Development of novel coordination polymeric metal complexes with potent antimicrobial and antitumor activity

Abstract

The development of novel multi-target compounds with multiple therapeutic applications represents an excellent strategy for replacing the drug combination approach. Such strategy is beneficial in reducing or preventing the side effects of the combined drugs. Organometallic complexes, particularly those with polymeric structures, demonstrate dual functionality against microbial pathogens and tumor cells. Herein, a new series of polymeric metal complexes with strong antitumor and antimicrobial activity was developed. First, two novel coordination polymers (CP1 and CP2) were synthesized through exchanging the active phthalimidoxy moiety in poly N-methacyloxyphthalimide [poly(NMPI)] with two Schiff base derivatives (S1 and S2). Then, four polymeric metal complexes were constructed by coordinating CP1 and CP2 with copper and nickel acetates, and their chemical compositions were deduced based on various spectroscopic tools. Additionally, the thermal behavior of complexes was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis while their geometries were calculated via molecular modeling. The results of the antimicrobial activity revealed that almost all complexes possess excellent antifungal and antibacterial efficiency against the selected pathogens. Simultaneously, the cytotoxicity potency of the coordination polymers and their complexes was evaluated against human cancer (HepG2) and normal (WI-38) cell lines. The results exhibited that Ni-CP2 has a very good activity in diminishing the replication of HepG2 cells, which is better than that of sorafenib and comparable to doxorubicin. Overall, copper and nickel polymeric complexes give a promising insight for developing new potent antitumor and antimicrobial agents.