Том 56, № 3 ЖУРНАЛ СТРУКТУРНОЙ ХИМИИ Май – июнь КРАТКИЕ СООБЩЕНИЯ UDC 548.73:541.49:546.562 CRYSTAL STRUCTURE AND ANTITUMOR ACTIVITIES OF THE DICHLORIDE 2,6-BIS(1-PHENYLBENZIMIDAZOL-2-YL)PYRIDINE COPPER(II) COMPLEX Q.-W. Huang1, S.-G. Liu1, G.-B. Li, S.-X. Wang2, W.-Y. Su1 , D.-M. Liang1, S.-Q. Mao1 1School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Lingnan Normal University, Zhanjiang, P.R. China 2 E-mail: lsgui@sohu.com Institute of Molecular Medicine, Medical School of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, P.R. China Received November, 24, 2013 Revised January, 06, 2015 A new complex Cu(bpbp)Cl2 ⋅DMF⋅H2O is synthesized by treatment of CuCl2 with 2,6-bis(1phenylbenzimidazol-2-yl)pyidine in DMF. <...> Its structure is characterized by elemental, IR, UV, and single crystal X-ray structure analyses. <...> In a distorted trigonal bipyramidal geometry the Cu(II) ion is coordinated by three nitrogen atoms from 2,6-bis(1-phenylbenzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine and two chloride ions. <...> The antiproliferative activities of the complex are screened by MTT assay against HepG2, Huh7, Eca109, and Eca9706 cancer cells. <...> The complex exhibits specific inhibition on Eca9706 cancer cells with the IC50 value of 28 µM after 48 h treatment. <...> However, the accumulation of metal ions in the body can lead to deleterious effects and unavoidable toxicity. <...> Benzimidazole derivatives are important pharmacophores in drugs that display a diversity of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, gastroprotective, and antiparasitic activities [ 6 ]. <...> Many DNA minor groove binders containing one or more benzimidazole heterocycles endowed with promising antitumor and antiparasitic activities have been reported to date [ 7, 8 ]. <...> Studies have showed that the intercalating abilities of the complexes depended on the types of metal ions, the ligand donor atoms, the planarity of ligands, and the coordination geometry [ 9 ]. <...> Copper is an essential element for most aerobic organisms employed as a structural and catalytic cofactor, and consequently, it is involved in many biological pathways [ 11—13]. <...> The result demonstrates that the dichloride 2,6-bis(1-phenylbenzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine copper(II) complex has high proliferation inhibition toward Eca9706 cancer cells in vitro <...>