Synthesis, biological aspects and SOD mimic activity of square pyramidal copper(II) complexes with the 3rd generation quinolone drug sparfloxacin and phenanthroline derivatives

The mononuclear copper(II) complexes with 3rd generation quinolone drug sparfloxacin (SPFH) in the presence of nitrogen donor heterocyclic ligands (A1 = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline, A2 = 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, A3 = 4,5-diazafluoren-9-one, A4 = 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione, and A5 = 5-nitro-1,10-phenanthroline) have been prepared and characterized. An antimicrobial efficiency of the complexes has been tested on five different microorganisms and shows diverse biological activity. Absorption titration, thermal denaturation and viscosity measurement study showed that all complexes binds to DNA by an intercalative mode. The DNA cleavage ability of the complexes was determined using gel electrophoresis. Complexes exhibit SOD-like activity with their IC50 values ranging from 0.512 to 1.225 μM.