Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Activity of Some Unsymmetrical Schiff Base Transition Metal Complexes

In this study, several unsymmetrical Schiff bases and their cobalt and manganese complexes have been synthesized and characterized. The unsymmetrical Schiff bases were prepared from reaction of o-phenylendiamine derivatives with 1-hydroxy-2-acetonaphthone and then the product was reacted with the following aldehydes: salicyaldehyde, 2-hydroxynaphthaldehyde, 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde and 2-qinolinecarboxaldehyde to produce the desired tetradentate unsymmetrical Schiff base ligands H2SL, H2NL, HPYL and HQN, respectively. Reaction of these ligands with cobalt and manganese salts produced complexes of the general formula [M(SL)], [(NL)], [M(PYL)] and [M(QL)]. All the complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The prepared complexes were examined for their anti-bacterial activity using gram-positive and gram-negative pathogens. The following complexes showed strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus: MnSL1, MnSL2 and MnSL3. The genotoxic activity of four complexes, which are MnNL1, MnSL1, CoNL1 and CoSL1, were examined using 8-hydroxy-2-deoxy guanosine (8-OHdG) assay in cultured human blood lymphocytes. All examined complexes were found to be genotoxic at examined concentrations (0.1-100 µg/mL), but with variable magnitudes (p < 0.05). The levels of 8-OHdG induced by MnNL1 and MnSL1 were significantly higher than that induced by CoNL1 and CoSL1 ones. In general, the order of mutagenicity of the compounds is MnSL1 > MnNL1 > CoSL1 > CoNL1. In conclusion, some of the prepared complexes showed some biological activities that might be of interest for future research.