Synthesis, characterization, cytotoxic activity and crystal structures of tri- and di-organotin(IV) complexes constructed from the β-{[(E)-1-(2-hydroxyaryl)alkylidene]amino}propionate and β-{[(2Z)-(3-hydroxy-1-methyl-2-butenylidene)]amino}propionate skele

Reactions of potassium β-{[(E)-1-(2-hydroxyaryl)alkylidene]amino}propionates (L1HK-L3HK) and potassium β-{[(2Z)-(3-hydroxy-1-methyl-2- butenylidene)]amino}propionate (L4HK) with R3SnCl (R = Ph and nBu) and nBu2SnCl2 yielded complexes of composition Ph3SnL1H (1), Ph3SnL2H (2), Ph3SnL4H (3), nBu3SnL1H (4), and {[nBu2Sn(L2H)]2O}2 (5) and {[nBu2Sn(L3H)]2O}2 (6), respectively. These complexes have been characterized by 1H, 13C, 119Sn NMR, ESI-MS, IR and 119mSn Mössbauer spectroscopic techniques in combination with elemental analyses. The crystal structures of 1, 4, 5 and 6 were determined. In the solid state, compound 1 is a one-dimensional polymer built from SnPh3 moieties bridged by single carboxylate ligands, but two alternating modes of bridging are present along the polymeric chain. Compound 4 is also a one-dimensional polymer built from SnBu3 moieties bridged by the two carboxylate O-atoms of a single ligand, but only one mode of bridging is present. Di-n-butyltin compounds 5 and 6 are centrosymmetric tetranuclear bis(dicarboxylatotetrabutyldistannoxane) complexes containing a planar Sn4O2 core in which two μ3-oxo O-atoms connect an Sn2O2 ring to two exocyclic Sn-atoms. The four carboxylate ligands display two different modes of coordination where both modes involve bridging of two Sn-atoms. The solution structures were predicted by 119Sn NMR spectroscopy. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of compound 5 against WIDR, M19 MEL, A498, IGROV, H226, MCF7 and EVSA-T human tumor cell lines is reported.