Imine–Thiocarbamate Hybrid Pincer Systems: From Mechanochemical Activation to Cytotoxicity Evaluation of the Cyclopalladated Derivatives

Organometallic and metal–organic compounds are widely used in different fields of chemistry and allied disciplines, including bioinorganic and medicinal chemistry. Of particular interest is the development of novel potential anticancer agents based on palladium(II) complexes of the so-called pincer-type ligands, featuring a specific monoanionic tridentate framework. In this work, hybrid imine–thiocarbamate ligands are shown to readily undergo direct cyclopalladation in solution and under solvent-free conditions, in particular upon mechanochemical activation, yielding a series of Pd(II) pincer complexes. The latter exhibit promising cytotoxic activity against several solid and hematopoietic cancer cell lines.