A Zn(ii)–organic cage with semirigid ligand for solvent-free cyanosilylation and inhibitory effect on ovarian cancer cell migration and invasion ability via regulating mi-RNA16 expression

[Zn6(L)4(DMF)2(H2O)4](1,4-Dioxane)2(DMF)10(H2O)4 (1, L = 4,4′,4″-(benzene-1,3,5-triyltris(oxy))tribenzoate), the metal-organic cage, was produced via Zn(NO3)2·6H2O reacting with the H3L ligand in the mixed solvent of DMF and water. The heterogeneous catalytic activities of the complex 1 for the aldehydes cyanidation under the conditions of free solvent were studied, which indicates that the removal of coordination solvents could greatly improve the catalytic activities. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of the compound against the ovarian cancer cells was assessed. The mi-RNA16 relative expression level was measured after exposure to the compound with real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The invasion and migration of cells after compound treatment were also detected by the transwell method.