The coordination chemistry of 2-(ortho-anilinyl)-2-oxazoline ligands with platinum (II) chloride metal centres

Abstract

Cisplatin is one of the leading platinum-based anti-tumour drugs currently on the market, and is effective against several strains of cancer. However, cisplatin is also ineffective against many other cancer forms and has harsh side effects on the patients who use the drug. Since the discovery of cisplatin's biological activity, there have been many attempts to fine-tune the molecule by making use of the observed structure activity relationships. 2-(ortho-anilinyl)-2-oxazolines are molecules which, in combination with platinum(II) chloride, can form a molecule with a similar overall structure to that of cisplatin. The presence of bulky ring groups is potentially helpful in reducing the toxicity of these molecules. Five different 2-(ortho-anilinyl)-2-oxazolines were synthesized in this study and subsequently coordinated with platinum(II) chloride. The yields were moderate (35%-76%) for four of the proposed ligands, and one was unsuccessful.