Syntheses,Structures, and Biological Activity of NiII,PdII, and PtII Complexes with New Tetradentate Benzamidine Ligands

N‐(Dialkylthiocarbamoyl)benzimidoyl chlorides react with o‐(salicylidenimine)benzylamine with formation of a novel class of tetradentate benzamidine ligands (H₂L^Et and H₂L^Morph), which readily react with Ni(CH₃COO)₂, [PdCl₂(CH₃CN)₂], and [PtCl₂(PPh₃)₂] under formation of complexes of the composition [M(L^R)] [M = Ni ( 4 ), Pd ( 5 ), Pt ( 6 )]. In all complexes, H₂L^R is doubly deprotonated and bonded to the metal ion via its N₂OS donor set and establishes a distorted square‐planar coordination sphere. The antiproliferative effects of the compounds on MCF‐7 and Hep‐G2 cells were studied. The complexes of H₂L^Morph are generally more active than those of H₂L^Et. While H₂L^Et and its complexes exhibit stronger effects on the Hep‐G2 line, the corresponding compounds of H₂L^Morph show almost equal effects on the two cell lines. In each series of compounds, the cytotoxicity increases in the order H₂L^R << 4 < 5 < 6 .