Antimalarial properties of transition metal complexes of sulfonamides

Abstract The antimalarial properties of various transition metal complexes of benzenesulfonamide were investigated. The sulphonamides were synthesized from the reaction of substituted benzenesulfonyl chloride and amino acids in aqueous basic medium. The dissolution of the sulfonamides in methanol and subsequent reaction with Co(II) and Ni(II) afforded the complexes in 53–94% yields. The compounds were characterized using infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectroscopies. The IC50 of the complexes against Plasmodium falciparum ranged from 2.61 to 2.82 mg/mL. The synthesized compounds had good inhibitory activities against β-hematin of Plasmodium falciparum and could further be developed as therapeutic agents for malaria.