Thermal studies on some group VIII complexes with biologically active ligands

Abstract

The mode of decomposition of complexes involving biologically important ligands such as thiouracil and xanthine coordinated to some group VIII metals has been studies by thermogravimetry. The results show that the complex tris-(dithiouracil) trichlororhodium(III) is monomeric and not polymeric as suggested previously. The decomposition behavior of the complex indicates that after the initial loss of a ligand molecule to form a four-coordinate complex, further ligand removal takes place in one sharp step. In the case of the complexes bis-(3-methylxanthine) diammineplatinum(II) and bis-(9-methylxanthine) diamminepalladium(II), ammonia comes off first, followed by rapid loss of the remaining xanthine ligands. Moreover, the activation energy determined for the main decomposition step suggests that the breakdown of the xanthine ligand involves the initial cleavage of the pyrimidine moiety, followed closely by loss of the remaining imidazole portion. © 1985 Wiley Heyden Ltd., and Akadémiai Kiadó.