Thiosemicarbazones (TSCs), and their copper derivatives, have been extensively studied mainly due to the
potential applications as antitumor compounds. A part of the biological activity of the TSC-CuII complexes rests
on their reactivity against cell reductants, as glutathione (GSH). The present paper describes the structure of the
[Cu(PTSC)(ONO2)]n compound (1) (HPTSC =pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone) and its spectroscopic
and magnetic properties. ESI studies performed on the reaction of GSH with 1 and the analogous [{Cu
(PTSC*)(ONO2)}2] derivative (2, HPTSC* =pyridine-2-carbaldehyde 4N-methylthiosemicarbazone) show the
absence of peaks related with TSC-Cu-GSH species. However GSH-Cu ones are detected, in good agreement with
the release of CuI ions after reduction in the experimental conditions. The reactivity of 1 and 2 with cytochrome
c and myoglobin and their activities against HT-29 and SW-480 colon carcinoma cell lines are compared with
those shown by the free HPTSC and HPTSC* ligands.
