Seven ferrocenyl carbohydrate conjugates were synthesized. Coupling reactions of monosaccharide derivativeswith ferrocene carbonyl chloride produced {6-
N-(methyl 2,3,4-tri-
O-acetyl-6-amino-6-deoxy-
-
D-glucopyranoside)}-1-ferrocene carboxamide (
3), {1-
O-(2,3,4,6-tetra-
O-benzyl-
D-glucopyranose)}-1-ferrocene carboxylate (
4), and {6-
O-(1,2,3,4-tetra-
O-acetyl-
-
D-glucopyranose)}-1-ferrocene carboxylate (
5). Similarly, 1,1'-bis(carbonyl chloride)ferrocene was coupled with the appropriate sugars to produce the disubstituted analogues bis{6-
N-(methyl 2,3,4-tri-
O-acetyl-6-amino-6-deoxy-
-
D-glucopyranoside)}-1,1'-ferrocene carboxamide (
8), bis{1-
O-(2,3,4,6-tetra-
O-benzyl-
D-glucopyranose)}-1,1'-ferrocene carboxylate (
9), and bis{6-
O-(1,2,3,4-tetra-
O-acetyl-
-
D-glucopyranose)}-1,1'-ferrocene carboxylate (
10). {6-
N-(Methyl-6-amino-6-deoxy-
-
D-glucopyranoside)}-1-ferrocene carboxamide monohydrate(
12) was synthesized via amide coupling of an activated ferrocenyl ester with the corresponding carbohydrate. Allcompounds were characterized by elemental analysis,
1H NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. X-raycrystallography confirmed the solid-state structure of three ferrocenyl carbohydrate conjugates: 2-
N-(1,3,4,6-tetra-
O-acetyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-
D-glucopyranose)-1-ferrocene carboxamide (
1), 1-
S-(2,3,4,6-tetra-
O-acetyl-1-deoxy-1-thio-
D-glucopyranose)-1-ferrocene carboxylate (
2), and
12. The above compounds, along with bis{2-
N-(1,3,4,6-tetra-
O-acetyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-
D-glucopyranose)}-1,1'-ferrocene carboxamide (
6), bis{1-
S-(2,3,4,6-tetra-
O-acetyl-1-deoxy-1-thio-
D-glucopyranose)}-1,1'-ferrocene carboxylate (
7), and 2-
N-(2-amino-2-deoxy-
D-glucopyranose)-1-ferrocenecarboxamide (
11) were examined for cytotoxicity in cell lines (L1210 and HTB-129) and for antimalarial activity in
Plasmodium falciparum strains (D10, 3D7, and K1, a chloroquine-resistant strain). In general, the compounds werenontoxic in the human cell line tested (HTB-129), and compounds
4,
7, and
9 showed moderate antimalarialactivity in one or more of the
P. falciparum strains.