Synthesis, Characterization, and Cytotoxicity of the Cobalt (III) Complex with N,N‐Diethyl‐4‐(2,2′:6′,2′′‐terpyridin‐4′‐yl)aniline

Abstract

A cobalt(III) complex, [Co(L) ](ClO ) (1), in which the ligand L was N,N-diethyl-4-(2,2':6',2''-terpyridin-4'-yl)aniline (L), was synthesized and fully characterized. This new cobalt(III) complex 1 exhibited selective cytotoxicity against HeLa, T-24, A549, MGC80-3, HepG2, and SK-OV-3 cells with IC values in the micromolar range (0.52 - 4.33 μm), and it exhibited low cytotoxicity against normal HL-7702 cells. The complex 1 was the most potent against the T-24 cells. It was found that 1 could cause the cell cycle arrest in G1 phase, and it exerted its antitumor activity mainly via disruption of mitochondrial function.

Cobalt(II) Diphenylazodioxide Complexes Induce Apoptosis in SK-HEP-1 Cells

“…20 Qin and co-workers showed that a Co(III) complex of a substituted terpyridine induced G1-phase apoptosis in bladder cancer cells, with a mechanism involving mitochondrial membrane depolarization, caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation, and an increase in intracellular Ca 2+ levels. 21…”

“…Each of these complexes was shown to induce differentiation in all-trans retinoic acid-resistant acute myeloid leukemia cells, and each was cytotoxic toward cervical cancer cells, with the O-donor and S-donor complexes inducing apoptosis by DNA damage from ROS generated by Fenton-type reactions and by G2/M cell cycle arrest, respectively . Qin and co-workers showed that a Co­(III) complex of a substituted terpyridine induced G1-phase apoptosis in bladder cancer cells, with a mechanism involving mitochondrial membrane depolarization, caspase-3 and caspase-9 activation, and an increase in intracellular Ca 2+ levels …”