New dimethyltin(IV) complexes containing pyridyl ligands and halide or pseudohalide

Organotin complexes have attracted much consideration attributable to their properties, structural chemistry and potential applications in numerous scientific areas. Among them, organotin (IV) compounds with nitrogen containing aromatic ligands are of particular interest over the last years. In general, the biocidal activity of organotin complexes is greatly influenced by the structure of the molecule and the coordination number of the tin atoms which can be predicted by Sn-N bond distance [1, 2]. It has been shown that some organotin (IV) carboxylates can be active against cancer cells where cisplatin is inactive for these resistive cancer cells [3]. Herein, we report the preparation and characterization of four new dimethyltin (IV) complexes having a series of substituted pyridyl ligands and halide or pesudohalide. The resulting complexes have been fully characterized using elemental analysis, IR and multinuclear (1H, 13C, 119Sn) NMR spectroscopy. Moreover, the thermal properties of all products were investigated. In vitro anticancer activities of trans-[SnMe2Cl2 (p-PyCOOH) were tested against human breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-468) and glioblastoma multiforme (U-87MG) cell lines.