Citation: Huilin ZHENG, Tao WANG, Ruilin GAO, Mengke ZHOU, Xinyue LI, Hui WANG, Xiaoxia GU. Antitumor and antibacterial activities of transition metal complexes incorporating pyridyl salicylaldehyde Schiff base[J]. Chinese Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, ;2026, 42(5): 897-905. doi: 10.11862/CJIC.20250358 shu

Antitumor and antibacterial activities of transition metal complexes incorporating pyridyl salicylaldehyde Schiff base

Huilin ZHENG ¹ ,
Tao WANG ¹ ,
Ruilin GAO ¹ ,
Mengke ZHOU ¹ ,
Xinyue LI ¹ ,
Hui WANG ^{1, 2,,} ,
Xiaoxia GU ^{1, 2,,}

1.
School of Pharmacy, Wannan Medical University, Wuhu 241002, China
2.
Anhui Innovative Center for Drug Basic Research of Metabolic Diseases, Wannan Medical University, Wuhu 241002, China

Corresponding author: Hui WANG, wanghias@126.com Xiaoxia GU, guxiaoxia@wnmc.edu.cn
Received Date: 28 November 2025
Revised Date: 31 March 2026

Figures(4)

The antibacterial and anti-tumor activities of transition metal complexes bearing pyridyl salicylaldehyde Schiff base were studied. Three complexes [Co(L)₂]Cl (1), [Ni(L)₂(CH₃OH)₂] (2), and [Cu(L)₂] (3) incorporating a pyridyl salicylaldehyde Schiff base (HL=5-(diethylamino)-2-({[2-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl]imino}methyl)phenol), was synthesized. The structure of HL and complexes 1-3 were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, the in vitro antitumor activities of the ligand HL and complex 1-3 were evaluated by MTT assay. The results revealed that both ligand HL and complex 1 exhibited superior inhibitory effects against human ovarian cancer A2780, non-small cell lung cancer A549, and triple-negative breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells compared to cisplatin. Notably, complex 1 showed the strongest activity against MDA-MB-231 cells with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of (7.8±0.3) μmol·L^-1. Subsequent cell scratch assay indicated that the cytotoxicity of complex 1 against MDA-MB-231 cell lines increased in a dose-dependent manner with increasing its concentration. Moreover, the antibacterial activities of HL and complexes 1-3 against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Candida albicans (C. albicans) were explored. Results demonstrated that both HL and complexes 1-3 had moderate antibacterial sensitivity to S. aureus and C. albicans. Among them, complex 1 exhibited the best antibacterial effect against S. aureus (extremely sensitive), with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.64 mg·mL^-1.
- pyridyl,
- salicylaldehyde Schiff base,
- transition metal complexes,
- antibacterial activity,
- antitumor activity
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