# Synthesis and biological evaluation of ibuprofen/o-vanillin Schiff base complexes with anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative and anti-SARS-COV-19 activities

**Authors:** Laila H. Abdel-Rahman, Doaa Abou El-ezz, Abdel-Mawgoud M. Abdel-Mawgoud, Mohamed R. Shehata, Mahmoud Abd El Aleem Ali Ali El-Remaily, Mohamed Abdel-Hameed, Shaaban K. Mohamed

PMC · DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-38270-8 · Scientific Reports · 2026-03-07

## TL;DR

This study creates and tests new metal complexes with anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-SARS-CoV-19 properties, with the copper complex showing the strongest effects.

## Contribution

The synthesis and evaluation of novel metal complexes with ibuprofen/o-vanillin Schiff base for anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and anti-SARS-CoV-19 activities.

## Key findings

- The copper complex exhibited the highest antibacterial and cytotoxic efficiency.
- The copper complex showed strong DNA binding interactions.
- CuL was the most potent among the tested compounds for anti-inflammatory and anti-COVID-19 activities.

## Abstract

This study presents the synthesis and comprehensive characterization of four novel metal-complexes formed from the reaction of copper(II), nickel(II), zinc(II), and vanadium(IV) salts with the bidentate ibuprofen Schiff base ligand (HL) in 1:1 metal-to-ligand ratio. The copper complex shows the highest antibacterial and cytotoxicity efficiency, in addition to a strong binding interactions with DNA. The in-vitro anti-inflammatory and anti-COVID-19 potencies of HL and its complexes were assessed, ranking them as: CuL > NiL > ZnL > VOL > HL.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-026-38270-8.

## Linked entities

- **Chemicals:** ibuprofen (PubChem CID 3672), o-vanillin (PubChem CID 8991), Schiff base (PubChem CID 86573619)
- **Diseases:** cancer (MONDO:0004992)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** ALB (albumin) [NCBI Gene 213] {aka FDAHT, HSA, PRO0883, PRO0903, PRO1341}, COX8A (cytochrome c oxidase subunit 8A) [NCBI Gene 1351] {aka COX, COX8, COX8-2, COX8L, MC4DN15, VIII}, EBF1 (EBF transcription factor 1) [NCBI Gene 1879] {aka COE1, EBF, O/E-1, OLF1}, PTGS2 (prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2) [NCBI Gene 5743] {aka COX-2, COX2, GRIPGHS, PGG/HS, PGHS-2, PHS-2}, COX2 (cytochrome c oxidase subunit II) [NCBI Gene 4513] {aka COII, MTCO2}
- **Diseases:** colon cancer (MESH:D015179), Cytotoxicity (MESH:D064420), weight (MESH:D015431), gastrointestinal irritation (MESH:D005767), COVID-19 (MESH:D000086382), breast cancer (MESH:D001943), hepatic cancer (MESH:D008113), PXRD (MESH:C564523), SARS-COV-19 (MESH:D045169), liver cancer (MESH:D006528), fungal (MESH:D009181), pain (MESH:D010146), loss (MESH:D016388), Inflammation (MESH:D007249), HL (MESH:C538324), cancer (MESH:D009369), microbial infections (MESH:D015163), bleeding (MESH:D006470), fever (MESH:D005334)
- **Chemicals:** azomethine (MESH:C512188), bis(ethylenediamine) copper(II) (MESH:C027976), 6H (-), O3 (MESH:D010126), ethyl acetate (MESH:C007650), sodium bicarbonate (MESH:D017693), oil (MESH:D009821), TMS (MESH:D013932), Cl (MESH:D002713), Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (MESH:D014325), VO(acac)2 (MESH:C507909), ASP (MESH:D001224), agarose (MESH:D012685), nickel nitrate hexahydrate (MESH:C035197), copper(I) chloride (MESH:C028419), OH (MESH:C031356), DMF (MESH:D004126), lipid (MESH:D008055), chloroform (MESH:D002725), sulphuric acid (MESH:C033158), ROS (MESH:D017382), DMSO (MESH:D004121), zinc nitrate hexahydrate (MESH:C042103), H (MESH:D006859), lead (MESH:D007854), LYS (MESH:D008239), Br (MESH:D001966), O (MESH:D010100), Zinc (MESH:D015032), phosphate (MESH:D010710), nitrate (MESH:D009566), n-hexane (MESH:C026385), NaCl (MESH:D012965), Ibuprofen (MESH:D007052), 3H (MESH:D014316), methanol (MESH:D000432), CO amide (MESH:C012848), metal (MESH:D008670), 2-Hydroxy-3-methoxy benzaldehyde (MESH:C060843), C (MESH:D002244), agar (MESH:D000362), hydrazine hydrate (MESH:C029424), ketone (MESH:D007659), Ketoconazole (MESH:D007654), N (MESH:D009584), prostaglandin (MESH:D011453), HIS (MESH:D006639), tetramethylsilane (MESH:C073196), Ni (MESH:D009532), Vinblastine (MESH:D014747), CO (MESH:D002248), N1 (MESH:C058271), Arachidonic acid (MESH:D016718), vanadyl acetylacetonate (MESH:C049529), V (MESH:D014639), copper chloride dihydrate (MESH:C029892), H2O (MESH:D014867), Schiff base (MESH:D012545), aldehyde (MESH:D000447), chloride (MESH:D002712)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606], Bacteria Latreille et al. 1825 (Bacteria stick insect, genus) [taxon 629395], Staphylococcus aureus (species) [taxon 1280], Proteus vulgaris (species) [taxon 585], Bacillus subtilis (species) [taxon 1423], Escherichia coli (E. coli, species) [taxon 562], Candida albicans (species) [taxon 5476], Aspergillus fumigatus (species) [taxon 746128], Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (no rank) [taxon 2697049], Fungi (kingdom) [taxon 4751]
- **Cell lines:** 6LU7 — Homo sapiens (Human), Human papillomavirus-related endocervical adenocarcinoma, Cancer cell line (CVCL_M631), HepG-2 — Homo sapiens (Human), Hepatoblastoma, Cancer cell line (CVCL_0027), HCT-116 — Homo sapiens (Human), Colon carcinoma, Cancer cell line (CVCL_0291), MCF-7 — Homo sapiens (Human), Invasive breast carcinoma of no special type, Cancer cell line (CVCL_0031)

## Full text

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## Figures

22 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12972119/full.md

## References

3 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12972119/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12972119