SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTITUMOR STUDIES ON N-SALICYL-N'-THIOBENZOHYDRAZIDE AND ITS COPPER(II) COMPLEX

The new potential tetradentate ligand N-salicyl-N'-thiobenzohydrazide (H2SBTH) and its Cu complex, [Cu(SBTH)], have been prepared and charac terized by physico-chemical studies. In vivo antitumour activity of [C u(SBTH)] has been tested against breast tumour in C3H/J strain mice; L D(50) values were also calculated. The cytotoxicity and antitumour eff ect of [Cu(SBTH)] is a maximum at 100 mg kg(-1) body weight injected i ntraperitoneally in mice carrying breast tumour. In nitro results of t he Ligand and the complex on P-815 (murine mastocytoma) and K-562 (hum an erythroleukemia cells) indicate that these compounds show significa nt inhibition on H-3-thymidine and H-3-uridine incorporation in DNA an d RNA in these tumour cells. Light microscopic study of the treated tu mour mass demonstrated that certain cellular degradation, such as disa ppearance of mitotic figures, loss in cellular compactness, distortion of nucleus and disruption of cytoplasmic boundaries, take place in co mplex-treated mice with tumours.