{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T18:29:41Z","timestamp":1779215381984,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,9]],"date-time":"2024-10-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1728432000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Parma"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Research in the field of metallodrugs is continually increasing. However, it is often limited by the poor solubility in water of the metal complexes. To try to overcome this problem, the two new ligands bis-(sodium 3-methoxy-5-sulfonate-salicylaldehyde)thiocarbohydrazone (bis-TCH, Na2H4L1) and bis-(sodium 3-methoxy-5-sulfonate-salicylaldehyde)carbohydrazone (bis-CH, Na2H4L2) were synthesized and characterized, both achieving high solubility in water. The speciation of the ligands and their coordinating behaviour towards the biologically relevant Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions were studied spectroscopically and potentiometrically, determining the pKas of the ligands and the formation constants of the complex species. The monometallic and bimetallic Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes were isolated, and the single-crystal X-ray structure of [Cu2(NaHL1)(H2O)7].3.5H2O was discussed. Finally, preliminary studies of the in vitro cytotoxic properties of the new compounds were started on normal (Hs27) and cancer (U937) cell lines. bis-TCH was able to induce a growth inhibition effect between 40% and 45% in both cell lines; bis-CH did not produce a reduction in cell viability in Hs27 cells but revealed mild antiproliferative activity after 72 h of treatment in U937 cancer cells (GI50 = 46.5 \u00b1 4.94 \u03bcg\/mL). Coordination of the Cu(II) ions increased the toxicity of the compounds, while, in contrast, Zn(II) complexes were not cytotoxic.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms251910831","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,9]],"date-time":"2024-10-09T06:30:03Z","timestamp":1728455403000},"page":"10831","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Synthesis and Preliminary Studies for In Vitro Biological Activity of Two New Water-Soluble Bis(thio)carbohydrazones and Their Copper(II) and Zinc(II) Complexes"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"25","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9761-7247","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessio","family":"Zavaroni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-7621-3422","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"Riva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Valentina","family":"Borghesani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0311-1721","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Greta","family":"Donati","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano, 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-0269-2000","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Federica","family":"Santoro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano, 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6460-3447","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vincenzo Maria","family":"D\u2019Amore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano, 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9621-0410","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Matteo","family":"Tegoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7946-0602","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giorgio","family":"Pelosi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"},{"name":"Centre for Molecular and Translational Oncology, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 11\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9877-2767","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Annamaria","family":"Buschini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"},{"name":"Centre for Molecular and Translational Oncology, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 11\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2295-5783","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dominga","family":"Rogolino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5888-4556","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mauro","family":"Carcelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17\/A, 43124 Parma, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Aly, A.A., Abdallah, E.M., Ahmed, S.A., Rabee, M.M., and Br\u00e4se, S. 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