ELETTRA is a multidisciplinary Synchrotron Light Laboratory in AREA Science Park, open to researchers in diverse basic and applied fields. The laboratory is equipped with ultra-bright light sources in the spectral range from UV to X-rays and offers a stimulating and competitive environment to researchers from all over the world.

The knowledge of the local atomic environment of copper in inorganic complexes containing scorpionate-based ligands is essential to tailor the cytotoxic activity of the complexes. The joint XAS and biological data evaluation allow us to design new ligands useful for the synthesis of novel copper derivatives to be further evaluated as alternative anticancer drugs.

Experimental results of copper(II) complexes with two new-synthesized nitroimidazole and glucosamine conjugated heteroscorpionate ligands, {[(L^MN)₂Cu]Cl₂}, and {[(L^DAC)₂Cu]Cl₂}, proposed as alternative anticancer drugs to the cisplatin, are presented. The XAS measurements, were successively analyzed taking into account the Multiple Scattering formalism, allowing the determination of the local atomic environment of copper. The cytotoxic activity of both copper complexes towards a panel of several human tumour cell lines was evaluated showing inhibitory potency that is are about 3- fold more effective than the widely used cisplatin.