Alkaline Earth Metal Complexes with Oxine derivatives : A Review

Oxine i.e. 8-hydroxyquinoline is a versatile heterocyclic compound as it exhibits numerous biological activities such as anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-viral, etc. The molecule also exhibits excellent chelating properties and binds effectively to both transition metals and alkali and alkaline earth metals. This moiety has been drawn great attention of medicinal chemists due to its significant biological activities. Synthetic modification of 8-hydroxyquinoline is under exploration on large scale to develop more potent target-based broad spectrum drug molecules for the treatment of several life-threatening diseases such as anti-cancer, HIV, neurodegenerative disorders, etc. Metal chelation properties of 8-hydroxyquinoline and its derivatives also make these a potent drug candidate for the treatment of various diseases. The past two decades have witnessed the preparation of a huge number of transition metal-based 8-HQ complexes along with their incredible applications. However, no remarkable work has been reported in the field of alkali and alkaline earth metal-based complexes of 8-HQ and its derivatives. Since alkali and alkaline earth metals play a vital role in the biological system, we herein anticipate that alkali and alkaline earth metal complexes of 8- hydroxyquinoline may serve as models to understand the mechanism of uptake, transport, and storage of these metals in animals and plants. Owing to the numerous biological activity of the 8-HQ core structure, the synthesized complexes are also expected to show promising biological activities. Since drug resistance has emerged as the major problem after the prolonged usage of the same drug, the identification of new alternatives is the need of the hour and hence more and more lead compounds may prove beneficial to overcome the drug resistance that offers an unprecedented challenge to public health.