Dichloro-bis-(pyridine-2-yl-undecyl-amine)zinc(II), [ZnCl₂(C₁₆N₂H₂₆)₂]: Synthesis, characterization and antimalarial activity

Abstract

A nitrogen-based ligand (pyridine-2-yl-undecyl-amine) (1) was synthesized and used for the synthesis of a Zn(II) compound (dichloro-bis(pyridine-2-yl-undecyl-amine)zinc(II)) (2). Compound 2 was synthesized and characterized using IR, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structure of 2 was determined using single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The compound was tested for its anti-malarial activity using two methods, a semi-quantitative micro-assay and a previously self-developed quantitative in vitro method. Both methods were used to study the efficiency of 2 to inhibit the formation of the malaria pigment considered an important target of many anti-malarial drugs such as chloroquine and amodaquine. The efficiency of 2 to prevent the formation of β-hematin was 71.4%. The efficiency of amodiaquine as a standard drug was reported at 93.8%.

Keywords:

• Malaria
• zinc complexes
• nitrogen-based ligands
• β-hematin

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the office of Vice President for Academic Affairs at Birzeit University for their financial support.