Effects of substituent groups on the crystal structures and anti-cervical cancer activity of zero-/two-dimensional Cu(II) complexes

Abstract

In this study, two similar substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine ligands with different coordination groups are facilely synthesized and further used for constructing two novel Cu(II)-based coordination complexes [CuCl2(L1)2] (1, L1 = 3-(imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl)-1-(pyridin-3-yl)propan-1-one) and [Cu(L2)2]n (2, L2 = 4-(imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl)-2-oxobutanoic acid) via a one-pot solvothermal reaction. Then the activity of the synthesized complexes is assessed against HeLa cervical cancer cells with the CCK-8 method. The results indicate that complex 1 has an excellent inhibitory effect on cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion capabi­lity. Moreover, a further study is performed and it reveals the mechanism of complex 1, which exerts the anti-cancer ability via inducing the HeLa apoptotic cell death. Above all, synthesized complex 1 has an outstanding in vitro antitumor activity.