Synthesis, characterization, thermal study and biological evaluation of Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) complexes of Schiff base ligand containing thiazole moiety

The novel Schiff base ligand 2-(4-(dimethylamino)benzylidene)-N-(4-phenylthiazol-2-yl)hydrazinecarboxamide (L) obtained by the condensation of N-(4-phenylthiazol-2-yl)hydrazinecarboxamide with 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde and its newly synthesized Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) complexes have been characterized by microanalysis, magnetic susceptibility, molar conductance, thermal analysis, FT-IR, 1H NMR, ESI mass, UV–Visible, ESR spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction data. The newly synthesized ligand behaves as a bidentate ON donor. The IR results confirmed the bidentate binding of the ligand involving oxygen atom of amide carbonyl and azomethine nitrogen. 1H NMR spectral data of the ligand (L) and its Zn(II) complex agreed well with the proposed structures. In order to evaluate the effect of antimicrobial activity of metal ions upon chelation, the newly synthesized ligand and its metal complexes were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. The DNA cleavage activities were studied using plasmid DNA pBR322 as a target molecule by agarose gel electrophoresis method. The brine shrimp bioassay was also carried out to study the in vitro cytotoxicity properties of all the compounds against Artemia salina. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of the ligand (L) and its metal complexes were determined in vitro by reduction of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), the ligand exhibited potent in vitro – antioxidant activity than its metal complexes.