Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Preliminary Biological Studies of Several Heterocyclic Transition Metal Carbonyl Complexes

The reaction of molybdenum, tungsten and manganese carbonyls with several thiazole heterocycle ligands yielded a number of coordinated transition metal complexes 1–10. Of these complexes 1–6 are new compounds which have not been reported to date. The structures of new compounds were characterized by FT‐IR and 1H‐NMR spectroscopy as well as single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. Complexes 1–10 are carbon monoxide releasing molecules that show structure‐related anti‐cancer activity. The cytotoxicity of all compounds on Hela cells was evaluated by MTT assay, and the results show that carbon monoxide releasing molecules containing such Schiff base ligands may have biomedical applications for their anti‐tumor effect.