Abstract
N-benzyl-2-isonicotinoylhydrazine-1-carbothioamide (H3L) and its complexes with Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) have been synthesized. The metal complexes have been characterized by elemental and thermal analyses, spectral studies of FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR, ESR, MS, and UV-Visible, conductance and magnetic moments measurements. The free ligand exists in the keto-thione form, but it coordinates to the metal ion in the keto-thiol form. The 1:1 coordinated species, M(II)-H3L, are formed. The optical band gap (Eg) measurements indicated direct electronic transition and semi-conducting nature of the compounds. The cytotoxicity of H3L and its Zn(II) complex were tested against both HCT116 and HePG2. The ligand showed strong cytotoxicity against the two investigated cell lines, while Zn(II) complex exhibited moderate cytotoxic effect. The molecular docking on both colon and liver cancer proteins were studied and the data support the experimental results.
Molecular docking indicated that the free H3L has higher activity than its Zn(II) complex. [Display omitted]
•Metal complexes of new ligand derived from nicotinoylhydrazide have been synthesized and characterized.•The ligand acts as mononegative bidentate donor.•The optical band gap measurements indicated the semi-conducting nature of these complexes.•The compounds showed cytotoxic activity.•The results of molecular docking agree with the experimental results.