Design of new Zn(II) pyrazine and pyridine derivatives based complexes as potential anticancer agents: from synthesis to structure

The newly synthesized ligands based on pyrazine and pyridine derivatives and its Zn (II) complexes were re-ported. Elemental analysis (EA), flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (F-AAS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), single-crystal X-ray and electron diffraction were used for the characterisation. The antimicrobial and antifungal activity of all the synthesized compounds was tested against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, and yeasts. Besides that, the anticancer nature of the studied compounds was also evaluated. The MTT test showed different results on the cytotoxicity of the ligands. Ligand L3 did not show toxicity after 24-hour incubation but its complex had some toxic effects on both glio-blastoma cell lines. Although the obtained Zn(L3)Cl2 did not show the same activity against cancer cells as cisplatin, the studied complex proved to be less toxic against normal cells than the standard drug. Due to this, the further biological studies, such as cell apoptosis assay and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) were performed on this pair of compounds.