Synthesis, characterization, and anticancer properties of rare earth complexes with Schiff base and o-phenanthroline

Five novel ternary complexes of the rare earth ions with o-phenanthroline（Phen） and Schiff base salicylaldehyde L-phenyla- lanine（KHL） were synthesized in ethanol. Their compositions were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance, ^1H NMR, FT-IR, and Raman spectra. The formulas of the complexes were verified to be RE（L）（Phen）Cl（H2O） （RE=La^3＋, Ce^3＋, Nd^3＋, Er^3＋, and Gd^3＋; L=Schiff base salicylaldehyde L-phenylalanine; phen=o-phenanthroline）. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） colorimetry and flow cytometry were used to test the anticancer effect of the complexes with K562 tumor cell. The research showed that the complexes could inhibit K562 tumor cell＇s growth, generation, and induce apoptosis. The inhibition ratio was accelerated by increasing the dosage, and it had significant positive correlation with the medication dosage.