Antimalarial activity of ferrocenyl chalcones

A series of ferrocenyl chalcones were synthesized and evaluated for in vitro antimalarial activity against a chloroquine-resistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum. The most active compounds were 1-(3-pyridyl)-3-ferrocenyl-2-propen-1-one (6) and 1-ferrocenyl-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-2-propen-1-one (28) with IC50 of 4.5 and 5.1 muM, respectively. Differences in activity were not readily explained by the size and lipophilicity characteristics of these compounds. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.