Water‐Soluble Curcumin Derivatives Including Aza‐Crown Ether Macrocycles as Enhancers of Their Cytotoxic Activity

Abstract The synthesis of three novel curcumin derivative compounds, featuring aza‐crown ether macrocycles of various sizes (aza‐12‐crown‐4, aza‐15‐crown‐5, and aza‐18‐crown‐6), is described. The incorporation of these aza‐crown macrocycles significantly enhances their water solubility, positioning them as groundbreaking instances of curcumin derivatives that are fully soluble in aqueous environments. These curcumin ligands (L1, L2, and L3) were then reacted with zinc acetate to afford the coordination metal complexes (L1‐Zn, L2‐Zn, and L3‐Zn). Comprehensive characterization of all compounds was achieved using various