In this NJC paper, Siden Top and co-workers (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Paris, France) have prepared a number of ferrocenyl derivatives of the well-established tamoxifen drug. These compounds showed a strong antiproliferative effect, probably linked to their cytoxicity, on both hormone-dependent (MCF-7) and hormone-independent (MDA-MB-231) breast cancer cells. The authors suggest that the mechanism of action of these molecules differs from that of tamoxifen and highlight their ability to complex divalent cations such as Zn²⁺ and Ca²⁺.

“A new series of ferrocifen derivatives, bearing two aminoalkyl chains, with strong antiproliferative effects on breast cancer cells”, Pascal Pigeon, Siden Top, Anne Vessières, Michel Huché, Meral Görmen, Mehdi El Arbi, Marie-Aude Plamont, Michael J. McGlinchey and Gérard Jaouen, New J. Chem., 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1NJ20192A (Paper)

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