New binuclear copper(I) complexes with dual bioactivity: Synthesis, structural characterization and biological assays against bacteria and cancer

Novel binuclear heteroleptic copper(I) complexes based on mixed DPPE /thiocarbamoyl-pyrazoline ligands were synthesized and structurally characterized. Accordingly, the X-ray studies the three prepared complexes belong to the monoclinic crystalline system. All complexes 1, 2, and 3 possess similar structural behavior around the Copper(I) atoms which presented a distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry determined by using the tau 4 (tau four) parameter analysis. The complete characterization of the prepared compounds also included HRMS-ESI(+), NMR and elemental analyses, MID infrared, and UV-Vis spectroscopies. TD-DFT studies were also performed to support the assignments and interpretation of the main absorption bands observed in the UV-Vis experiments. The binuclear CuI complexes were assayed against a panel of antibiotic-resistant (MDR) bacteria (S. aureus) and S. pseudointermedius (MDR isolated from dog skin) showing promising MIC (7.8 to 62.5 mu g/mL) and MBC (15.6 to 62.5 mu g/mL) values. Additionally, the binuclear complexes were also tested as anticancer agents against tumoral cells B16F10 and 4 T1 (metastatic murine melanoma and murine mammary carcinoma respectively) showing very low IC50 (0.16 to 0.6 mu M) values.

Automated summary

Novel binuclear heteroleptic copper(I) complexes based on mixed DPPE/thiocarbamoyl-pyrazoline ligands were synthesized and structurally characterized. These complexes exhibited similar structural behavior around the Copper(I) atoms and showed promising antimicrobial and anticancer activities.