Keele Research Repository

A series of latonduine derivatives, namely 11-nitro-indolo[2,3-d]benzazepine-7-(1-amino-hydantoin) (B), triazole-fused indolo[2,3-d]benzazepine-based Schiff bases HL1 and HL2 and metal complexes [M(p-cymene)(HL1)Cl]Cl, where M = Ru (1), Os (2), and [Cu(HL2)Cl2] (3) were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques (UV–vis, 1H, 13C, 15N–1H HSQC NMR) and ESI mass spectrometry. The molecular structures of B and HL1 were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, while that of 3 by electron diffraction of nanometer size crystalline sample. Molecular docking calculations of species B in the binding pocket of PIM-1 enzyme revealed that the 1-amino-hydantoin moiety is not involved in any hydrogen-bonding interactions, even though a good accommodation of the host molecule in the ATP binding pocket of the enzyme was found. The antiproliferative activity of organic compounds B, HL1 and HL2, as well as complexes 1–3 was investigated in lung adenocarcinoma A549, colon adenocarcinoma LS-174 and triple-negative breast adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-231 cells and normal human lung fibroblast cells MRC-5 by MTT assays; then, the results are discussed.