Five new anionic aqueous dioxidovanadium(V)
complexes, [{VO2L1,2}A(H2O)
n
]α (1–5), with
the aroylhydrazone ligands pyridine-4-carboxylic acid (3-ethoxy-2-hydroxybenzylidene)hydrazide
(H2L1) and furan-2-carboxylic acid (3-ethoxy-2-hydroxybenzylidene)hydrazide
(H2L2) incorporating different alkali metals
(A = Na+, K+, Cs+) as countercation
were synthesized and characterized by various physicochemical techniques.
The solution-phase stabilities of 1–5 were determined by time-dependent NMR and UV–vis, and also
the octanol/water partition coefficients were obtained by spectroscopic
techniques. X-ray crystallography of 2–4 confirmed the presence of vanadium(V) centers coordinated by two cis-oxido-O atoms and the O, N, and O atoms of a dianionic
tridentate ligand. To evaluate the biological behavior, all complexes
were screened for their DNA/protein binding propensity through spectroscopic
experiments. Finally, a cytotoxicity study of 1–5 was performed against colon (HT-29), breast (MCF-7), and
cervical (HeLa) cancer cell lines and a noncancerous NIH-3T3 cell
line. The cytotoxicity was cell-selective, being more active against
HT-29 than against other cells. In addition, the role of hydrophobicity
in the cytotoxicity was explained in that an optimal hydrophobicity
is essential for high cytotoxicity. Moreover, the results of wound-healing
assays indicated antimigration in case of HT-29 cells. Remarkably, 1 with an IC50 value of 5.42 ± 0.15 μM
showed greater activity in comparison to cisplatin against the HT-29
cell line.