Mononuclear copper(I) complexes with triphenylphosphine and N,N′-disubstituted thioureas: synthesis, characterization, and biological evaluation

Abstract

Twelve new complexes, of the general formula CuCl(TPP)2Tu1–12 (Tu = thiourea), were synthesized by the reaction of CuCl(TPP)3 (TPP = triphenylphosphine) and various N,N′-disubstituted thioureas. The structures of the synthesized complexes were characterized by different techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (1H, 13C, 31P, and 19F), and the representative complexes (1, 2 and 12) were analyzed via single crystal X-ray diffraction. The single crystal X-ray analysis revealed that copper(I) is coordinated with chlorine, two TPP, and the thiourea ligands through the sulfur atom in a mononuclear distorted tetrahedral mode. The compounds were tested for antibacterial, antifungal, cytotoxicity, antileishmanial, and antioxidant activities. The results showed that the synthesized complexes are significantly more active than the free ligands and the commercial reference compounds. The high biological activities of the complexes versus free ligands can be attributed to the copper(I) chloride complexation with thiourea ligands. The synthesized complexes were also evaluated, both experimentally and theoretically, for DNA binding studies. The UV-visible spectroscopic and molecular docking studies demonstrated that the complexes are conjugating with DNA through a groove binding mode.