New hexadentate tris(dopamine) as iron chelating agent: Synthesis, solution thermodynamic stability and antioxidant activity studies

There is a growing interest in the development of new iron ligands as novel promising therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative disorders. In the article, a new tripodal hexadentate tris(dopamine) ligand, containing three dopamine chelate moieties which were attached to a cyanuric chloride molecular scaffold, has been synthesized and fully characterized by NMR, FTIR and MS. The solution thermodynamic stability of the ligand with Fe III , Mg II and Zn II ions was investigated. The results demonstrated that the ligand exhibited effective binding ability and improved selectivity for Fe III ion. The high affinity could be attributed to the favorable geometric arrangement between the ligand and Fe III ion coordination preference. The ligand also exhibited high antioxidant activity. Hence, the ligand could be used as potential chelating agent for iron overload situations.