Facile synthesis of fluoro, methoxy, and methyl substituted ferrocene-based urea complexes as potential therapeutic agents.

ABSTRACT

In the present work, the synthesis, characterization (FT-IR, multinuclear (1H and 13C) NMR, AAS, Raman, and elemental analysis), DNA binding (cyclic voltammetry, UV-Vis spectroscopy and viscometry), and in vitro biological assessment of nine new ferrocene-based ureas are reported. The desulphurization of ferrocenyl thioureas to the corresponding oxo analogues using aqueous sodium hydroxide and mercuric chloride led to the ferrocenyl ureas (F1-F9) in high yields. The DNA binding studies performed by cyclic voltammetry and UV-Vis spectroscopy produced results that are in close agreement with one another for the binding constants (K) and an electrostatic mode of interaction was observed. The nature and the extent of interaction with DNA was further investigated by viscometry. The DFT/B3LYP method was used to determine the charge distribution and HOMO/LUMO energies of the optimized structure. The DFT calculated HOMO and LUMO energies correlate well with the experimentally determined redox potential values. The synthesized ferrocenyl derivatives exhibited good scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH). These complexes were also scanned for their in vitro cytotoxicity against human carcinoma cell line THP-1 (leukemia cells). The results showed a moderate level of cytotoxicity against the subjected cancer cell line as compared with the standard chemotherapeutic drug (cisplatin).