Synthesis and Cytotoxicity of 2‐(2′‐Pyridyl)benzimidazole Complexes of Palladium(II) and Platinum(II)

Compounds of type [MX₂(Hpben)] [M = Pd (X = Cl), Pt (X = Cl, I); Hpben = 2‐(2′‐pyridyl)benzimidazole] were prepared and characterized, and the structures of the Pt derivatives were determined by X‐ray crystallography. The crystals of [PtI₂(Hpben)] consist of discrete units in which the Pt atom is coordinated to two iodine atoms and to pyridine and imidazole N atoms in a distorted square planar arrangement. The structure of the chloro derivative is similar, except that the [PtCl₂(Hpben)] monomers are hydrogen‐bonded in zig‐zag chains. In assays of the interactions of the Pd and Pt chloro compounds with DNA, and of their in vitro cytotoxic activity against human cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa‐229), human ovarian carcinoma cells (A2780) and a cisplatin‐resistant mutant A2780 line (A2780cis), the only activity observed was modest cytotoxicity of the Pd derivative for A2780.