Bio active mixed ligand complexes of Cu(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II): Synthesis, spectral, XRD, DNA binding and cleavage properties

The paper presents the synthesis of complex combinations of Cu(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II) with Schiff bases obtained by the condensation reaction of diphenylglyoxal with 1-amino-4-nitrobenzene (L1)/1-amino-4-chlorobenzene (L2)/p-anisidine (L3) as the main ligand and 1,10-phenanthroline as the co-ligand respectively. The characterization of newly formed complexes has been done by spectral and molar conductivity studies. The bioefficacy of the ligands and their complexes have been examined against the growth of bacteria and fungi in vitro to evaluate their antimicrobial potential. The in vitro antibacterial and antifungal assay indicates that these complexes are good antimicrobial agents against various pathogens. X-ray powder diffraction illustrates that the complexes have crystalline nature. The effect of the metal complexes on DNA is carried out by pUC19 DNA agarose gel electrophoresis at 50 V for 2 h. The results indicate that the complexes bind to DNA through intercalation and act as efficient cleaving agents.