Tetradentate-arm Schiff base derived from the condensation reaction of 3,3′-dihydroxybenzidine, glyoxal/diacetyl and 2-aminophenol: Designing, structural elucidation and properties of their binuclear metal(II) complexes

Abstract

The novel binuclear Schiff base complexes were prepared by the reaction of 3,3′-dihydroxybenzidine, glyoxal/diacetyl and 2-aminophenol in 1:2:2M ratio. The binucleating Schiff base ligand and its complexes of Cu(II), Ni(II) and VO(II) ions were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance, 1H NMR, infrared, electronic spectra, cyclic voltammetry, thermal, magnetic and EPR studies. The low molar conductance values of the complexes support the non-electrolytic in nature. In IR spectra, the comparison of shift in frequency of the complexes with the ligand reveals the coordination of donor atom to the metal atom. The binuclear nature of the complexes is assessed from their magnetic susceptibility values. The electronic and EPR spectra of the metal complexes provide information about the geometry of the complexes and are in good agreement with the proposed square planar geometry for Cu(II), Ni(II) and square pyramidal for VO(II) complexes. Molecular modeling has been used to suggest the structure of the complexes. The DNA cleavage ability of the complexes was monitored by gel electrophoresis using supercoiled pUC18 DNA. The metal complexes were screened for their antibacterial activities against pathogenic bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Bacillus subtilis. The activity data show that the metal complexes are more potent activity than the parent Schiff base ligand against microorganisms.