Antitumor Metallothiosemicarbazonates: Structure and Antitumor Activity of Palladium Complex of Phenanthrenequinone Thiosemicarbazone

The crystal structure of the potential antitumor metal compound,
viz. chloro, mono(phenanthrenequinone thiosemicarbazonato) palladium(II) dimethyl formamide solvate, is reported. The central
palladium(II) atom is in a square planar environment provided by
the tridentate, monoanionic thiosemicarbazone ligand and the
ancillary chloride ion. The compound exhibited remarkable activity
against drug-sensitive and drug-resistant breast cancer cell lines
and was relatively nontoxic toward the normal mammary epithelial
cells. The drug-induced killing effect against breast cancer cell
lines was predominantly mediated via apoptosis, a physiologic form
of cell death.