TY - JOUR
T1 - Novel, mercury-free synthetic pathway for trifluoromethylthio-substituted metallocenes
AU - Hess, Jeannine
AU - Konatschnig, Sandro
AU - Morard, Sandra
AU - Pierroz, Vanessa
AU - Ferrari, Stefano
AU - Spingler, Bernhard
AU - Gasser, Gilles
PY - 2014/4/7
Y1 - 2014/4/7
N2 - A novel synthetic pathway for trifluoromethylthioferrocene (3), which does not involve the use of toxic mercury(II)-based reagents, is described. The novel approach involves first the treatment of the commercially available bromoferrocene (1a) with NaSCN in the presence of copper(+I) to yield thiocyanatoferrocene (1), and then the reaction of 1 with the Rupper-Prakash reagent and tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) to give 3 in an overall yield of 60%. This approach could be extended for the preparation of thiocyanato-(4) and trifluoromethylthio-ruthenocene (7), which are herein both reported for the first time. Interestingly, diferrocenyl disulfide (2a) and diruthenocenyl disulfide (5) could be isolated as side-products during the synthesis of 3 and 7, respectively. All new compounds were unambiguously characterized by 1H, 13C, and 19F NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, cyclic voltammetry, elemental analysis, as well by X-ray crystallography for 1, 4, 4b, 5, 6, and 7. 1-7 were further tested for their toxic activity on cervical cancer (HeLa) and noncancerous (MRC-5) cell lines. All organometallic compounds were found either to be nontoxic or to have a moderate toxicity toward the cell lines used in this study.
AB - A novel synthetic pathway for trifluoromethylthioferrocene (3), which does not involve the use of toxic mercury(II)-based reagents, is described. The novel approach involves first the treatment of the commercially available bromoferrocene (1a) with NaSCN in the presence of copper(+I) to yield thiocyanatoferrocene (1), and then the reaction of 1 with the Rupper-Prakash reagent and tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) to give 3 in an overall yield of 60%. This approach could be extended for the preparation of thiocyanato-(4) and trifluoromethylthio-ruthenocene (7), which are herein both reported for the first time. Interestingly, diferrocenyl disulfide (2a) and diruthenocenyl disulfide (5) could be isolated as side-products during the synthesis of 3 and 7, respectively. All new compounds were unambiguously characterized by 1H, 13C, and 19F NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, cyclic voltammetry, elemental analysis, as well by X-ray crystallography for 1, 4, 4b, 5, 6, and 7. 1-7 were further tested for their toxic activity on cervical cancer (HeLa) and noncancerous (MRC-5) cell lines. All organometallic compounds were found either to be nontoxic or to have a moderate toxicity toward the cell lines used in this study.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84897999075&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/ic403169z
DO - 10.1021/ic403169z
M3 - Article
C2 - 24670103
AN - SCOPUS:84897999075
SN - 0020-1669
VL - 53
SP - 3662
EP - 3667
JO - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
JF - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
IS - 7
ER -
