Interaction of 2-aminopyrimidine with dichloro-[1-alkyl-2-(naphthylazo) imidazole]palladium(II) complexes : Kinetic and mechanistic studies

Background  

The anticancer properties of cisplatin and palladium(II) complexes stem from the ability of the cis-MCl₂ fragment to bind to DNA bases. However, cisplatin also interacts with non-cancer cells, mainly through bonding molecules containing -SH groups, resulting in nephrotoxicity. This has aroused interest in the design of palladium(II) complexes of improved activity and lower toxicity. The reaction of DNA bases with palladium(II) complexes with chelating N,N^/donors of the cis-MCl₂ configuration constitutes a model system that may help explore the mechanism of cisplatin's anticancer activity. Heterocyclic compounds are found widely in nature and are essential to many biochemical processes. Amongst these naturally occurring compounds, the most thoroughly studied is that of pyrimidine. This was one of the factors that encouraged this study into the kinetics and mechanism of the interaction of 2-aminopyrimidine (2-NH₂-Pym) with dichloro-{1-alkyl-2-(α-naphthylazo)imidazole}palladium(II) Pd(α-NaiR)Cl₂, 1] and dichloro-{1-alkyl-2-(β-naphthylazo)imidazole}palladium(II) Pd(β-NaiR)Cl₂, 2] complexes where the alkyl R = Me (a), Et (b), or Bz (c).