Synthesis and characterisation of N-analineferrocenylamide via carbodiimide coupling

Abstract

Ferrocene is an orthodox organometallic complex. This “sandwich compound” was found to have great flexibility in chemical reactions. The use of ferrocenyl derivatives branches into various interesting fields especially for biological applications. Derivatives of ferrocenylamides are of great interest in the field of medicine and biology researches, due to their ability to bind with various biomolecules, i.e. DNA. Thus, a simple yet effective method in the formation of ferrocenylamide derivatives is desirable. Ferrocene is stable in both aqueous and aerobic media, it also has a certain degree of resistance to thermal degradation, and hence the synthesis of ferrocenyl derivatives via carbodiimide coupling is possible. In this work, N-analineferrocenylamide was synthesised from 3-(ethyliminomethyleneamino)-N,N-dimethylpropan-1-amine (EDC) coupling of ferrocenecarboxylic acid and p-phenylenediamine. This synthesis approach is a simple and easy one-pot reaction without the need of tedious conditions and has a good product yield.