Medicinal properties of organotin compounds and their limitations caused by toxicity

Organotin(IV) compounds are used globally as stabilizers, catalyzers and biocidal agents. However, due to the increased focus on the application of organotin(IV) compounds in health care, their use will no longer be limited to industry and agriculture. Bioactivities of organotins including anti-cancer, antiviral, antiparasitic, antimicrobial, antihypertensive activities and anti-hyperbilirubinemia have been widely discussed and their anti-cancer abilities have been studied most extensively. Various series of organotins with different structural characteristics have been described including the diorganotin(IV) arylhydroxamates synthesized by our group. However, some factors, such as the high toxicity, have limited the application of organotins as drugs, despite their multiple biological activities. We reviewed and analyzed 829 cases of organotin(IV) poisoned patients in China, and found that organotins are the obvious risky factors of environmental contamination. The severe toxicities of organotin(IV) pollutants have been extensively investigated over the past few decades. Reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity and other toxic effects can be caused by these compounds. Organotins with medicinal properties also exhibit the similar toxicities hampering their development as therapeutic agents. Therefore, it is important to discover more effective and safer medicinal organotins for therapeutic use by designing and synthetizing new organotin(IV) compounds. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.