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Novel organobismuth(V) and organoantimony(V) complexes of Ph 3 ML 2 type were synthesized, in which L = deprotonated 2-acetylbenzoic acid (2AcBH), 4-acetylbenzoic acid (4AcBH) or 5-acetylsalicylic acid (5AcSH) and M = bismuth(V) or antimony(V). Complexes [Ph 3 Bi(2AcB) 2 ] ( 1 ) [Ph 3 Sb(4AcB) 2 ] ( 2 ), [Ph 3 Bi(4AcB) 2 ] ( 3 ) and [Ph 3 Sb(5AcS) 2 . CHCl 3 ] ( 4 ) were characterized by elemental analysis, IR, and NMR. Crystal structures of 2 and 4 were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. In vitro cytotoxic activities against cancerous (human chronic myelogenous leukemia, K562 and murine metastatic melanoma, B16F10) and healthy non-cancerous (murine fibroblasts, L929 and murine melanocytes, Melan-A) cells showed that, compared to free ligands, both of the metal complexes are more active as anticancer agents at low concentration in cancerous cell lines, but also possessed toxic effect at comparatively higher concentration towards the non-cancerous cells. The organobismuth(V) complex Ph 3 Bi(2AcB) 2 was found to be more active than the Ph 3 BiCl 2 metal precursor against the tumor cell lines and exhibited the highest selectivity index. Moreover, evaluation of the pro-apoptotic activity of Ph 3 Bi(2AcB) 2 in B16F10 cells, by quantifying the cellular DNA using flow cytometry, indicates that cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis contribute to the drug cytotoxicity. This work supports the great potential of organobismuth(V) dicarboxylate complexes as anticancer agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]