Mukaya H.E., Neuse E.W., van Zyl R.L., Chen C.T.
Pharmacology Division, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, School of Therapeutic Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Mukaya, H.E., Pharmacology Division, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, School of Therapeutic Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Neuse, E.W., School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; van Zyl, R.L., Pharmacology Division, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, School of Therapeutic Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Chen, C.T., Pharmacology Division, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, School of Therapeutic Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
The present study reports the preparation and preliminary biological activity results of co-conjugates of platinum ferrocene based drugs by using a novel synthetic route for the incorporation of ferrocene into the carrier. The Fe content obtained by ICP-AES was found in the range of 1.8–2.3 % by mass for the conjugates and 1.4–2.0 % by mass for the co-conjugates. The Pt content obtained by ICP-OES was in the range of 5.6–7.2 % by mass for the co-conjugates. The preliminary pharmacological evaluation performed on the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line for conjugate 1 and 4, and corresponding co-conjugate 6 and 9 revealed that the conjugates were 5 and 2 times more active than the free drug, while the corresponding co-conjugates were 16 and 6 times more active than the free drug. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.