A novel
proligand HLH has been prepared from 2-pyridinamidrazone
and 6-(morpholinomethyl)pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde. Subsequently, starting
from HLH and CuCl2·2H2O in the
presence of triethylamine, a series of homo- and heterometallic complexes
with [CuICl2]− as counteranion,
namely mononuclear complex [CuIICl(HLOMe)][CuICl2] (1), dinuclear Ru(II)–Cu(II)
complex [CuIIRuII(η6-p-cymene)Cl2(LH)][CuICl2]·1.5H2O (2·1.5H2O), Os(II)–Cu(II) complex [CuIIOsII(η6-p-cymene)Cl2(LH)][CuICl2]·H2O (3·H2O), and tetranuclear complex [CuII
4(L1)2(L2)2Cl2]·5MeOH
(4·5MeOH), where HLOMe, L1, and L2 are Schiff base ligands derived from HLH, were synthesized. The structures of metal complexes were established
by X-ray diffraction. Complexes 1–3 demonstrated quasireversible one-electron reduction of Cu(II) in
complex cations and one-electron oxidation of [CuICl2]− counterion, confirmed by UV–vis
and EPR spectroelectrochemical measurements. They exhibited moderate
antiproliferative activity against ovarian carcinoma and cervical
adenocarcinoma cell lines in a micromolar concentration range, which
was superior to the activity of HLH, CuCl2,
and [CuICl2]−. The observed
anticancer effects might be related to the ability of novel complexes
to generate ROS, which was established by spin trapping experiments
in cell-free media as well as by confocal microscopic imaging in ovarian
carcinoma cells.