Spectroscopic studies on DNA interaction and anticancer activities of pharmacologically active pyrimidine derivative mixed ligand Co(II) and Ni(II) complexes

Abstract

This article reports the synthesis and its structural elucidation of pyrimidine based mixed ligand complexes [CoL(phen)](OAc) (1), [CoL(bpy)](OAc) (2), [NiL(phen)](OAc) (3) and [NiL(bpy)](OAc) (4), where, HL = 2-(4,6-dimethylpyrimidin-2-ylimino)methyl-4-nitrophenol, (phen) =1,10-phenanthroline, (bpy) = 2,2′-bipyridine and OAc = acetate. The prepared complexes are structurally pigeonholed by analytical and spectroscopic techniques. According to the findings, the hypothesized structure of prepared complexes has a square planar shape. This article deals with the spectroscopic, viscometric, and theoretical investigation of binding between synthesized compounds and calf-thymus DNA (CT DNA). Spectroscopic (UV-Visible absorption and fluorescence) and viscometric measurements in combination with the molecular docking data reveal that produced compounds bind to DNA double helix in an intercalation mode. According to the in vitro anticancer activity data against various cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HeLa and HEp2), complexes 1–4 exhibit a modest anticancer impact. Investigation of the antioxidant property of prepared compounds showed that complexes 1–4 have a more antioxidant nature than Schiff base. A significant inhibition activity was predicted with complexes 1–4 against various bacterial inoculums typed as gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, Stap. pneumoniae, B. subtilis) and gram-negative bacteria (S. flexneri, S. typhi, K. pneumoniae, H. influenza) and various fungal inoculums such as A. niger, C. albicans, C. tropicalis, M. campestris. The chelating capacity of the Schiff base with Co(II) and Ni(II) ions led to the conclusion that complexes 1–4 are effective antimicrobial agents.