Di- and tri-organotin(IV) complexes of arylhydrazones of methylene active compounds and their antiproliferative activity

•Mono- and tetranuclear organotin(IV) compounds derived from arylhydrazones of acetylacetone and barbituric acid.•The organotin complexes exhibit antitumor activity in vitro.•The organotin complexes are combined in a 3D supramolecular framework.

Two organotin(IV) complexes, [Sn(C6H5)3HL1] (1) and [Sn(C2H5)2(1κO,2κO-H3L2)(1κO2-H3L2)(μ3-O)]2 (2), were isolated upon interaction of Ph3SnCl and Et2SnO with 2-(2-(2,4-dioxopentan-3-ylidene)hydrazinyl)benzoic acid (H2L1) and 2-(2-(2,4,6-trioxotetrahydropyrimidin-5(2H)-ylidene) hydrazinyl)benzoic acid (H4L2), respectively, in toluene solution. Complexes 1 and 2 were characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopies, elemental and single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. While in 1 the (HL1)– ligand binds the metal in a chelating bidentate mode, in 2 the (H3L2)– anion acts not only as a chelating bidentate but also as a bridging bidentate donor. The in vitro antiproliferative activity against human colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HEPG2) cells lines demonstrated that compound 1 possesses high in vitro antiproliferative activity with IC50 values of 0.0284 ± 0.0001 μM and 0.287 ± 0.0001 μM for HCT116 and HEPG2 cells, respectively.

Graphical abstractNew organotin(IV) complexes exhibit high in vitro antiproliferative activity against human colorectal and hepatocellular carcinoma cells lines.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide