Characterization and antidiabetic activity of salicylhydrazone Schiff base vanadium(IV) and (V) complexes

Twenty-four oxidovanadium(IV,V) complexes with tridentate Schiff base ligands based on 5-nitrosalicylaldehyde, 5-methoxysalicylaldehyde, or 5-sulfosalicylaldehyde and respective hydrazide were isolated, and characterized using physicochemical and spectroscopic methods. Three of them were structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray structure determination. The biological activity studies included inhibition of human tyrosine phosphatases, studies on myocyte C2C12, adipocyte 3T3-L1, and human hepatocyte HepG2 cell lines, glucose uptake in myocytes and adipocytes, and cytotoxicity tests. The complexes that were unstable in solutions showed biological activity typical of other V(IV) complexes, while the stable one showed much higher, ligand-dependent, activity.