Biological Activity of Complexes Involving Nitro-Containing Ligands and Crystallographic-Theoretical Description of 3,5-DNB Complexes

Drug resistance in infectious diseases developed by bacteria and fungi is an important issue since it is necessary to further develop novel compounds with biological activity that counteract this problem. In addition, new pharmaceutical compounds with lower secondary effects to treat cancer are needed. Coordination compounds appear to be accessible and promising alternatives aiming to overcome these problems. In this review, we summarize the recent literature on coordination compounds based on nitrobenzoic acid (NBA) as a ligand, its derivatives, and other nitro-containing ligands, which are widely employed owing to their versatility. Additionally, an analysis of crystallographic data is presented, unraveling the coordination preferences and the most effective crystallization methods to grow crystals of good quality. This underscores the significance of elucidating crystalline structures and utilizing computational calculations to deepen the comprehension of the electronic properties of coordination complexes.

Influence of the Lewis basicity hardness of crystallization solvents on the coordination sphere of the complex [Co(3,5-dinitrobenzoate-O,O′)2]: crystallographic and theoretical analysis

Crystal growth of [Co(DNB)2] in different solvents is a thermodynamic process favored by ΔErecrys (kcal mol−1) where mono/trinuclear molecules are obtained. Closeness of HOMO orbitals of solvents to the SOMOs orbitals of Co(ii) ions guide the process.

The first examples of multiply bonded dirhenium(iii,ii) paramagnetic complexes containing nitrobenzoate ligands: spectroscopic, structural, cytotoxicity and computational studies

4-Nitrobenzoic acid, 3-nitrobenzoic acid and 4'-nitro[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxylic acid react with the multiply bonded paramagnetic dirhenium(iii,ii) complex Re₂(μ-O₂CCH₃)Cl₄(μ-Ph₂PCH₂PPh₂)₂ (1) in refluxing ethanol to afford the paramagnetic substitution products of the type Re₂(μ-L)Cl₄(μ-Ph₂PCH₂PPh₂)₂, where L represents the nitrobenzoate ligands [L = 4-nitrobenzoate, 2; 3-nitrobenzoate, 3; 4'-nitro[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-carboxylate, 4]. These are the first examples of paramagnetic dirhenium complexes containing nitrobenzoate ligands. The spectral (UV-vis, IR, and EPR) and electrochemical properties of the complexes are described. The identity of 4 has been established by single-crystal X-ray structure determination (Re-Re distance of 2.2967(4) Å). The electronic structures of the complexes were scrutinized by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. X-band EPR spectral measurements along with the DFT analysis show that the unpaired electron resides in the metal-metal δ* antibonding orbital. The complexes were also screened in vitro for their antiproliferative properties against the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 by the MTT assay. Flow cytometry analysis showed that the complexes arrested the sub-G0/G1 phase.