Synthesis, crystal structures and antiproliferative activities of a new indole-containing dipyridylmethanone hydrazone Schiff base and its cadmium(II) complex

In this study, we introduce a novel indole-containing pyridine-based Schiff base, (E)-2-({[bis(pyridin-2-yl)methylidene]hydrazin-1-ylidene}methyl)-1H-indole, C₂₀H₁₅N₅ (2-DPHI), and its cadmium(II) complex poly[[2-({[bis(pyridin-2-yl)methylidene]hydrazin-1-ylidene}methyl)-1H-indole]di-μ-chlorido-cadmium(II)], [CdCl₂(C₂₀H₁₅N₅)]_n (pCd2), as potential anticancer agents. The Schiff base was synthesized by reacting dipyridylmethanone hydrazone with indole-2-formaldehyde, while the cadmium complex was prepared by combining CdCl₂ and 2-DPHI in methanol at room temperature. Both compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines (A375, A549 and HeLa) and a normal cell line (HFF-1). The ligand 2-DPHI exhibited notable antitumour activity, with an IC₅₀ value of 12.22 µM against A375 and 15.17 µM against A549 after 48 h, while the pCd2 complex showed an even stronger inhibition of A375 cells, with an IC₅₀ value of 4.88 µM, outperforming both 2-DPHI and CdCl₂. Both compounds demonstrated lower toxicity towards normal cells compared to cancer cells. The structures of 2-DPHI and pCd2 were fully characterized using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, high-resolution mass spectrometry and FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopy.