A chlorotitanocene tetrachloroferrate complex stabilized by acetonitrile coordination

Titanocene derivatives of the dichlorodicyclopentadienyltitanium type (1) are known to possess antineoplastic activity against Ehrlich ascites and other tumor systems in mice. Good solubility in water is generally a prerequisite for biomedical applications of this kind. A titanocene derivative possessing excellent cold water solubility (being converted into an aquated species in the process of dissolution) is the complex (2), acetonitrilechlorodicyclopentadienyltitanium tetrachloroferrate, readily obtained from (1) and iron(III) chloride in acetonitrile. Some spectroscopic properties of (2) are presented. © 1984 Verlag Chemie GmbH.