The anticancer impacts of N, S donor pyrazole based ligand and its Co(III) and Cu(II) complexes on breast cancer cells

The development of suitable compounds for the effective treatment of cancer is highly demanded. Inorganic complexes based on cobalt and copper centers have revealed a great potential for the treatment of various cancers. The current study aimed to develop effective pyrazole-based agents against breast cancer. A pyrazole-based ligand (L: Na[EtNCSPz^Me2]) and its cobalt and copper complexes were synthesized, and the single crystals of the complexes were prepared for crystallographic analysis. The X-ray structure of the synthesized complexes indicated both of the complexes were mononuclear and monoclinic. The synthesized [Co(L)₃] complex demonstrated a six-coordinated distorted octahedral geometry around the cobalt center, while the [Cu(L)₂] complex occupied a four-coordinated seesaw geometry with N₂S₂ environment around the copper center. The compounds were evaluated for their anticancer activities against the human breast MDA-MB-231 cell lines with the MTT and flow cytometry assays to investigate the efficacy of these synthesized compounds in the induction of apoptosis and death in breast cancer cells. The investigated complexes significantly indicated more anticancer activity in compare with the free ligand and the among them Cu(II) complex showed considerable and higher activity against the tested cell lines. The molecular docking was carried out to explore the binding modes of these compounds on DNA and epidermal growth factor receptor precursor (EGFR) proteins. Altogether, in silico and in vitro investigations indicated that coordination of chelating organic ligand to the metal centers promoted the compounds anticancer activity and these complexes may be used the likely candidate for further development in cancer treatment after complementary preclinical evaluations.