Platinum(IV) Complexes Featuring One or Two Axial Ferrocene Bearing Ligands - Synthesis, Characterization, and Cytotoxicity

Ferrocenyl compounds show interesting antiproliferative properties. Consequently, ferrocene bearing moieties were prepared and coupled for the first time to anticancer platinum(IV) complexes. The compounds, featuring either one or two axially coordinated ferrocene-containing ligands, were fully characterized by ESI-MS and multinuclear (H-1, C-13, N-15, and Pt-195) one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. Their cytotoxicity was investigated in three human cancer cell lines deriving from ovarian carcinoma (CH1), colon carcinoma (SW480), and non-small-cell lung carcinoma (A549) by means of the colorimetric MTT assay. Promising IC50 values in the low micromolar range in CH1 and SW480 human cancer cells were found.