A dinuclear platinum(II) complex that was recently investigated in our group was tested for its cytostatic activity and found to be active against He La S3 cells. The complex consists of a bidentate N,N-donor chelating ligand system in which the two platinum centers are connected by an aliphatic chain of 10 methylene groups. The complex [Pt-2(N-1,N-10-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-1,10-decanediamine)(OH)(4)](4+) (10NNpy) is of further special interest, since only little is known about the substitution behavior of such dinuclear platinum complexes that contain a bidentate coordination sphere. The complex was investigated using different biologically relevant nudeophiles, such as thiourea (tu), L-methionine (L-Met), glutathione (GSH), and guanine-5'-monophosphate (5'-GMP), at two different pH values (2 and 7.4). The substitution of coordinated water by these nucleophiles was studied under pseudo-first-order conditions as a function of nucleophile concentration, temperature, and pressure, using stopped-flow techniques and UV-vis spectroscopy. The reactivity of 10NNpy with the selected nucleophiles was found to be tu >> 5'-GMP > L-Met > GSH at pH 2 and GSH > tu > L-Met at pH 7.4. The results for the dinuclear 10NNpy complex were compared to those for the corresponding mononuclear reference complex [Pt(aminomethylpyridine)(OH2)(2)](2+), Pt(amp), studied before in our group, by which the effect of the addition of an aliphatic chain, an increase in the overall charge, and a shift in the pK(a) values of the coordinated water ligands could be investigated. The reactivity order for Pt(amp) was found to be tu > GSH > L-Met at pH 7.4.