Synthesis, structure, spectroscopic properties and biological activity of mixed diorganotin(IV) complexes containing pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazonato and diphenyldithiophosphinato ligands.

Reaction of the title ligands (HPyTSC and HS(S)PPh2, respectively) with R2SnO (R = Me, Et, Bu) in ethanol (EtOH) afforded the complexes [SnMe2(PyTSC) (S2PPh2)].EtOH (1) and [SnR2(PyTSC) (S2PPh2)] (R = Et (2), Bu (3)). The structures of 1 and 2 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffractometry. In both these complexes the tin atom is coordinated to an N,N,S-dentate thiosemicarbazonate ligand, an anisobidentate dithiophosphinato ligand and the two R groups. The coordination polyhedrons can be described as distorted pentagonal bipyramids. A comparative study of the IR spectra of 1, 2 and 3 indicates that the butyl complex has a similar structure. Multinuclear (1H, 13C, 31P and 119Sn) NMR data suggest that the structures of 1 and 2 probably remain in CDCl3 (or DMSO-d6) solution but compound 3 partially decomposes in these media. Preliminary results on the effects of the complexes on the proliferation and differentiation of FLC, CEM, U937, K562 and TOM-1 leukaemia cells, and on the clonogenic activity of K562 cells are also described.