Novel Heterocyclic Transition Metal Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, Antimicrobial and Anticancer Activity

Abstract

A heterocyclic ligand, 5-(2-(4-chlorophenyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-1-yl)quinolin-8-ol and its Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic techniques. According to the spectral analysis, the ligand acts as a bidentate ligand and coordinating through the nitrogen and deprotonated oxygen atoms. For Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes, spectral analysis reveals square planer geometry, whereas Co(II) and Zn(II) complexes have tetrahedral geometry. The antibacterial results show that Zn(II) complex is more effective than the other metal(II) complexes examined. The ligand and its metal complexes were tested for anticancer activity using the MTT assay with cisplatin as the reference drug against A549, MCF7, and HCT116 cancer cell lines. Results showed that the metal(II) complexes were shown to be more active than the ligand, especially Zn(II) complex being the most potent among this series.