Abstract
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•Synthesis of Co(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) complexes of a Schiff base.•Simulation, DNA binding and anticancer activities of metal ion complexes.•Maximum anticancer activities 83.60 and 88.52% with A549 and H1299 lung cancer lines.•DNA binding constants from 0.94 × 105 to 2.31 × 105.•These complexes may be future lung cancer treatment agents.
New Schiff’s base (ligand) and its copper, cobalt, nickel and zinc metal ion complexes were synthesized with a good yield of 86 to 68.9%. and characterized by various analytical techniques. The spectral data confirms the formation of the compounds. The ligand and the metal complexes were screened for anticancer activities with A549 and H1299 lung cancer lines. The results indicated that the zinc metal ion complex was the most active with 83.60 and 88.52% inhibitions for A549 and H1299 lung cancer lines at 20 mM concentration. Besides, DNA binding study confirmed good binding constants (0.94 × 105–2.31 × 105) with a maximum of zinc metal ion complex (2.31 × 105); confirming the anticancer activities results. The docking study also confirmed that the reported molecules interacted with DNA strongly by hydrogen bonding and hydrostatic interactions with −4.6 kCal/mole as binding energy. It was also observed that the reported molecules preferred minor grooves of DNA for interactions. The excellent anticancer activities of metal complexes confirmed that these complexes may be the future lung cancer medication.