Synthesis, structure, and urease inhibitory activities of Co(III), Mn(II) and Zn(II) complexes with hydrazone derived from protocatechuic acid

[CoIII(L1)2·H2O]NO3 (1), [MnII(L1)2·H2O] (2), and [ZnII(L1)2·H2O] (3) with a hydrazone derived from protocatechuic acid (HL1 = C15H13N3O3) were designed, synthesized, and characterized by C, H, N elemental analyses, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and IR spectra, which revealed that the three complexes are similar structures. Docking study has been done. The urease inhibitory activities of the three complexes were tested. Complexes 1 and 3 showed strong inhibitory activity against jack bean urease with IC50 values of 45.9 and 11.64 μM. Complex 2 had no obvious inhibitory activity to urease; the IC50 was > 50 μM.