Cytotoxicity and mechanism of action of metal complexes: An overview.

After the discovery of cisplatin, many metal compounds were investigated for the therapy of diseases, especially cancer. The high therapeutic potential of metal-based compounds is related to the special properties of these compounds, such as their redox activity and ability to target vital biological sites. The overproduction of ROS and the consequent destruction of the membrane potential of mitochondria and/or the DNA helix is one of the known pathways leading to the induction of apoptosis by metal complexes.

Bis(2-amino-pyridinium) 2,5-dicarb-oxy-benzene-1,4-dicarboxyl-ate.

In the title compound, 2C(5)H(7)N(2) (+)·C(10)H(4)O(8) (2-), the 2-amino-pyridinium (2-apyH) cation and 2,5-dicarb-oxy-benzene-1,4-dicarboxyl-ate (btcH2) anion are both nearly planar, with r.m.s.

Phenyl-hydrazinium (6-carb-oxy-pyridine-2-carboxyl-ato)(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato)cobaltate(II)-pyridine-2,6-dicarb-oxy-lic acid-water (1/1/3).

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, (C(6)H(9)N(2))[Co(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(C(7)H(4)NO(4))]·C(7)H(5)NO(4)·3H(2)O, contains one (6-carb-oxy-pyridine-2-carboxyl-ato)(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato)cobaltate(II) anion, one phenyl-hydrazinium cation, one pyridine-2,6-dicarb-oxy-lic acid mol-ecule and three uncoordin-ated water mol-ecules, part of which are disordered. The Co(II) ion is coordinated by a pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ate ion and a 6-carb-oxy-pyridine-2-carboxyl-ate ligand almost perpendicular to each other [the angle between the least-squares planes is 87.38 (4)°] and is surrounded by two O atoms and two N atoms in the equatorial plane and two O atoms in axial positions, resulting in a distorted octa-hedral coordination geometry.

Hexaaqua-nickel(II) tetra-aqua-bis-(μ-pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato)bis-(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl-ato)trinickelate(II) octa-hydrate.

The title compound, [Ni(H(2)O)(6)][Ni(3)(C(7)H(3)NO(4))(4)(H(2)O)(4)]·8H(2)O, was obtained by the reaction of nickel(II) nitrate hexa-hydrate with pyridine-2,6-dicarb-oxy-lic acid (pydcH(2)) and 1,10-phenanothroline (phen) in an aqueous solution. The latter ligand is not involved in formation of the title complex. There are three different Ni(II) atoms in the asymmetric unit, two of which are located on inversion centers, and thus the [Ni(H(2)O)(6)](2+) cation and the trinuclear {[Ni(pydc)(2)](2)-μ-Ni(H(2)O)(4)}(2-) anion are centrosymmetric.