Quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazones and their Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes as topoisomerase IIa inhibitors

Quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone derivatives and their copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes were tested for their antiproliferative properties on cell line U937. Copper(II) derivatives inhibit proliferation and topoisomerase IIa in vitro. Computational methods suggest that the positive charge formed by dissociation of the copper complexes may play a key role in their activity.