Copper coordination compounds with (5Z,5Z')-2,2'-(alkane-α,ω-diyldiselenyl)-bis-5-(2-pyridylmethylene)-3,5-dihydro-4H-imidazol-4-ones. Comparison with sulfur analogue.

A series of new organic ligands (5Z,5Z')-2,2'-(alkane-α,ω-diyldiselenyl)-bis-5-(2-pyridylmethylene)-3,5-dihydro-4H-imidazol-4-ones (L) consisting of two 5-(2-pyridylmethylene)-3,5-dihydro-4H-imidazol-4-one units linked with polymethylene chains of various lengths (n = 2-10, where n is the number of CH2 units) have been synthesized. The reactions of these ligands with CuCl2·2H2O and CuClO4·6H2O gave Cu2+ or Cu1+ containing mono- and binuclear complexes with Cu2LCl x (x = 2-4) or CuL(ClO4) y (y = 1, 2) composition. It was shown that the agents reducing Cu2+ to Cu1+ in the course of complex formation can be both a ligand and an organic solvent in which the reaction is carried out. This fundamentally distinguishes the selenium-containing ligands L from their previously described sulfur analogs, which by themselves are not capable of reducing Cu2+ during complexation under the same conditions. A higher cytotoxicity and reasonable selectivity to cancer cell lines for synthesized complexes of selenium-containing ligands was shown; unlike sulfur analogs, ligands L themselves demonstrate a high cytotoxicity, comparable in some cases to the toxicity of copper-containing complexes.

Novel Copper-Containing Cytotoxic Agents Based on 2-Thioxoimidazolones.

A series of 73 ligands and 73 of their Cu+2 and Cu+1 copper complexes with different geometries, oxidation states of the metal, and redox activities were synthesized and characterized. The aim of the study was to establish the structure-activity relationship within a series of analogues with different substituents at the N(3) position, which govern the redox potentials of the Cu+2/Cu+1 redox couples, ROS generation ability, and intracellular accumulation. Possible cytotoxicity mechanisms, such as DNA damage, DNA intercalation, telomerase inhibition, and apoptosis induction, have been investigated. ROS formation in MCF-7 cells and three-dimensional (3D) spheroids was proven using the Pt-nanoelectrode. Drug accumulation and ROS formation at 40-60 µm spheroid depths were found to be the key factors for the drug efficacy in the 3D tumor model, governed by the Cu+2/Cu+1 redox potential. A nontoxic in vivo single-dose evaluation for two binuclear mixed-valence Cu+1/Cu+2 redox-active coordination compounds, 72k and 61k, was conducted.

Rotational and translational diffusion of spin probes in room-temperature ionic liquids.

We have studied the rotational and translational diffusion of the spin probe 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPOL) in five imidazolium-based room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and glycerol by means of X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Rotational correlation times and rate constants of intermolecular spin exchange have been determined by analysis of the EPR line shape at various temperatures and spin probe concentrations. The model of isotropic rotational diffusion cannot account for all spectral features of TEMPOL in all RTILs. In highly viscous RTILs, the rotational mobility of TEMPOL differs for different molecular axes. The translational diffusion coefficients have been calculated from spin exchange rate constants. To this end, line shape contributions stemming from Heisenberg exchange and from the electron-electron dipolar interaction have been separated based on their distinct temperature dependences. While the Debye-Stokes-Einstein law is found to apply for the rotational correlation times in all solvents studied, the dependence of the translational diffusion coefficients on the Stokes parameter T/η is nonlinear; i.e., deviations from the Stokes-Einstein law are observed. The effective activation energies of rotational diffusion are significantly larger than the corresponding values for translational motion. Effects of the identity of the RTIL cations and anions on the activation energies are discussed.