Diclofenac or 2-[(2′,6′-dichlorophenyl)amino]phenyl}acetic
acid (dcf) is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug,
and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) is a well-known enzyme
inhibitor. In this study, three new alkali metal complexes (1–3) containing both phen and dcf were prepared, and their structures were characterized
by a variety of analytical techniques including infrared and UV–vis
spectroscopy, 1H NMR and 13C NMR elemental analysis,
mass spectrometry, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.
In these complexes, phen binds via a N,N′-chelate pocket, while the monoanionic dcf—ligand remains either uncoordinated (in the case
of 1 and 3) or coordinated in a bidentate
fashion (in the case of 2). All three complexes crystallize
in the triclinic space group P-1. [Na2(phen)2 (H2O)4][dcf]2 (1) is a dinuclear sodium complex, where two
crystallographically identical Na+ cations adopt a distorted
five-coordinate spherical square-pyramidal geometry, with a [N2O3] donor set. [K2(phen)2(dcf)2(H2O)4] (2) is also a dinuclear complex where the crystallographically
unique K+ cation adopts a distorted seven-coordinate geometry
comprising a [N2O5] donor set. [Li(phen)(H2O)2][dcf] (3)
is a mononuclear lithium complex where the Li+ cation adopts
a four-coordinate distorted tetrahedral geometry comprising a [N2O2] donor set. The complexes were evaluated for
their anticancer activity against lung and oral cancer cell lines
as well as for their antibacterial potential. The prepared complexes
displayed very good antibacterial and anticancer activities with an
excellent bioavailability.