Anticancer activity and cisplatin binding ability of Bis-quinoline and Bis-isoquinoline derived [Pd2L4]4+ metallosupramolecular cages

Roan A.S. Vasdev*, Lachlan F. Gaudin, Dan Preston, Jackmil P. Jogy, Gregory I. Giles, James D. Crowley

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

New bis-quinoline (Lq) and bis-isoquinoline-based (Liq) ligands have been synthesized, along with their respective homoleptic [Pd2(Lq or Liq)4]4+ cages (Cq and Ciq). The ligands and cages were characterized by 1H, 13C and diffusion ordered (DOSY) NMR spectroscopies, high resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESIMS) and in the case of the bis-quinoline cage, X-ray crystallography. The crystal structure of the Cq architecture showed that the [Pd2(Lq)4]4+ cage formed a twisted meso isomer where the [Pd(quinoline)4]2+ units at either end of the cage architecture adopt the opposite twists (left and right handed). Conversely, Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations on the Ciq cage architecture indicated that a lantern shaped conformation, similar to what has been observed before for related [Pd2(Ltripy)4]4+ systems (where Ltripy = 2,6-bis(pyridin-3-ylethynyl)pyridine), was generated. The different cage conformations manifest different properties for the isomeric cages. The Ciq cage is able to bind, weakly in acetonitrile, the anticancer drug cisplatin whereas the Cq architecture shows no interaction with the guest under the same conditions. The kinetic robustness of the two cages in the presence of Cl- nucleophiles was also different. The Ciq cage was completely decomposed into free Liq and [Pd(Cl)4]2- within 1 h. However, the Cq cage was more long lived and was only fully decomposed after 7 h. The new ligands (Liq and Lq) and the Pd(II) cage architectures (Ciq and Cq) were assessed for their cytotoxic properties against two cancerous cell lines (A549 lung cancer and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer) and one non-cancerous cell line (HDFa skin cells). It was found that Lq and Cq were both reasonably cytotoxic (IC50S ≈ 0.5 μM) against A549, while Ciq was slightly less active (IC50 = 7.4 μM). Liq was not soluble enough to allow the IC50 to be determined against either of the two cancerous cell lines. However, none of the molecules showed any selectivity for the cancer cells, as they were all found to have similar cytotoxicities against HDFa skin cells (IC50 values ranged from 2.6 to 3.0 μM).

Original languageEnglish
Article number563
JournalFrontiers in Chemistry
Volume6
Issue numberNOV
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2018
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Anticancer activity and cisplatin binding ability of Bis-quinoline and Bis-isoquinoline derived [Pd2L4]4+ metallosupramolecular cages'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this