New Schiff's base derivative and their nano‐sized Cr (III), Fe (III), Ru (III), and Ir (III) complexes: Preparation, DFT, characterization, bio‐catalytic, DNA interactions, cytotoxicity, and docking studies

Abstract

Nano‐sized trivalent metal complexes of Cr (III), Fe (III), Ru (III), and Ir (III) were synthesized and characterized of the form [M (FMAVIEP)Cl2] where FMAVIEP = ligand (C14H11N2O2) and M = Cr (III), Fe (III), Ru (III), and Ir (III). Several spectral techniques studies were used to assess our trivalent metal complexes. The trivalent metal complexes' XRD results revealed sharp and intense diffraction peaks, signifying their crystalline properties at nanoscale particle size. Further evidence was obtained from images captured through techniques such as SEM, TEM, energy‐dispersive X‐ray, and AFM. These images confirmed the homogeneous distribution of the trivalent metal complexes over the surface of the complex. DFT studies were used to study the nano‐sized metal (III) complexes via the DFT\B3LYP computational approach, employing a 6–311G* correlation consistent basis set. The energy gap of synthesized complexes was inspected. The obtained data exhibited a strong correlation with the experimental ones, implying the bio‐efficiency of the Ru (III) complex. The absorption measurements for the nano‐sized complexes' interaction with CT‐DNA signify that nano‐sized metal (III) complexes bind through an intercalation mechanism. This conclusion is supported by the observed intrinsic binding constant (Kb) 3.33 × 105–5.84 × 105 M−1.