Synthesis, antiapoptotic biological activity and structure of an oxo-vanadium(IV) complex with an OOO ligand donor set

The oxo-vanadium(IV) complex VO(oda) (H2O)(2) (I) (oda = oxydiacetate, O(CH2COO-)(2)) was obtained by reaction of aerobic aqueous solutions of VO(acac)(2) with oxydiacetic acid, O(CH2COOH)(2). The antiapoptotic biological activity of I was studied in insulin-producing cells. Chemically generated nitric oxide (NO) triggers apoptotic events, such as the appearance of oligonucleosomes in cytosol, and this response was prevented by the presence of 1 in the culture medium. The molecular structure of 1 has been determined by X-ny diffraction analysis.