Abstract
New palladium complexes were efficiently synthesized from the reaction of benzimidazolium salts 2a-e, potassium carbonate (K
2
CO
3
) and palladium chloride (PdCl
2
) in pyridine (for 3a-e). The catalytic activity of these complexes in a catalytic system including palladium complexes and K
2
CO
3
in DMF-H
2
O was evaluated in Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of aryl bromides and chlorides with phenylboronic acid. Our novel complexes show excellent catalytic activities with high turnover numbers (TON) and high turnover frequencies (TOF) (e.g. for the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction: TON up to 370 and TOF up to 123.3 h
−1
). Both benzimidazolium salts 2a-e and complexes 3 have been characterized using spectroscopic data and elemental analysis. The antimicrobial activity of the N-heterocyclic carbene palladium complexes 3a-e varies with the nature of the ligands. Also, the IC
50
values of both, complexes (3a-e) and benzimidazoles 2a-e, have been determined. In addition, the new palladium complexes were screened for their antitumor activity. Complexes 3e and 3d exhibited the highest antitumor effect with IC
50
values 6.85 μg/mL against MCF-7 and 10.75 μg/mL against T47D, respectively.