10.1016/j.ejmech.2010.03.012
This research aimed to explore novel urease inhibitors by synthesizing and characterizing three new mononuclear complexes of Cu(II) and Zn(II) with the Schiff base ligand 2-{[2-(2-hydroxyethylamino)ethylimino]methyl}-4-nitrophenol (HL). The purpose was to counteract the negative effects of urease activity, which is a nickel-containing enzyme that hydrolyzes urea to produce ammonia and carbamate, leading to increased ammonia concentrations and pH elevations with implications in medicine and agriculture. The study concluded that two Cu(II) complexes, [CuLNO3] (1) and [CuClL] (2), exhibited strong urease inhibitory activities with IC50 values lower than that of acetohydroxamic acid, a standard urease inhibitor, while the Zn(II) complex [Zn(CH3COO)L] (3) showed no activity at 100 mM concentration. The chemicals used in the process included 5-nitrosalicylaldehyde, N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine for the synthesis of HL, and metal salts such as copper nitrate, copper chloride, and zinc acetate for the formation of the respective complexes.