Synthesis, spectral characterization, electrochemical properties and antimicrobial screening of sulfur containing acylferrocenes

Abstract

Several known and eight new sulfur containing acylferrocenes of the general formula FcCO(CH2)nSR (where Fc = ferrocenyl, n = 1 or 2 and R = alkyl, 4-bromobenzyl or 2,6-dichlorobenzyl group) were synthesized in order to test their in vitro antimicrobial activity against 11 bacterial and three fungal/yeast strains. It has been shown that only four of the 14 ketones are completely inactive at the tested dose, while the activities of the other ones were noteworthy. All new compounds were well characterized by IR and NMR spectral data, and their electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The X-ray crystal structures of two representative ketones are also presented. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.