Copper(II) and zinc(II) coordination compounds of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: Structural features and antioxidant activity

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic agents with known side-effects. The most important NSAIDs are carboxylate derivatives of phenylalkanoic acids, anthranilic acid and salicylic acid. In most cases, the metal complexes of NSAID ligands are more active as drugs than the corresponding free NSAIDs. The structural features concerning the sofar reported NSAID complexes with copper(II) or zinc(II) are presented. In addition, the in vitro antioxidant activity of these compounds (radical scavenging, soybean lipoxygenase inhibition and superoxide dismutase mimicking activity) is discussed.