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Updated: Jan 13, 2026
Anticancer Metal Complexes: Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Evaluation by the MTT Assay
Published on: November 10, 2013
Synthesis, Crystal Structure, Antitumor, and Antimicrobial Activity of Novel Copper(II) Complexes with a Coumarin
Ewelina Namiecińska1, Pawel Hikisz2, Patryk Czapnik3,4
1Department of the Chemistry of Cosmetic Raw Materials, Medical University of Lodz, Muszynskiego 1, 90-151 Lodz, Poland.
Abstract:
Copper(II) complexes have great potential as antitumor and antimicrobial agents, and their coumarin derivatives bearing histamine substituents possess versatile structural and biological properties. The present article describes the synthesis of novel copper(II)-coumarin-histamine complexes and ligands and their characterization by IR, NMR, X-ray diffraction, and elemental analysis. Their antimicrobial activity (MIC, MBC/MFC) was tested against 11 reference strains. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using the MTT assay against 15 selected cancer cell lines and normal HMEC-1 cells. It presents three new ligands and three new complexes with copper(II) ions and selected histamine-containing coumarin derivatives. The new copper(II) complexes demonstrated markedly higher anticancer activity than their corresponding ligands across all evaluated cancer cell lines. The highest anticancer activity against the Hep3B liver cancer cell line was demonstrated by the copper(II) complex (3b), which also showed the strongest inhibition of S. epidermidis ATCC 12228 and S. aureus ATCC 6538. The copper(II) ions play a crucial role in the antitumor activity of these derivatives. Despite limited antimicrobial effects, the tested complexes, particularly 3a and 3b, demonstrate promising anticancer potential, especially against the Hep3B cancer cell line. Only 3b demonstrated antimicrobial activity against S. epidermidis ATCC 12228 and S. aureus ATCC 6538.
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