A novel binuclear Cd complex (1) with hydrazone-based ligand was prepared and characterized by spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. Complex 1 reveals a strong pro-apoptotic activity in both human, mammary adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) and pancreatic AsPC-1 cancer stem cells (CSCs). While apoptosis undergoes mostly caspase-independent, 1 stimulates the activation of intrinsic pathway with noteworthy down regulation of caspase-8 activity in respect to non-treated controls. Distribution of cells over mitotic division indicates that 1 caused DNA damage in both cell lines, which is confirmed in DNA interaction studies. Compared to 1, cisplatin (CDDP) does not achieve cell death in 2D cultured AsPC-1 cells, while induces different pattern of cell cycle changes and caspase activation in 2D cultured MCF-7 cells, implying that these two compounds do not share similar mechanism of action. Additionally, 1 acts as a powerful inducer of mitochondrial superoxide production with dissipated trans-membrane potential in the majority of the treated cells already after 6 h of incubation. On 3D tumors, 1 displays a superior activity against CSC model, and at 100 μM induces disintegration of spheroids within 2 days of incubation. Fluorescence spectroscopy, along with molecular docking show that compound 1 binds to the minor groove of DNA. Compound 1 binds to the human serum albumin (HSA) showing that the HSA can effectively transport and store 1 in the human body. Thus, our current study strongly supports further investigations on antitumor activity of 1 as a drug candidate for the treatment of highly resistant pancreatic cancer.

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Interest in Cd complexes has been growing in recent years. Cd complexes are considered a potential solution in the search for novel antibiotics that can fight antimicrobial resistance. In addition, Cd complexes draw attention to material chemistry. The main objective of this work was to prepare the first Cd(II) complexes with anionic forms of pyridine‐based thiazolyl hydrazone (THs) ligands HLS2 [(E)‐4‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐2‐(2‐[pyridine‐2‐ylmethylene]hydrazinyl)thiazole] and HLS3 [(E)‐2‐(2‐[pyridine‐2‐ylmethylene]hydrazinyl)‐4‐(p‐tolyl)thiazole] and perform their structural and spectroscopic characterization, as well as stability in solution and upon heating. Studies related to their biological activities and possible electrochromic applications are also being conducted. Complexes [Cd(HLS2)2] (1) and [Cd(HLS3)2] (2) have been characterized by a single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and computational analysis of intermolecular interactions responsible for their solid‐state structures was performed. Thermal stability of 1 and 2 in the solid‐state was analyzed by TGA/MS, where as their solution stability was determined by the spectrophotometric titration method. Electrochemical and in situ UV–Vis spectroelectrochemical analyses of 1 and 2 were carried out to determine redox mechanisms and the influence of the substituents and electrolytes on their redox responses. The antioxidant capacity of both complexes was tested in antioxidant assays, while their antimicrobial activity was tested against five Gram‐positive and four Gram‐negative bacteria, as well as against three fungi. The obtained results indicate their potent antioxidant capacity. The antimicrobial activity of investigated compounds on almost all tested bacterial strains was stronger than that of the standard antibiotic erythromycin. The results of docking studies indicate that the minor groove DNA is the possible biological target of 1 and 2.

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(Thiazolyl-2-yl)hydrazones (THs) are a group of organic compounds containing both hydrazone and 1,3-thiazole pharmacophores present in many approved drugs. They have been investigated greatly in recent years due to potent anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antituberculosis, anti-inflammatory, and antiparasitic activities. In this study, one pyridine-based and two quinoline-based, novel THs were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The antimicrobial activity of the compounds was tested against five Gram-positive and five Gram-negative bacteria, as well as against three fungi. The antioxidant capacity of the compounds was tested in six antioxidative assays. The results showed that quinoline-based THs were more active against tested Gram-negative bacteria and fungi strains than pyridine-based compounds. All the compounds showed excellent antioxidative activity comparable to or greater than the used standards (vitamin C and Trolox). Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) parameters were calculated in-silico. Results pointed to promising good pharmacokinetics profiles of investigated compounds, especially 2-quinoline carboxaldehyde-based compound, which can be a lead drug candidate.