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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Chem.
Sec. Inorganic Chemistry
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1483999
This article is part of the Research Topic Metallodrugs in Cancer Therapy View all 3 articles

POCOP-Ni(II) Pincer Compounds Derived from Phloroglucinol. Cytotoxic and Antioxidant Evaluation

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Institute of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Coyoacan, Mexico
  • 2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, National University of Colombia, Bogota, Cundinamarca, Colombia
  • 3 Faculty of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, México, Mexico
  • 4 Departamento de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad de Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    POCOP-Ni(II) pincer compounds have primarily been explored as catalysts, but their potential biological activity has been scarcely studied. To address this gap, we evaluated the anticancer and antioxidant potential of four POCOP-Ni(II) complexes derived from phloroglucinol. A comprehensive supramolecular analysis, based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction (DRX) structures, was conducted using Hirshfeld surfaces and non-covalent interaction analysis. The cytotoxicity of all complexes was systematically assessed against various cancerous cell lines, as well as a noncancerous cell line (COS-7). The results revealed that complexes 1b and 1c exhibited remarkable antiproliferative activity, with IC50 values ranging from 2.43 to 7.85 μM against cancerous cell lines U251, K562, HCT-15, MCF-7, and SKLU-1. To further elucidate their mechanism of action, a competitive fluorescence displacement assay with ethidium bromide (EB) suggested that these complexes possess the ability to intercalate with DNA. This multifaceted investigation not only enhances our understanding of the biological potential of POCOP-Ni complexes but also provides valuable insights into their structural features and interactions, paving the way for future exploration in both catalytic and therapeutic domains.

    Keywords: Cytotoxic evaluation, Antioxidant properties, Pincer compounds, POCOP-Ni(II) complexes, Metallopharmaceuticals

    Received: 21 Aug 2024; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Morales-Morales, Amaya-Flórez, Serrano-García, Ruiz-Galindo, Arenaza- Corona, Cruz-Navarro, Orjuela, Alí-Torres, Flores- Alamo, Cano Sánchez and REYES. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: David Morales-Morales, Institute of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Coyoacan, Mexico

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