Reaction of [RuCl
3(dppb)H
2O] (dppb
=
1,4 bis(diphenylphospine)butane) with 2-benzoylpyridine thiosemicarbazone (H2Bz4DH) and its
N(4)-methyl (H2Bz4M) and
N(4)-phehyl (H2Bz4Ph) derivatives gave [RuCl(dppb)(H2Bz4DH)]Cl (
1), [RuCl(dppb)(H2Bz4M)]Cl (
2) and [RuCl(dppb)(H2Bz4Ph)]Cl (
3). The cytotoxic activity of the studied compounds was tested against the MCF-7, TK-10 and UACC-62 human tumor cell lines. The precursor [RuCl
3(dppb)H
2O] exhibits cytocidal activity against the tree cell lines. H2BzDH, H2Bz4M, and [RuCl(dppb)(H2Bz4M)]Cl (
2) show a selective cytocidal effect against the UACC-62 cell line which makes them the most promising compounds
