A new series of palladium (II) and platinum (II) complexes containing ferrocenyl and cyrhetrenyl thiosemicarbazone ligands were synthesized and characterized. The two-step reaction of the organometallic thiosemicarbazones with i) K2MCl4 and ii) PPh3 and their subsequent recrystallization from CH2Cl2/hexane yielded the binuclear complexes [M {MLn(eta(5)-C5H4)C(H)=NN=C(S)NHR)-(Cl)(PPh3)] (M=Pd, Pt: MLn=Re(CO)(3), FeCp; R=H, CH3). The structures of the products were inferred from elemental analyses and IR, H-1 and P-31 NMR spectroscopies. The molecular structures of 2b and 3d were confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis. All complexes were screened in vitro against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and exhibited only moderate activity in the low micromolar range. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.