Development of a bismuth(II)-based nanocrystalline coordination complex with mixed-donor ligands for ablation of human skin cancer cells

A new bismuth(V)-based coordination complex Bi(phenyl)(3) (2,3-dfa)(2) (1) based on two different donor organic ligands has been obtained by the reaction between triphenylbismuth, hydrogen peroxide, and 2,3-difluorobenzoic acid (molar ratio 1:1:2, respectively) in ether. The structure compound of 1 was established by singe crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) and its phase purity was confirmed via the power X-day diffraction measurements (PXRD). The SXRD analysis reveals that the structure of 1 locates in the space group P-1 with the central Bi atom possessing a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal coordination with acylate groups in the axial positions. Furthermore, the morphology of complex 1 could be downsized into nanosized region via a green hand grinding technique. In addition, the anti-skin cancer activity of 1 in nano-region has been studied via cell counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and flow cytometric analysis, which reveals its promising anticancer activity.