Manganese coordination compounds of mefenamic acid: In vitro screening and in silico prediction of biological activity

The in vitro and in silico biological properties of two manganese complexes with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug mefenamic acid (Hmef) in the presence or absence of salicylaldoxime (Η2sao), i.e. [Μn6(O)2(mef)2(sao)6(CH3OH)4] 1, and [Μn(mef)2(CH3OH)4] 2, respectively, are presented in the present contribution. More specifically, the in vitro biological activity of the complexes was investigated by studying their affinity to calf-thymus DNA (by diverse spectroscopic and physicochemical techniques) and their binding towards bovine (BSA) or human serum albumin (HSA) (by fluorescence emission spectroscopy). Molecular docking simulations on the crystal structures of HSA and DNA, exploring in silico the ability of the complexes to bind to these macromolecules, were also employed in order to explain the described in vitro activity of the compounds. Furthermore, in silico predictive tools have been employed to study the properties of the most active complex 2 to act as anticancer agent, in continuation of the previously reported cytotoxic activity. It is adopted in silico studies on a multitude of proteins involved in cancer growth, as well as prediction of drug-induced changes of gene expression profile, protein- and mRNA-based prediction results, prediction of sites of metabolism, quantitative prediction of antitarget interaction profiles etc.