Molecular docking and in vitro biological studies of a Schiff base ligand as anticancer and antibacterial agents

Abstract

In this study, a bis-Schiff base ligand of N,N'-bis(4-dimethylaminobenzylidene)hexane-1,6-diamine (L) was obtained via a condensation reaction of N, N-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde and hexane-1,6-diamine. The ligand (L) was characterized by various analysis tools such as FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR, Mass, DRS spectra, XRD, and thermal analyses. The ligand (L) inhibitory action was also assessed against two gram-negative and four gram-positive bacterial pathogens. Disk diffusion, MIC, and MBC test results indicate that the investigated ligand (L) has antibacterial activity against bacteria and can be employed as a therapeutic candidate after further research. The MTT assay was used to study the ligand (L) cytotoxicity on the MCF-7 cell line and calculate the IC50. Cell treatment with ligand (L) in various concentrations showed that the bis Schiff base ligand (IC50 = 6.27 ± 0.07 mgmL−1) is the most significant. Assessment of in silico ADMET ligand (L) properties illustrates that showed agreement with Lipinski’s rule of five. Lastly, the interaction between the ligand with 1STE, 1Z11, and 1AJ6 receptors was examined using docking experiments. The best conformation with the lowest affinity energy (−6.57 kcalmol−1) corresponds to the interaction of the ligand (L) with the active site of the 1Z11 receptor.

Keywords

• Schiff base ligand
• Biological activities
• MTT assay
• Molecular docking