New Cu⁺² Complexes with N-Sulfonamide Ligands: Potential Antitumor, Antibacterial, and Antioxidant Agents

Nowadays, the discovery of a new non-toxic metal complex with biological activity represents a very active area of research. Two Cu⁺² complexes, [Cu(L1)₂(H₂O)₃] (C1) (HL1= N-(5-(4-methylphenyl)-[1,3,4]-thiadiazole-2-yl)-naphtalenesulfonamide) and [Cu(L2)₂(py)₂(H₂O)] (C2) (HL2= N-(5-ethyl-[1,3,4]-thiadiazole-2-yl)-naphtalenesulfonamide), with two new ligands were synthesized. The X-ray crystal structures of the complexes were determined. In both complexes, Cu⁺² is five-coordinated, forming a CuN₂O₃ and CuN₄O chromophore, respectively. The ligands act as monodentate, coordinating the metal ion through a single N_thiadiazole atom; for the C2 complex, the molecules from the reaction medium (pyridine and water) are also involved in the coordination of Cu⁺². The complexes have a distorted square pyramidal square-planar geometry. The compounds were characterized by FT-IR, electronic EPR spectroscopy, and magnetic methods. The nuclease activity studies confirm the complexes' capacity to cleave the DNA molecule. Using a xanthine-xanthine oxydase system, the SOD mimetic activity of the complexes was demonstrated. Cytotoxicity studies were carried out on two tumor cell lines (HeLa, WM35) and on a normal cell line (HFL1) using the MTT method, with cisplatin used as a positive control. The antibacterial activity of the complexes was investigated against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria, and compared with Amoxicillin and Norfloxacin using the disk diffusion method. Both complexes showed in vitro biological activity but the C2 complex was more active. A lack of in vivo toxicity was demonstrated for the C2 complex by performing hepatic, renal, and hematological studies on Swiss mice.