Highly active copper(I) complexes of aroylthiourea ligands against cancer cells – synthetic and biological studies

The reaction of copper(I) bromide with aroylthiourea ligands (L) in the molar ratio 1 : 3 resulted in the formation of [CuBr(L)3]. The complexes were well characterized by analytical and spectroscopic (UV-visible, FT-IR, NMR and mass) techniques. Tetrahedral geometry of complexes 1 and 3 was confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. The interaction of complexes with biomolecules (DNA/protein) has been evaluated using spectrophotometric and spectrofluorometric techniques. The compounds were screened for their in vitro cytotoxicity against cancer and normal cell lines. Complexes 1 and 2 showed potent cytotoxic activity against HeLa cells with an IC50 value of 1.23 and 0.47 μM, respectively. Staining and colony formation studies were also carried out for the most active complexes to predict the morphological changes and colony formation ability, respectively.