Synthesis, crystal structure, in vitro anticancer and in vivo acute oral toxicity studies of tetramethylene linked bis-benzimidazolium salts and their respective dinuclear Ag(I)–NHC complexes

Abstract

The proligands of the series tetramethylenebis(N-n-alkylbenzimidazolium bromide) (where n = 3–10) (1–8) as N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors have been prepared by reacting the initially synthesized N-n-alkyl benzimidazole with 1,4-dibromobutane in 2 : 1 M ratio. A reaction of Ag2O with 1–8 resulted in the formation of Ag(I) complexes tetramethylenebis{(N-n-alkylylbenzimidazol-2-ylidene)silver(I)hexafluorophosphate} (9–16), respectively. All the synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, atomic absorption and elemental analysis. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction study on tetramethylenebis{(N-n-octylbenzimidazol-2-ylidene)silver(I)hexafluorophosphate} (14) has revealed that the complex exists as a dinuclear compound. All compounds were assessed for their antiproliferation test on human colorectal cancer cell line (HCT 116). Interestingly, increasing the n-alkyl chain length from n = 3 to 10 of the proligands and their respective complexes showed trends in increased cytotoxicity against human colon cancer cell line. Cytotoxicity data showed that tetramethylene linked bis-benzimidazolium salts and their respective dinuclear Ag(I)–NHC complexes can be useful therapeutic agents against colon cancer.