A mononuclear N,N,N,O donor schiff base Cu (II) complex inhibits bacterial biofilm formation and promotes apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in prostate cancer cells

In this work, we report a distorted square pyramidal mononuclear copper (II) complex [Cu(L)(NCS)] (1) which was obtained by the reaction of the aqueous solution of ammonium thiocyanate to a methanolic solution of copper nitrate trihydrate and corresponding Schiff-base ligands. Schiff bases, HL (C12H19N3O) act as a tetradentate Schiff base, derived from 1:1 condensation of o-hydroxyacetophenone and diethylenetriamine. The synthesized complex has been successfully characterized based on elemental analysis and Infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The structure of complex 1 was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. In our study, we investigated synthesis, structural characterization, antimicrobial, anti-biofilm, and anti-cancer activity, and plausible mechanism of action of a novel mononuclear copper (II) schiff base complex. Increasing microbial resistance to several commercially available or traditional antimicrobial compounds has become a major global health concern at present time. The mononuclear copper (II) complex exhibited potential antibacterial activity against two strains of the gram-negative pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The copper compound dependent damage of bacterial cell membrane and inhibition of bacterial biofilm formation were also identified. Moreover, complex 1 inhibited prostate cancer cell growth, and migration by inducing apoptosis and arresting the cell cycle at the G2M phase. Based on the results, we are suggesting our novel mononuclear copper (II) compound as a potential candidate for the development of new antibacterial and anti-cancer drugs.