Physicochemical properties of ternary oxovanadium(IV) complexes with oxydiacetate and 1,10-phenanthroline or 2,2'-bipyridine. Cytoprotective activity in hippocampal neuronal HT22 cells.

The aim of this work was to find a relationship between physicochemical properties of the oxovanadium(IV) complexes, namely [VO(ODA)(H2O)2], [VO(ODA)(phen)]·1.5H2O and [VO(ODA)(bipy)]·2H2O (ODA = oxydiacetate) as well as [VO(H2O)5](2+), and their biological activity. A potentiometric titration method has been used to characterize the stability of the complexes in aqueous solutions. Furthermore, the reactivity of the complexes towards superoxide free radicals was assessed by employing the NBT assay as well as a cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique. Additionally, the investigations of the antioxidant properties of the complexes were complemented by studying their reactivity towards organic radicals (the ABTS and DPPH tests). Finally, the biological properties of the complexes were investigated in relation to their cytoprotective activity against the oxidative damage generated exogenously by using hydrogen peroxide in the Hippocampal neuronal cell line HT22 (the MTT and LDH tests). The obtained results showed that all the compounds under study display antioxidant properties but a concentration-depended protective effect against the oxidative damage was found for [VO(ODA)(bipy)]·2H2O only.