which reportedly possess promising cytotoxic profiles: from the discovery of highly active compounds imidazolium [trans-tetrachloro(dmso)(imidazole)ruthenate(III)] (NAMI-A), indazolium [trans-tetrachlorobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)](KP1019), and sodium trans-[tetrachloridobis(1H-indazole)ruthenate(III)] (NKP-1339) to the recent work based on both inorganic and organometallic ruthenium(II) compounds. Half-sandwich organometallic ruthenium complexes offer the opportunity of derivatization at the arene moiety, while the three remaining coordination sites on the metal centre can be functionalised with various coordination groups of various monoligands. It is clear from the review that these mononuclear ruthenium(II) compounds represent a strongly emerging field of research that will soon culminate into several ruthenium based antitumor agents.

AbstractThe huge research on Schiff base coordination complexes in the past few decades has given rise to several new molecules that have been of biological importance. The ease with which the Schiff base ligands are designed and prepared and their pattern is elucidated have made them to be referred to as “fortunate ligands” possessing azomethine derivatives, the C=N linkage that is essential for biological activity, including antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anticancer, and diuretic activities. A variety of Schiff base and its complexes have been studied as model molecules for biological oxygen carrier systems. The uses of Schiff bases as DNA-cleaving agents and its mode of interaction and free-radical scavenging properties are described. The review encapsulates the applications of Schiff bases and their complexes.

To cite this article: Ikechukwu P. Ejidike & Peter A. Ajibade (2015): Synthesis, characterization, and in vitro antioxidant and anticancer studies of ruthenium(III) complexes of symmetric and asymmetric tetradentate Schiff bases, Journal of Coordination Chemistry, Ruthenium(III) complexes of three tetradentate Schiff bases with N 2 O 2 donors formulated as [RuCl (LL 1 )(H 2 O)], [RuCl(LL 2 )(H 2 O)] and [RuCl(LL 3 )(H 2 O)] were synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, molar conductance, FTIR, and electronic spectral measurements. The FTIR data showed that the tetradentate Schiff base ligands coordinate to Ru ions through the azomethine nitrogen and enolic oxygen. The antioxidant activities of the complexes were investigated through scavenging activity on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radicals. The DPPH activity for [RuCl(LL 2 )(H 2 O)] with IC 50 = 0.031 mg mL −1 was higher than the values obtained for the other Ru(III) compounds. The study revealed that the synthesized Ru(III) complexes of the tetradentate Schiff base exhibited strong scavenging activities against DPPH and moderate against ABTS radicals. In addition, the antiproliferative studies of the complexes were also tested against human renal cancer cells (TK10), human melanoma cancer cells (UACC62), and human breast cancer cells (MCF7) using the SRB assay. The results indicated that the Ru(III) complexes showed low anticancer activities against the tested human cancer cell lines.

In cancer chemotherapy, metal-based complexes have been recognized as the most promising means of inhibiting cancer growth due to the successful application of cis-platin and its derivatives above many of the existing organic anticancer agents. The limitations in their rational design can be traced to the complexity of the mechanism of their operations, lack of proper knowledge of their targets and lack of force fields in docking packages to appropriately define the metal centre of the organometallic complexes. In this paper, some of the promising anticancer complexes of Ru(II) such as the rapta-based complexes formulated as [Ru(η6-p-cymene)L2(pta)] and those with unusual ligands are considered. CatB and kinases which have been experimentally confirmed as possible targets of the complexes are also predicted by the three methods as one of the most targeted receptors while TopII and HDAC7 are predicted by two and one of the methods as best targets. The interesting features of the binding of the complexes show that some of the complexes preferentially target specific macromolecules than the others, which is an indication of their specificity and possibility of their therapeutic combination without severe side effects that may come from competition for the same target. Also, introduction of unusual ligands is found to significantly improve the activities of most of the complexes studied. Strong correlations are observed for the predicted binding sites and the orientation of the complexes within the binding site by the three methods of docking. However there are disparities in the ranking of the complexes by the three method of docking, especially that of Glide.