Synthesis, crystal structures and antiproliferative activities of a new indole‐containing dipyridylmethanone hydrazone Schiff base and its cadmium(II) complex

In this study, we introduce a novel indole‐containing pyridine‐based Schiff base, (E)‐2‐({[bis(pyridin‐2‐yl)methylidene]hydrazin‐1‐ylidene}methyl)‐1H‐indole, C20H15N5 (2‐DPHI), and its cadmium(II) complex poly[[2‐({[bis(pyridin‐2‐yl)methylidene]hydrazin‐1‐ylidene}methyl)‐1H‐indole]di‐μ‐chlorido‐cadmium(II)], [CdCl2(C20H15N5)]n (pCd2), as potential anticancer agents. The Schiff base was synthesized by reacting dipyridylmethanone hydrazone with indole‐2‐formaldehyde, while the cadmium complex was prepared by combining CdCl2 and 2‐DPHI in methanol at room temperature. Both compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against three human cancer cell lines (A375, A549 and HeLa) and a normal cell line (HFF‐1). The ligand 2‐DPHI exhibited notable antitumour activity, with an IC50 value of 12.22 µM against A375 and 15.17 µM against A549 after 48 h, while the pCd2 complex showed an even stronger inhibition of A375 cells, with an IC50 value of 4.88 µM, outperforming both 2‐DPHI and CdCl2. Both compounds demonstrated lower toxicity towards normal cells compared to cancer cells. The structures of 2‐DPHI and pCd2 were fully characterized using single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction, elemental analysis, high‐resolution mass spectrometry and FT–IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and UV–Vis spectroscopy. This study introduces a novel indole‐containing pyridine‐based Schiff base and its cadmium(II) complex as potential anticancer agents. The cadmium complex exhibited strong cytotoxicity against A375 cancer cells, with an IC50 value of 4.88 µM, significantly outperforming both the ligand and CdCl2, highlighting its potential as a promising anticancer compound.