Metal complexes of ferrocenyl-substituted Schiff base: Preparation, characterization, molecular structure, molecular docking studies, and biological investigation

Abstract

The organometallic Schiff base ligand (L) was synthesized by reacting 2-acetylferrocene with 1,8-naphthalenediamine in 1:1 molar ratio. The reaction of Schiff base with some transition metal ions mains to mono-species of chelates. The ligand and its metal complexes were characterized using elemental analysis (C, H, N and M), molar conductivity, FT-IR, UV–Vis, 1H NMR, SEM and mass spectrometry. Also, their TG and DTG studies were investigated. All complexes had an octahedral geometry. From the spectral analyses data, the Schiff base ligand acted as NN-bidentate ligand. In addition, computational studies of the ligand (L) have been carried out by using the DFT method. From the optimized structure, the energy gap, HOMO, LUMO energy values, electronegativity and electrophilic index were calculated. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the synthesized complexes have been screened in vitro against different bacteria and fungi species. The effect of these complexes on the proliferation of human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell line was studied and then compared with the parent free organometallic Schiff base. It was found that [Fe(L)(H2O)2Cl2]Cl.3H2O complex showed the lowest IC50 value (11.3 μM). Docking studies were used to investigate the interaction between ferrocene, Schiff base and its metal complexes with the active site of the 3HB5 receptor.