Synthesis and crystal structures of cobalt(III), copper(II), nickel(II) and zinc(II) complexes derived from 4-methoxy-N′-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)benzohydrazide with urease inhibitory activity

Abstract

Urease catalyzes the decomposition of urea into ammonia, which has harmful effects on both human health and fertile soil. Aiming at exploring novel urease inhibitors, a series of hydrazone compounds and their Co^III, Cu^II, Ni^II, and Zn^II complexes were prepared from 4-methoxy-N'-(pyridin-2-ylmethylene)benzohydrazide (HL). They are [CoClL(NCS)] (1), [CoL₂]·Cl·CH₃OH·H₂O (2), [CuL(NCNCN)]_n·nCH₃OH (3), [NiL(HL)]·ClO₄·CH₃OH (4) and [ZnClL(OH₂)]·CH₃OH (5). The compounds were characterized by physico-chemical methods. Structures of the complexes were further confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The metal ions in 1, 3, and 5 display square pyramidal coordination and 2 and 4 display octahedral coordination. The inhibitory effects of the compounds on Jack bean urease were evaluated. The results showed that 3 has effective urease inhibitory activity, with IC₅₀ value of (7.3 ± 1.0) μmol L⁻¹.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Hydrazone
• metal complexes
• crystal structure
• urease inhibition

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 21641012), the Innovative Entrepreneurial Training Program of Liaoning Normal University (Project No. cx201802017), and the Education Office of Liaoning Province (Project No. LF201783611).