Three new platinum complexes containing fluoroquinolones and DMSO: Cytotoxicity and evaluation against drug-resistant tuberculosis

This work describes the synthesis, characterization and biological evaluation of three platinum complexes of the type [Pt(DMSO)(L)Cl]Cl, in which L represents a fluoroquinolone, namely, ciprofloxacin (cpl), ofloxacin (ofl), or sparfloxacin (spf). The new complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRESIMS) and ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance). The spectral data suggest that the fluoroquinolones act as bidentate ligands coordinated to Pt(II) through the nitrogen atoms of the piperazine ring. Microbiological assays against wild type Mycobacterium tuberculosis (ATCC 27294) showed that all complexes have been very potent, exhibiting antitubercular potency at concentrations <2 μM, although none of the complexes presented higher potency than established anti-TB drugs. As to the resistant strains, the complex with sparfloxacin, [Pt(DMSO)(spf)Cl]Cl exhibited the best potential against most Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates. The cytotoxicity of these compounds was also evaluated in three breast cell lines: MCF-10 (a healthy cell), MCF-7 (a hormone responsive cancer cell) and MDA-MB-231 (triple negative breast cancer cell). In both tumor cell lines, [Pt(DMSO)(spf)Cl]Cl was more active and more selective than cisplatin. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that [Pt(DMSO)(spf)Cl]Cl induced late apoptotic cell death in MDA-MB-231 cells.