Deposits of β and α RDX on glass substrates have been examined with optical and Raman microscopy. The
measurements reveal significant differences in the morphology and Raman spectra of β and α RDX. Structures
that resemble an island, as well as scattered particles, are observed in white light images of β RDX. Well-defined crystals are observed in white light images of α RDX. The spectroscopic signature of these forms of
RDX has marked differences in Raman frequencies and relative intensities. The transition from β to α RDX
is driven by the amount of RDX deposited. There is a close agreement between measured and calculated
vibrational frequencies for β and gas-phase RDX. A poor correlation is found between measured and predicted
Raman intensities and depolarization ratios for β and gas-phase RDX, respectively. These differences lead us
to conclude that the properties of β and gas phase RDX are markedly different, despite the similarities in the
vibrational frequencies.
Three ferrocene complexes vectorized with estrogens and vitamin D2 were synthesized and fully characterized by spectroscopic, electrochemical and computational methods. The synthesis of these esters was accomplished by reacting ferrocenoyl chloride with the corresponding ROH groups (R = ergocalciferol, estradiol, estrone). The cytotoxicity of these complexes in HT-29 colon cancer and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines was investigated in vitro. Only ferrocenoyl 17β-hydroxy-estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-3-olate showed good cytotoxic activity in both cell lines, exceeding those of ferrocenium and ferrocene. In MCF-7, ferrocenoyl 17β-hydroxy-estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-3-olate exhibited remarkable IC50, in the low micromolar range. This may be attributed to the presence of the estradiol vector. Docking studies between alpha-estrogen receptor ligand binding site and ferrocenoyl 17β-hydroxy-estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-3-olate revealed some key hydrophobic interactions that might explain the cytotoxic activity of this ester.
Six ferrocenecarboxylates with phenyl, 4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)phenyl, 4-fluorophenyl, 4-chlorophenyl, 4-bromophenyl, 4-iodophenyl as pendant groups were synthesized and fully characterized by spectroscopic, electrochemical and X-ray diffraction methods. The anti-proliferative activity of these complexes were investigated in hormone dependent MCF-7 breast cancer and MCF-10A normal breast cell lines, to determine the role of the para substituent on the phenoxy pendant group. The 4-fluorophenyl ferrocenecarboxylate is inactive in both cell lines while 4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)phenyl ferrocenecarboxylate is highly cytotoxic in both cell lines. 4-chlorophenyl and 4-bromophenyl ferrocenecarboxylates have moderate to good anti-proliferative activity in MCF-7 and low anti-proliferative activity on normal breast cell line, MCF-10A whereas the 4-iodophenyl analog is highly toxic on normal breast cell line. The phenyl ferrocenecarboxylate has proliferative effects on MCF-7 and is inactive in MCF-10A. Docking studies between the complexes and the alpha-estrogen receptor (ERα) were performed to search for key interactions which may explain the anti-proliferative activity of 4-bromophenyl ferrocenecarboxylate. Docking studies suggest the anti-proliferative activity of these ferrocenecarboxylates is attributed to the cytotoxic effects of the ferrocene group and not to anti-estrogenic effects.
Ferrocene–estrogen conjugates can be recognized by ERα, suggesting that estrogens could serve as vectors to target specifically breast cancer cell lines.
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