Structural versatility in nickel (II) complexes of a hydrazone ligand based on alloxan: Preparation, spectroscopic, DFT, anticancer, and molecular docking studies

Abstract

New binary and mixed‐ligand nickel (II) chelates of a hyrdazone ligand (HYQX) carrying alloxan and quinoline moieties were synthesized. Spectroscopic and analytical techniques were effectively used for identifying the composition and structure of the prepared nickel (II) HYQX chelates. The neutral nature of Ni‐HYQX complexes was demonstrated by molar conductivity studies, and magnetic moment values revealed octahedral geometry. The results demonstrated that HYQX behaves as a monoanionic di‐/tridentate chelating agent in all complexes, except nitrato C2 and acetato C4 complexes, which are bi‐ and tri‐nuclear complexes, respectively, with a unique mode of coordination. The thermal decomposition patterns of Ni‐HYQX complexes were investigated in relation to structure, and thermodynamic parameters were successfully calculated. The molecular structural features of HYQX and its Ni (II) chelates were investigated based on density functional theory (DFT) level at B3LYP/6‐311G(d,p) and LanL2dz level. Ni‐HYQX complexes were found to have anticancer action against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma. A molecular docking investigation was conducted to determine in what way the title compounds connect to the CDK‐5 inhibitor‐crystal structure of the inhibitor EFP with CDK‐2 (PDB ID: 3IG7) in order to verify their biological activity.