It has been known for a long time that the magnetic exchange interaction between copper and gadolinium ions is always ferromagnetic. Very recently, three exceptions to this general trend were revealed. They involve complexes associating a gadolinium(III) ion with a copper(II) ion or with radicals of the nitroxide or semiquinone types. We want to show that this trend is more general than expected, for such a behavior can also be observed in heterobinuclear vanadyl‐gadolinium complexes.

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Pyridine‐2‐carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone and pyridine‐2‐carbaldehyde 4N‐methyl thiosemicarbazone ligands (HLI and HLImm respectively) undergo an oxidative cyclization when treated with bromate or iodate, leading to 2‐amino‐5‐pyridin‐2‐yl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole and 2‐methylamino‐5‐pyridin‐2‐yl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole (HLII and HLIImm). This reaction occurs either with free ligands or when coordinated to copper(II). Some of the starting ([{Cu(LImm)(NO3)}2] (3), intermediate Cu(LI)(IO3)·(H2O) (1), [{Cu(LI)I}2] (2), [{Cu(LImm)Br}2] (4), and final compounds [{Cu(HLII)(H2O)3}2](SO4)2 (5), [{Cu(HLIImm)(H2O)2(SO4)}2]·2H2O (6), (HLII) (7), [HLIImm]·3H2O (8) have been isolated and characterized by elemental analyses, IR, UV‐visible, NMR, and EPR spectroscopy. The structures of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8, solved by X‐ray diffraction methods, contain dinuclear entities with either square‐pyramidal (2, 3, 4) or octahedral (5, 6) copper(II) ions. Structural and spectroscopic results suggest that ligand‐to‐metal charge transfer occurs in these compounds. The EPR spectra at 120 K exhibit rhombic (1, 3, 4), isotropic (2), and axial (5, 6) signals. Magnetic measurements show antiferromagnetic couplings for 2, 4, 5, and 6. The susceptibility data were fitted by the Bleaney−Bowers equation for copper(II) dimers. The obtained J/k values are −20.20, −8.85, −2.75, and −2.78 K for 2, 4, 5, and 6, respectively. However, ferromagnetic intradimeric interactions are present in 3 (J/k = +9.90 K) together with antiferromagnetic interdimer coupling (z′J′/k = −1.70 K). Magneto‐structural studies show the influence of the non‐thiosemicarbazone coligand in the magnetic behaviour of these complexes. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2003)

The addition of pyridine-2-carbaldehyde 4N-methylthiosemicarbazone (C8H10N4S) to an aqueous solution of copper(II) nitrate yields [[Cu(C8H9N4S)(NO3)]2] (1). This complex consists of centrosymmetric dinuclear entities containing square-pyramidal copper(II) ions bridged through the sulfur thioamide atoms. The oxidation of 1 with KBrO3 or KIO3 gives rise to a compound with formula [[Cu(C8H8N4O)(H2O)2(SO4)]2]*2H2O (2) (C8H8N4O = 2-methylamino-5-pyridin-2-yl-1,3,4-oxadiazole). The structure of 2 is made up of centrosymmetric dimers where the copper(II) ions exhibit a distorted octahedral coordination and are connected by the oxadiazole moiety. The metal ions in 2 can be removed by addition of K4[Fe(CN)6], and then the oxadiazole ligand can be isolated and recrystallized as (C8H8N4O)*3H2O (3).

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The interaction of the Cu(II) drugs CuL(NO(3)) and CuL'(NO(3)) (HL is pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone and HL' is pyridine-2-carbaldehyde 4N-methylthiosemicarbazone, in water named [CuL](+) and [CuL'](+)) with [poly(dA-dT)](2), [poly(dG-dC)](2), and calf thymus (CT) DNA has been probed in aqueous solution at pH 6.0, I = 0.1 M, and T = 25 degrees C by absorbance, fluorescence, circular dichroism, and viscosity measurements. The results reveal that these drugs act as groove binders with [poly(dA-dT)](2), with a site size n = 6-7, whereas they act as external binders with [poly(dG-dC)](2) and/or CT-DNA, thus establishing overall electrostatic interaction with n = 1. The binding constants with [CuL'](+) were slightly larger than with [CuL](+). The title compounds display some cleavage activity in the presence of thiols, bringing about the rupture of the DNA strands by the reactive oxygen species formed by reoxidation of Cu(I) to Cu(II); this feature was not observed in the absence of thiols. Mutagenic assays performed both in the presence and in the absence of S9 mix, probed by the Ames test on TA 98, TA 100, and TA 102, were negative. Weak genotoxic activity was detected for [CuL](+) and [CuL'](+), with a significative dose-response effect for [CuL'](+), which was shown to be more cytotoxic in the Ames test and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide cell proliferation assays. Methylation of the terminal NH(2) group enhances the antiproliferative activity of the pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazones.

The synthesis, structural determination and magnetic study of a trinuclear Mn II -Gd III -Mn II complex involving a Schiff base ligand are described. The structural study demonstrates that the complex presents a linear arrangement of the Mn and Gd ions, with hexacoordinate Mn ions in slightly distorted or distorted trigonal prism environments and nine-coordinate gadolinium ions. The Mn and Gd ions are linked by two phenoxido bridges for one Mn-Gd subunit and two phenoxido plus one nitrato bridges for the other Mn-Gd subunit. Ferromagnetic interactions operate in the complex. The