The influence of ancillary ligands on the antitumoral activity of new cyclometallated Pt(II) complexes derived from an ferrocene-pyrazole hybrid

Coordination complexes constructed from pyrazole-acetamide and pyrazole-quinoxaline: effect of hydrogen bonding on the self-assembly process and antibacterial activity

Two mononuclear coordination complexes of N-(2-aminophenyl)-2-(5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)acetamide (L1), namely [Cd(L1)2Cl2] (C1) and [Cu(L1)2(C2H5OH)2](NO3)2 (C2) and one mononuclear complex [Fe(L2)2(H2O)2](NO3)2·2H2O (C3), obtained after in situ oxidation of L1, have been synthesized and characterized spectroscopically. As revealed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, each coordination sphere made of two heterocycles is completed either by two chloride anions (in C1), two ethanol molecules (in C2) or two water molecules (in C3). The crystal packing analysis of C1, C2 and C3, revealed 1D and 2D supramolecular architectures, respectively, via various hydrogen bonding interactions, which are discussed in detail. Furthermore, evaluation in vitro of the ligands and their metal complexes for their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (ATCC 4157), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) and Streptococcus fasciens (ATCC 29212) strains of bacteria, revealed outstanding results compared to chloramphenicol, a well-known antibiotic, with a normalized minimum inhibitory concentration as low as 5 μg mL-1.

Novel multifunctional and multitarget homo- (Fe2) and heterobimetallic [(Fe,M) with M = Re or Mn] sulfonyl hydrazones

The synthesis and characterization of the novel ferrocenyl sulfonyl hydrazide [Fe(η5-C5H5){(η5-C5H4)-S(O)2-NH-NH2}] (2) is reported. Additional studies on its reactivity using acetone or the ferrocenyl-, cyrhetrenyl- or cymantrenyl-aldehydes have allowed us to isolate and characterize [Fe(η5-C5H5){(η5-C5H4)-S(O)2-NH-N[double bond, length as m-dash]CMe2}] (3), the bis(ferrocenyl) derivative [Fe(η5-C5H5){[(η5-C5H4)-S(O)2-NH-N[double bond, length as m-dash]CH-(η5-C5H4)]Fe(η5-C5H5)}] (4) and the heterodimetallic compounds [Fe(η5-C5H5){[(η5-C5H4)-S(O)2-NH-N[double bond, length as m-dash]CH-(η5-C5H4)]M(CO)3}] with M = Re (5a) or Mn (5b). The X-ray crystal structures of compounds 3, 5a and 5b are also reported. A comparative study of their electrochemical and spectroscopic properties is also described. Additional computational calculations based on the DFT methodology have allowed us to elucidate the effect produced by the replacement of the terminal -NH2 (in 2) by the -N[double bond, length as m-dash]CMe2 (in 3) and -N[double bond, length as m-dash]CHR (in 4, 5a and 5b) moieties on the electronic distribution and to explain the differences detected in their electrochemical properties and absorption spectra. In vitro cytotoxicity studies of compounds 2, 4, 5a and 5b on the HCT-116 (colon), MCF7 and MDA-MB231 (breast) cancer cell lines reveal that compound 2 has no significant activity (IC50 > 100 μM), while its derivatives 4, 5a and 5b proved to be active in the three cancer cell lines selected in this study. The growth inhibition potency of compounds 5a and 5b against the triple negative MDA-MB231 breast cancer cell line is similar (or slightly) greater than that of cisplatin. Moreover, compounds 2, 4, 5a and 5b are less toxic than cisplatin in the normal and non-tumoral BJ fibroblasts, and the heterodimetallic complexes 5a and 5b with selective index >2.1 show an outstanding selective toxicity towards the MDA-MB231 cancer cells.

Ferrocene-containing hybrids as potential anticancer agents: Current developments, mechanisms of action and structure-activity relationships

Cancer is one of the most fatal threatens to human health throughout the world. The major challenges in the control and eradication of cancers are the continuous emergency of drug-resistant cancer and the low specificity of anticancer agents, creating an urgent need to develop novel anticancer agents. Organometallic compounds especially ferrocene derivatives possess remarkable structural and mechanistic diversity, inherent stability towards air, heat and light, low toxicity, low cost, reversible redox, ligand exchange, and catalytic properties, making them promising drug candidates for cancer therapy. Ferrocifen, a ferrocene-phenol hybrid, has demonstrated promising anticancer properties on drug-resistant cancers. Currently, Ferrocifen is in pre-clinical trial against cancers. Obviously, ferrocene moiety is a useful template for the development of novel anticancer agents. This review will provide an overview of ferrocene-containing hybrids with potential application in the treatment of cancers covering articles published between 2010 and 2020. The mechanisms of action, the critical aspects of design and structure-activity relationships are also discussed.

Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of N-{2-[(E)-(4-methyl-benzyl-idene)amino]-phen-yl}-2-(5-methyl-1-H-pyrazol-3-yl)acetamide hemihydrate

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C20H20N4O·0.5H2O, contains two independent organic mol-ecules (1 and 2) and a water mol-ecule of crystallization. The two mol-ecules differ primarily in the dihedral angles between the aromatic rings, which are 7.79 (7) and 29.89 (7)° in mol-ecules 1 and 2, respectively. In each mol-ecule there is intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bond forming an S(6) ring motif. In mol-ecule 1 there is an intra-molecular N-H⋯π(pyrazole) inter-action and an intra-molecular C-H⋯π(pyrazole) inter-action present. Mol-ecule 1 is linked to mol-ecule 2 by a C-H⋯π(benzene ring) inter-action. An intra-molecular N-H⋯N hydrogen bond and an intra-molecular C-H⋯N hydrogen bond are also present in mol-ecule 2. In the crystal, the three components are linked by Owater-H⋯N, N-H⋯Owater and N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming chains along the [100] direction. The chains are linked by C-H⋯O and C-H⋯N hydrogen bonds, forming layers parallel to the ab plane. Finally, the layers are linked by C-H⋯π inter-actions, forming a three-dimensional structure.

Ferrocene-appended pharmacophores: an exciting approach for modulating the biological potential of organic scaffolds

The present review article describes the recent developments (2014–18) on the synthesis of ferrocene-based pharmacophores with the specific benefits of introducing/replacing organic pharmacophores with the ferrocene core for desired bioactivities.

Novel Co(II) and Cu(II) coordination complexes constructed from pyrazole-acetamide: Effect of hydrogen bonding on the self assembly process and antioxidant activity

In the present study, two pyrazole-acetamide derivatives namely N‑(2‑aminophenyl)‑2‑(5‑methyl‑1H‑pyrazol‑3‑yl) acetamide (L1) and (E)‑N‑(2‑(1‑(2‑hydroxy‑6‑methyl‑4‑oxo‑4H‑pyran‑3‑yl)ethylideneamino)phenyl)‑2‑(5‑methyl‑1H‑pyrazol‑3‑yl) acetamide (L2) have been synthesized and characterized by infrared spectrophotometry (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Two coordination complexes of L1 and L2, namely [Co(L1)₂(EtOH)₂]·Cl₂ (1) and [Cu(L2)]·H₂O (2), respectively have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic studies. The solid state structure of these two complexes was established by single crystal X-ray crystallography. In complex 1, the amide O and pyrazole N atoms of two molecules of L1 take part in coordination with octahedral Co(II) ions, the remaining two coordination sites being occupied by two EtOH molecules leading to a N₂O₄ coordination environment. On the other hand, the imine N atoms, pyrazole N and O atoms of the 2‑hydroxy‑6‑methyl‑4H‑pyran‑4‑one function present in L2 are involved in coordination with Cu(II) ions, resulting in a distorted square planar geometry displaying a N₂O₄ chromophore, in complex 2. The crystal packing analysis of 1 and 2, revealed 1D and 2D supramolecular architectures respectively, via various hydrogen bonding interactions, which are discussed in the present account. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the ligands and their complexes were determined in vitro by 1,1‑diphenyl‑2‑picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2'‑azino‑bis(3‑ethylbenzothiazoline‑6‑sulphonic acid (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power(FRAP), showing that the ligands L1 and L2 and complexes 1 and 2 present significant antioxidant activity.

Design and Synthesis of Novel Pyrazole-Substituted Different Nitrogenous Heterocyclic Ring Systems as Potential Anti-Inflammatory Agents

With the aim of developing novel anti-inflammatory scaffolds, a new series of pyrazole-substituted various nitrogenous heterocyclic ring systems at C-4 position were synthesized through different chemical reactions and validated by means of spectral and elemental data. The new obtained compounds were investigated for their anti-inflammatory activity using the carrageenan-induced paw edema standard technique and revealed that, compound 6b showed increased potency with % inhibition of edema 85.23 ± 1.92 and 85.78 ± 0.99, respectively, higher than the standard reference drugs indomethacin and celebrex (72.99% and 83.76%). Molecular modeling studies were initiated herein to validate the attained pharmacological data and provide understandable evidence for the observed anti-inflammatory behavior.