New chiral α-ketoimine-Pd(II) complexes and their anticancer activity

Abstract

Optically pure α-ketoimines were obtained under solvent-free conditions starting from 2,2′-pyridil and (S)-(−)-1-phenylethylamine and (S)-(−)-1-(4-methylphenyl)ethylamine, respectively. These new chiral ketoimines were then complexed with palladium yielding new optically pure mono-Pd complexes 3A–B. The compounds have been characterized by IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopies along with MS-FAB+ spectrometry. The crystal and molecular structure of 3A has been fully confirmed by single-crystal X-ray studies. In vitro studies of 3A–B display growth inhibition against leukemia (K-562 CML), colon cancer (HCT-15), breast cancer (MCF-7), central nervous system (U-251 Glio), and prostate cancer (PC-3) cancer cell lines.