Interaction of biomacromolecules with ionic liquids

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Cu(II) and V(IV)O complexes with tri- or tetradentate ligands based on (2-hydroxybenzyl)- L-alanines reveal promising anticancer therapeutic potential

Publication . Ribeiro, Nádia; Bulut, İpek; Cevatemre, Buse; Teixeira, Carlos; Yildizhan, Yasemin; André, Vânia; Adão, Pedro; Pessoa, João; Acilan, Ceyda; Correia, Isabel

Four new ligand precursors (H2L1–H2L4), derived from the Mannich condensation of two amino acids (L-Val and L-Phe) and two 3,5-disubstituted phenols (t-Bu or Me), and the corresponding oxidovanadium(IV) (1–4) and copper(II) (6–7) complexes are synthesized. Two other related compounds (H2L5 and H2L6), containing an additional 2-methyl-pyridine arm, and the corresponding VIVO (5) and CuII (8–9) complexes were also obtained. All metal complexes are monomeric in the solid state, having a solvent molecule or a chloride ion in the coordination sphere. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of all compounds is evaluated against cancer cells from different origins. The IC50 values at 72 h are in the range of 6–15 μM for HeLa cells, 4–17 μM for A-549 cells and >25 μM for MDA-MB-231 cells, except for [VIVOL1(CH3OH)] (1) and [CuL6(H2O)] (9). With the exception of H2L6, overall, the metal complexes are more cytotoxic than the corresponding ligand precursors. Globally, the cellular viability data show that (i) the L-Phe derived compounds are more cytotoxic than the corresponding L-Val complexes; (ii) the presence of the bulkier t-Bu groups increases the cytotoxicity; (iii) the presence of a 2-methyl pyridine arm increases considerably the cytotoxicity; and (iv) the CuII-complexes are more cytotoxic than the VIVO-compounds. Complexes [VIVOL3(CH3OH)] (3), [CuL3(H2O)] (7) and [CuL5(H2O)] (8) were further evaluated and their mechanism of action was determined to be apoptosis, evidenced by AnnexinV staining and the increase in caspase 3/7 activity. Compounds 3, 7 and 8 also exhibit DNA cleavage activity, involving the formation of reactive oxygen species and were able to induce genomic damage in cells as determined by COMET assay.

2021Journal article

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