Development of Lanthanide Metal Complexes for Biomedical Applications

This book presents the synthesis, characterization and biomedical applications of lanthanide Schiff base complexes from specially designed organic ligands. Examples of these complexes are readily available through a controlled coordination reaction between Ln(III) ions and multidentate Schiff base ligands developed to stabilize and define the metal-ion coordination bond. A variety of advanced analytical characterization methods including FT-IR, UV-Vis, NMR, Mass spectrometry, SEM-EDX, TGA, and XRD were used to study the multivalent ligands and assess structural properties, coordination abilities, elemental make-up, morphology and thermal properties of the synthesized complexes. Using standard microbiology and cytotoxicity assay routes, the antimicrobial and anticancer properties of the complexes have been rigorously studied to demonstrate significant inhibition against selected strains of bacteria, fungi and cancer cell-lines. The results further suggest that Schiff base lanthanide complexes exhibit significant therapeutic impact and could provide effective bioactive agents for future biomedical studies and drug-design research.