Palladacycles are versatile organometallic compounds that show potential for therapeutic use. Here are described the synthesis and characterization of mono-and dinuclear palladacycles bearing diphosphines. Their biological effect was investigated in A2780, an ovarian-derived cancer line, and in normal dermal fibroblasts. The compounds displayed selective cytotoxicity toward the A2780 cell line. Compound 3 decreased the cell viability through cell cycle retention in G0/G1, triggered apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway, and induced autophagy in A2780 cells. Compound 9 also induced cell cycle retention, apoptosis, and cellular detachment. Notably, compound 9 induced the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Our work demonstrated that compound 3 enters A2780 cells via active transport, which requires energy, while compound 9 enters A2780 cells mostly passively. The potential effect of palladacycles in angiogenesis was investigated for the first time in an in vivo chorioallantoic membrane model, showing that while compound 3 displayed an antiangiogenic effect crucial to fighting cancer progression, compound 9 promoted angiogenesis. These results show that palladacycles may be used in different clinical applications where pro-or antiangiogenic effects may be desirable.

A dinuclear iminophosphorane palladacycle produces the missing link in the triphenylphosphane chalcogenide series of metallacycles.

In the world of science, in particular the section concerning the field of chemistry, when the results encountered during the experiment do not meet our expectations, our shrewdness may play an important role to open up new unexplored fields that could be much more interesting than what we were seeking. In those cases, our research undergoes an unforeseen shift, delivering novel and challenging results that may altogether alter our point of view and our future work. We have then struck serendipity. Specifically, in our investigation linked to palladacycles we have found that the new trends in their reactivity, as well as in their structure, have been, in many cases, related to this experience, broadening our research scope within this field. Herein, we describe our most relevant findings, which have shed new light upon the reactivity of palladacycles, thus opening new routes that lead to novel unexpected structures.

Treatment of the imines a–c with palladium(II) acetate in acetic acid yielded the μ-acetate dinuclear complexes 1a–c, which readily reacted with sodium chloride or bromide to provide μ-halide analogues. The reaction of the latter with nitrogen, phosphorus and oxygen donor nucleophiles yielded new imine palladacycles following the cleavage of the Pd2X2 unit. The complexes were fully characterized by microanalysis, 1H, 13C and 31P NMR spectroscopies, as appropriate. The compounds were applied as catalysts in the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction in aqueous and semi-aqueous media.

A theoretical and experimental study of tetradentate [C,N : C,N] iminophosphorane palladacycles was carried out for the purpose of elucidating their behavior as compared to the parent Schiff base analogues to determine the prospect of encountering new A-frame structures for the iminophosphor-ane derivatives. The DFT calculations were in agreement with the experimental results regarding the performance of these ligands. New insights into the chemistry of the related dinuclear species have been obtained.