Treatment of the known half-sandwich complexes of the type [(η⁶-C₆H₆)RuCl₂(P(OR)₃)] (R = Me or Ph) with SnCl₂ yielded three new half-sandwich ruthenium complexes (C1–C3): [(η⁶-C₆H₆)RuCl(SnCl₃)(P(OMe)₃)] (C1), [(η⁶-C₆H₆)RuCl(SnCl₃)(P(OPh)₃)] (C2) and the bis-stannyl complex [(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru(SnCl₃)₂(P(OMe)₃)] (C3) by facile insertion of SnCl₂ into the Ru–Cl bonds. Treatment of the known complexes [(η⁶-C₆H₆)RuCl(SnCl₃)(PPh₃)] and [(η⁶-C₆H₆)RuCl₂(PPh₃)] with 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DAMP) and ammonium tetrafluoroborate afforded the complex salts: [(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru(SnCl₃)(PPh₃)(DAMP)]⁺BF₄⁻ (C4) and [(η⁶-C₆H₆)RuCl(PPh₃)(DAMP)]⁺BF₄⁻ (C5) respectively. Complexes C1–C5 have been fully characterized by spectroscopic means (IR, UV–vis, multinuclear NMR, ESI–MS) and their thermal behaviour elucidated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Structural characterization by single crystal X-ray crystallography of the novel complex C2 and [(η⁶-C₆H₆)RuCl₂(P(OPh)₃)], the latter having escaped elucidation by this method, is also reported. Finally, the cytotoxicity of the complexes was determined on the A2780 (human ovarian cancer), A2780cisR (human ovarian cis-platin-resistant cancer), and the HEK293 (human embryonic kidney) cell lines and discussed, and an attempt is made to elucidate the effect of the stannyl ligand on cytotoxicity.

The title compound, [PtCl(2)(C(25)H(21)N(2)P)], is a Pt(II) complex with an NPCl(2) coordination sphere in which the metal is coordinated to the imino N and phosphane P atoms of the ligand and to two chloride ions. The Pt(II) atom is in a distorted square-planar environment and is bound to the ligand via the P and amine N atoms in a cis fashion, with the chlorine atoms located at the two remaining sites.