A novel 4-fluorobenzenetelluronic trimethyltin ester: synthesis, characterization and in vitro cytotoxicity assessment

Abstract

A novel 4-fluorobenzenetelluronic trimethyltin ester (Me₃Sn)₄[p-F-PhTe(μ-O)(OH)O₂]₂ (1) has been prepared and fully characterized using elemental analysis, FT-IR, NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn) spectroscopy, XRD and X-ray crystallography. Structural analysis shows that the complex is crystallized as a Sn₄Te₂ molecule, in which an asymmetric four-membered Te₂(μ₂-O)₂ unit is situated in the center. The geometry of tellurium is described as a distorted octahedron and for each tin it is described as a distorted tetrahedron. Underlying cytotoxic mechanisms involved in the apoptotic death of A549 cells upon exposure to the complex have been investigated and the results reveal that the anti-proliferative and proapoptotic effects of the complex in A549 cells prominently contributed to the accumulation of ROS, dysfunctional depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane and activation of caspase-3.