A series of mononuclear cis-diamineplatinum(II) pyrophosphato complexes containing ammine (am), trans-1,2-cyclohexanediamine (dach), and 1,2-ethanediamine (en) as the amine ligands were synthesized and characterized by (31)P and (195)Pt NMR spectroscopy. Chemical shifts of (31)P NMR resonances of these completely deprotonated complexes appear at 2.12, 1.78, and 1.93 ppm, indicating a coordination chemical shift of at least 8 ppm. The (195)Pt NMR chemical shifts for the am and dach complexes were observed at -1503 and -1729 ppm. The complexes are highly stable at neutral pH; no aquation due to the release of either phosphate or amine ligands was observed within 48 h. Furthermore, no partial deligation of the pyrophosphate ligand was detected within several days at neutral pH. At lower pH, however, release of a pyrophosphate ion was observed with concomitant formation of a bridged pyrophosphatoplatinum(II) dinuclear complex. The extended crystal structure containing the dach ligand revealed a zigzag chain stacked in a head-to-tail fashion. Moreover, two zigzag chains are juxtaposed in a parallel fashion and supported by additional hydrogen bonds reminiscent of DNA structures where two strands of DNA bases are held by hydrogen bonds. Theoretical calculations support the notion that the two dinuclear units are held together primarily by hydrogen bonds between the amine and phosphate moieties. Platinum(II) pyrophosphato complexes were readily oxidized by hydrogen peroxide to yield cis-diamine-trans-dihydroxopyrophosphatoplatinum(IV) complexes. Two of these complexes, containing am and en, were characterized by X-ray crystallography. Notable structural features include Pt-O (phosphate) bond distances of 2.021-2.086 A and departures from 180 degrees in trans-HO-Pt-OH bond angles, >90 degrees in O-Pt-O, and >90 degrees in cis-N-Pt-N bond angles. The departure in the trans-HO-Pt-OH angle is more pronounced in the 1,2-ethanediamine complex compared to the dach analogue because of the existence of two molecules possessing enantiomeric conformations within the asymmetric unit. (31)P NMR spectra exhibited well-resolved (195)Pt satellites with coupling constants of 15.4 Hz for the ammine and 25.9 Hz for both the 1,2-ethanediamine and trans-1,2-cyclohexanediamine complexes. The (195)Pt NMR spectrum of the ammine complex clearly showed coupling with two equivalent N atoms.