Thiosemicarbazones and derived tin complexes: Synthesis, structural analysis and in vitro evaluation against bacterial and cancer cells

Abstract

Two complexes of Sn (IV), Sn (IV)‐TSC 1 and Sn (IV)‐TSC 2, with the ligands 4‐(2,4‐dimethylphenyl)‐1‐([pyridin‐2‐yl]methylene)thiosemicarbazide (TSC 1) and 4‐(2,5‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐1‐([pyridin‐2‐yl]methylene)thiosemicarbazide (TSC 2) were synthesized. X‐ray crystallographic investigation of Sn (IV)‐TSC 2 afforded valuable information on its octahedral geometry, monoclinic lattice and C 1 2/c 1 space group. The ligands are monoanionic tridentate via a deprotonated thiol sulfur atom and two nitrogen atoms of pyridine and azomethine moieties. These atoms coordinate tin alongside three independent chlorine atoms making the tin atoms in the complexes tetravalent, despite of incorporating tin (II) chloride in the reactions. Solutions of the ligands TSC 1 and TSC 2 (20 mg/ml in dimethyl sulfoxide) induced growth inhibitions only to Staphylococcus aureus (14 and 10 mm) and Escherichia coli (15 and 10 mm) bacteria. But the complexes displayed activities against four bacterial species, that is, S. aureus, E. coli, Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (complex Sn (IV)‐TSC 1, complex Sn (IV)‐TSC 2 and ampicillin showed inhibition diameters with 12–14, 13–14 and 21–26 mm). All TSC ligands and coordination compounds induced cytotoxicity in MCF‐7 cancer and BHK normal cells. The compounds TSC 1, TSC 2, Sn (IV)‐TSC 1, Sn (IV)‐TSC 2 and doxorubicin inhibited the MCF‐7 (BHK) cells with IC50 values of 68.9 (126.6), 145.4 (110.6), 22.6 (16.7), 34.2 (16.1) and 9.66 (36.42) μM, respectively.