N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Amine Pt(II) Complexes, a New Chemical Space for the Development of Platinum-Based Anticancer Drugs

N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) platinum complexes have been highlighted as a promising and original platform for building new cytotoxic drugs of the cisplatin series. Mixed NHC-amine PtII complexes have been prepared via a facile and modular two step sequence leading to trans-configured square planar species. They have been characterized by spectroscopic methods and X-ray diffraction studies. Their efficiency against both cisplatin sensitive (CEM and H460) and resistant (A2780/DDP, CH1/DDP, and SK-OV-3) cell lines has been demonstrated by in vitro experiments.