A new Cu(II)-based metal-organic framework constructed from the terpyridine tetrazolate ligand: structural characterization and anticancer activity on nasopharyngeal carcinoma

In the current study, a new Cu(II)-based metal-organic framework (MOF) formulated as {[Cu3(L)6(H2O)]·(H2O)4}n (1) (L = 4-(tetrazol-5-yl)phenyl-4,2′:6′,4″-terpyridine), has been synthesized by a solvothermal method and structurally characterized via the single crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction along with the thermogravimetric analysis. After the synthesis of the compound 1, its inhibitory effect on the viability of CNE-1 nasopharyngeal cancer cells were detected. Firstly, the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) was performed to determine the anti-cancer activity of compound 1 in vitro, as well as the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of compound 1. In addition to this, Annexin V-FITC/PI assay was conducted the apoptosis of CNE-1 cells after compound 1 treatment. The H2DCF-DA assay was carried out to measure the ROS accumulation in CNE-1 cells after compound 1 treatment.