Double advantages of Benzimidazolyl‑hydroxy-coumarinyl diad - “turn-on” sensing of Al³⁺ and preventing metastasis in cancer

8-(1H-Benzoimidazol-2-yl)-7‑hydroxy-4-methyl-chromen-2-one (HL), a benzimidazolyl‑hydroxy-coumarinyl diad, serves as fluorescent turn-on Al³⁺-sensor in acetonitrile-water (2:1, v/v) of pH, 7.2 (HEPES buffer) medium. The intensity of emission on binding with Al³⁺ is enhanced by twelve times of probe with limit of detection (LOD) 0.62 µM. The structure of the probe has been established by the spectroscopic data (FT-IR, ¹H NMR, Mass spectra) and is confirmed by Single Crystal X-ray structure determination. The co-ordination environment of the complex, [Al(L)(NO₃)₂(H₂O)(NCCH₃)], has been supported by Mass, FT-IR, NMR spectra and the Job's plot supports 1:1 composition. The anti-metastatic potential of HL on Human skin carcinoma (A431) and Human lung carcinoma (A549) cells are examined. Wound healing and Zymography assay suggest that HL has anti-migratory properties. The RT-PCR and Immunoblotting data suggest that HL down-regulates the expression of mesenchymal markers (Vimentin, Snail, Slug, MMP, and MMP9) and induces the expression of the epithelial marker (E-Cadherin).