The keto-enol tautomerism of aroylhydrazones causes coordination versatility of these Schiff bases towards a wide range of metal ions, particularly transition metal ions. The resultant metal complexes have been investigated as biological probes, DNA binding/cleaving agents, catalysts, sensing materials, corrosion inhibitors, etc. The inherent pharmacological behavior of aroylhydrazones is enhanced upon coordination to bioactive metal ions. The biological efficacy of these complexes is strongly influenced by the coordination interactions between the metal ions and the donor atoms of the ligands.
Crystallographically characterized manganese aroylhydrazone complexes are few and far between. More importantly, to the best of our knowledge, there is a paucity of anticancer investigations of such complexes. Aroylhydrazone ligands can be tailor-designed and modulated for targeted physicochemical features and biological activity of the corresponding complexes. In this work, we have designed, produced and crystallographically elucidated novel aroylhydrazone complexes of manganese with multiple oxidation states. Currently, we are investigating cytotoxicity of these compounds towards MCF-7 and HeLa cancer cells. The development of metal-based cancer drugs as alternatives to cisplatin is of considerable interest worldwide.