Design and synthesis of chitosan-gelatin modified magnetic composite capped Palladium nanoparticles for the C-N Ullmann coupling reactions and study of its anti-prostate cancer effects

This study presents the in-situ production of palladium (Pd) nanoparticles on a chitosan-gelatin (CS-Gl) functionalized magnetic nanocomposite (Fe 3 O 4 @CS-Gl/Pd NPs), along with its catalytic and biological applications using an environmentally sustainable approach. We characterized the structural and physicochemical properties of the resulting material by applying various analytical tools, including Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and so on. Following the characterization, we utilized the Fe 3 O 4 @CS-Gl/Pd nanoparticles, impressively in the N -arylation of imidazole and indole with haloarenes (I, Br, Cl), via by Ullmann-type C(aryl)-N coupling reaction. Notably, this newly developed catalyst exhibited excellent recyclability, maintaining its performance after six cycles of use. Subsequently, the Fe 3 O 4 @CS-Gl/Pd NPs nanocomposite was tested for various biological applications. It exhibited notable antioxidant properties, particularly against DPPH free radicals, with an IC 50 value of 127 µg/mL. In cancer research, the nanocomposite was evaluated against prostate cancer (PC) cell lines (LNCaP and PC3), yielding IC 50 values of 219 µg/mL and 336 µg/mL, respectively. These results confirm that the synthesized nanoparticles effectively inhibit the proliferation of PC cells and promote cell death when administered in higher concentrations.