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N,O,S-Donor Ligands and Metal Complexes: From Structural Characterization to Biological and Catalytic Applications

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2026 | Viewed by 809

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Jan Dlugosz University, Armii Krajowej 13/15, 42-200 Czestochowa, Poland
Interests: coordination chemistry; structural chemistry; spectroscopy, in particular vibrational spectroscopy; computational chemistry; heterocycles as ligands
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, there has been significant progress in research on N,O,S-donor ligands and their metal complexes. Due to their unique coordinating properties, these ligands have broad applications in coordination chemistry, catalysis, and biomimetics. Metal complexes with N,O,S-donor ligands play a key role in fundamental research and industrial and biomedical applications.

The goal of this Special Issue is to gather the latest research findings in the following areas:

  • Synthesis and modification of N,O,S-donor ligands.
  • Structural and spectroscopic characterization of metal complexes.
  • Theoretical modeling and DFT calculations.
  • Applications in catalysis and industrial processes.
  • Biomedical and biological applications of metal complexes with N,O,S-donor ligands.

Dr. Barbara Morzyk-Ociepa
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • N,O,S-donor ligands
  • metal complexes
  • catalysis
  • coordination chemistry
  • biomimetics
  • structural characterization
  • spectroscopy
  • DFT
  • theoretical modeling
  • biomedical applications
  • industrial processes

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 1885 KB  
Article
Comparative Study of Ni(II) Complexes with Dithiocarbazate- and Thiosemicarbazone-Based Ligands: Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Anticancer Activity
by Gabriel S. Pessoa, Mariana P. Viana, Katia M. Oliveira and Claudia C. Gatto
Molecules 2025, 30(17), 3516; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30173516 - 28 Aug 2025
Viewed by 568
Abstract
The present work reports a comparative study of thiosemicarbazone (H2L1) and dithiocarbazate (H2L2) ligands and their Ni(II) complexes; [Ni(L1)(PPh3)] (1); [Ni(L1)(Py)] (2); [Ni(L2)(PPh [...] Read more.
The present work reports a comparative study of thiosemicarbazone (H2L1) and dithiocarbazate (H2L2) ligands and their Ni(II) complexes; [Ni(L1)(PPh3)] (1); [Ni(L1)(Py)] (2); [Ni(L2)(PPh3)] (3); and [Ni(L2)(Py)] (4). All compounds were characterized by spectroscopy analysis; and the complexes were also characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal structures of the complexes revealed a distorted square planar geometry with the Ni(II) atoms coordinated to a double-deprotonated and tridentate ligand molecule by the ONS donor system. The coordination sphere is completed by the incorporation of pyridine or triphenylphosphine coligands at the metal center. Biological assays were conducted against the cell lines breast cancer (MCF-7); cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer (A2780cis); lung cancer (A549); and nontumoral lung (MRC-5). The results show that cytotoxicity was significantly enhanced upon complexation for complexes (2) and (4); whereas it was suppressed for complexes (1) and (3) against the A2780cis and A549 cell lines. Notably; complex (2) exhibited superior cytotoxicity compared to cisplatin against both MCF-7 and A2780cis. Full article
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