Syntheses of (pyridyl) pyrazine carboxamide palladium(II) complexes, their DNA/BSA interactions, and cytotoxicity studies.
Authors:   , Mvelase Sabathile Thandeka 
Published: February 2024

Reaction of pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid with a respective amine in the presence of triphenyl phosphite afforded the corresponding carboxamide ligands: [N2, N3-bis(pyridin 2-yl)pyrazine2,3-dicarboxamide] (L1), [N2, N3-bis(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxamide] (L2), [N2,N3-bis(4-methylpyridin-2-yl)pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxamide] (L3), and [N2, N3bis(quinoline-8-yl)pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxamide] (L4). Treatments of the corresponding (pyridyl)pyrazine carboxamide ligands with [PdCl2(NCCH3)2 afforded new mononuclear and dinuclear palladium(II) complexes with a general formula, [Pd2(L1)2Cl2] (Pd1), [Pd2(L2)2Cl2] (Pd2), [Pd2(L3)2Cl2] (Pd3) and [Pd(L4)Cl] (Pd4). The identities and coordination nature of the palladium(II) complexes were established through a combination of characterization techniques such as NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and single X-ray crystallography. The molecular structures of the dinuclear Pd1 and Pd3 complexes reveal that the two (pyridyl) pyrazine carboxamide ligands coordinate with the palladium atom via one arm, while the other arm remains non-coordinating. The ligands are bridged by two palladium atoms to form dinuclear palladium(II) complexes. While one ligand coordinates to the palladium in a bidentate fashion via the nitrogen atoms of the pyrazine and amide groups, the other ligand unit coordinates to the palladium through the pyridine nitrogen atom to give two ligand units and two palladium atoms in the complex coordination sphere. On the other hand, ligand L4 binds to palladium atom in a tridentate fashion via the pyrazine, amide, and pyridine nitrogen atoms to give complex Pd4 as a mononuclear species. The interaction of the palladium complexes (Pd1-Pd4) with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) was monitored using UV-Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Absorption spectroscopic studies revealed that complexes Pd1-Pd4 interact with CT-DNA via intercalative mode, and the computed intrinsic binding constant (Kb) values range from (4.28-13.12) x 106 M-1. In addition, Ksv values of (1.82-28.41) x 106 M-1 and KF values of (1.01-53.44) x 104 M-1 determined in competitive binding studies confirmed the intercalative binding mode. The interaction of the complexes with CT-DNA decrease in the order of Pd3 > Pd2 > Pd1 > Pd4. Furthermore, bovine serum albumin (BSA) interaction was evaluated using fluorescence studies and the results revealed the existence of a static quenching mechanism with bimolecular constant, kq range of (0.66-13.99) x 1014 M-1 s-1. The Ksv values of (1.48-29.67) x 106 M-1 and KF values of (0.10-16.10) x 105 M-1 confirmed the interaction between BSA and palladium complexes. The interaction follows this order Pd2 > Pd1 > Pd3 > Pd4, which is inconsistent with the CT-DNA trend. In general, ligands bearing electron-donating methyl groups (L2 and L3) contributed to higher binding constants in their respective complexes Pd2 and Pd3 compared to the unsubstituted complex Pd1. In addition, the mononuclear complex Pd4 showed the weakest interactions with both the DNA and BSA, pointing to some beneficial effects of increased metal atoms in the complexes. The cytotoxic effect of the ligands L1-L3 and complexes Pd1-Pd4 were examined against a human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) using 3-(4,5-Dimethyl-2thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. In general, the ligands displayed poor cytotoxicity L1 (IC50 > 400 μM), L2 (IC50 = 182.4 μM), L3 (IC50 = 80.2 μM), when compared to their respective palladium(II) complexes Pd2 (IC50 = 154.9 μM), Pd3 (IC50 = 230.1 μM). Complexes Pd1 (IC50 = 11.4 μM), and Pd4 (IC50 = 61.5 μM) displayed high and moderate cytotoxic activity which was attributed to the planarity of the complexes.