Synthesis, structures and urease inhibition studies of dimeric copper(II) complexes of Schiff bases derived from glycine

Two new dimeric copper(II) complexes, [Cu(C9H7NO4)(Py)]2·2(CH3OH) (1) (Py = pyridine) and [Cu(C13H9NO3)(H2O)]2 (2), where Schiff base ligands HL1 (C9H7NO4) and HL2 (C13H9NO3) were derived from glycine, were synthesized and structurally characterized. X-ray crystal structures of the complexes reveal that the copper centers in 1 possess a slightly distorted square pyramidal geometry, while one copper center in 2 has a square planar geometry and the other copper is distorted square pyramidal. The inhibitory activity of complexes 1 and 2 was tested in vitro against jack bean urease. It was found that both showed urease inhibitory potential (IC50 = 19 and 39 μM). Molecular docking analysis was done using dock program to gain an understanding of their inhibitory activity. DFT calculations were also performed to evaluate electronic structures of the obtained copper(II) complexes.