Organometallic based biologically active compounds: synthesis of mono‐ and di‐ethanolamine derived ferrocenes with antibacterial,antifungal and cytotoxic properties

Condensation reactions of 1,1′‐diacetylferrocene with ethanolamine were studied. The obtained compounds were further investigated for their ligation and biological properties with Co(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) metal ions. The synthesized compounds were characterized by their physical, spectral and analytical properties and screened for their antibacterial properties against pathogenic bacterial strains, e.g. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi and for antifungal activity against Trichophyton longifusus, Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus, Microsporum canis, Fusarium solani and Candida glaberata using the agar‐well diffusion method. All the compounds have shown good antibacterial and antifungal activity, which increased on coordination with the metal ions, thus introducing a potential class of organometallic‐based antibacterial and antifungal agents. Brine shrimp bioassay was also carried out for in vitro cytotoxic properties against Artemia salina. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.