(2,2':6',2' '-Terpyridine)platinum(II) complexes containing (thioalkyl)dicarba-closo-dodecaborane(12) ligands.

A series of novel platinum(II)-2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine (trpy) complexes containing (thioalkyl)dicarba-closo-dodecaborane(12) (closo-carborane) derivatives were prepared by treatment of the labile precursor species [Pt(MeCN)(trpy)](OTf)2 with R(CH2)nSH (R = closo-1,2-carborane, n = 0-3; R = closo-1,7-carborane, n = 1; R = closo-1,12-carborane, n = 1) in the presence of NEt3 to afford brightly colored complexes of the type [PtS(CH2)nR(trpy)]OTf. All products were characterized by means of multinuclear (1H, 13C, 11B, and 195Pt) 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopy, ESI-MS, and, for the 1,7-carborane derivative, X-ray crystallography. Preliminary in vitro cytotoxicity studies of selected complexes against human ovarian carcinoma cells are also reported.