Chitosan-functionalized pyridine-based thiosemicarbazones
and their
copper(II) complexes have been found to own a substantial antiproliferative
activity against the tumorigenic Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK)
and MCF-7 cancer cell lines. In the current study, chitosan oligosaccharide
(CS) (87% DDA, M
w
< 3000 Da) and crab shell chitosan
(CCS) (67% DDA,
M
w
350 kDa) were functionalized
as chitosan pyridine-2-thiosemicarbazones and chitosan 2-acetyl pyridine-2-thiosemicarbazones,
and their copper(II) complexes were synthesized. The formation of
chitosan thiosemicarbazones and their NNS tridentate behavior to give
the square planar copper(II) chitosan thiosemicarbazone complexes
were established by spectroscopic studies, powder X-ray diffraction,
elemental analysis, and magnetic moment measurements. The thermal
study showed a marked stability of these derivatives before the outset
of chitosan backbone degradation at 200 °C. The colorimetric
MTT assay revealed a higher activity of CS thiosemicarbazones, viz.,
CSTSC series (IC
50
375–381 μg mL
–1
in the MDCK cell line and 281–355 μg mL
–1
in the MCF-7 cell line) than that of high-molecular-weight CCS thiosemicarbazones,
viz., CCSTSC series (IC
50
335–400 μg mL
–1
in the MDCK cell line and 365–400 μg
mL
–1
in the MCF-7 cell line), showing an enhanced
activity with a decrease in M
w
and an increase in DDA of
constituent chitosan, a higher activity of both of these series of
thiosemicarbazones than that of their native chitosan, viz., CS (IC
50
370 μg mL
–1
in the MCF-7 cell line
and >400 μg mL
–1
in the MDCK cell line)
and
CCS (IC50 > 400 μg mL
–1
in both cell lines),
and a higher activity of the Cu-CSTSC complexes (IC
50
322–342
μg mL
–1
in the MDCK cell line and 278–352
μg mL
–1
in the MCF-7 cell line) and Cu-CCSTSC
complexes (IC
50
274–400 μg mL
–1
in the MDCK cell line and 231–352 μg mL
–1
in the MCF-7 cell line) than that of their respective ligands.