Synthesis and Evaluation of Cytotoxicity and Molecular Docking of New Symmetrical Macroacyclic Schiff Base Ligands and Their Ni(II) and Zn(II) Complexes

Abstract

To synthesize new symmetrical macroacyclic Schiff base ligands (L1 and L2), polyamine (A) was condensed with 2-formylpyridine and salicylaldehyde. Furthermore, Ni(ClO4)2.6H2O and Zn(ClO4)2.6H2O in methanol were reacted with the ligands to prepare corresponding metal complexes. The cytotoxicity of the synthesized complexes against MCF-7 and A549 adenocarcinoma cells was evaluated, where Zn-complexes displayed greater cytotoxic effects than Ni-complexes. Conductivity measurements, ESI-MS, UV-Vis, molar conductivity, IR, 1H, and 13C NMR spectra were used to characterize the products. Furthermore, molecular docking was performed to assess the biological activity of the complexes, and it was observed that Zn-complexes exhibited the highest inhibition effect against cytotoxic receptors.