In Vitro Anticancer and Antibacterial Activity of a New Hg(II) Pyridinedicarboxylate Coordination Supramolecular Compound

Abstract

Nanoparticles and single crystals of mercury(II) coordination supramolecular compounds, [HL′][Hg(L)(Cl)(H₂O)], (where H₂L = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid and L′ = 2,4-diamino-6-chloropyrimidine), have been synthesized using both the branch tube (1) and ultrasonic irradiation (UI) (1′) methods. The compounds were characterized using SEM, XRPD, FTIR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis through the EDS method. Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) data for compound (1) indicates that the Hg²⁺ ion has a coordination number of five. The thermal stability of both macro (1) and nano-structures (1′) was investigated using thermal gravimetric analysis (TG). The antimicrobial properties of the Hg compound were evaluated against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria using the disk diffusion method. Staphylococcus aureus (IZD = 13 mm) was identified as the more susceptible bacterium after treatment compared to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (IZD = 10 mm) at a concentration of 31.25 μg/μL. In vitro cytotoxicity of the compound was screened against two cancer cell lines: human breast cancer (MCF7) and human prostatic adenocarcinoma (PC3). The results showed antiproliferative activity, with IC50 values of 15.83 μM for PC3 and 22.50 μM for MCF7. Finally, antioxidant activity testing revealed that the Hg(II) compound possesses relatively poor radical scavenging properties.