A series of rigid-rod alkynylferrocenyl precursors with oligothiophene (from thiophene to terthiophene) linkage units in the backbone, [(η 5 -C 5 H 5 )Fe(η, have been prepared in moderate to good yields. The ferrocenylacetylene complexes 4a-4c can be used to form a range of stable platinum() alkynyl and bis(alkynylAll these new compounds have been fully characterized by analytical and spectroscopic methods and the molecular structures of the bithienyl-linked complexes [(η2b, 4b, 5b and 6b have been established by X-ray crystallography. Structural analysis of 6b confirms its rigid-rod structural motif, featuring coplanar bithienyl rings and a trans arrangement of the two bithiophene groups. An iron-iron throughspace distance of ca. 32 Å is observed in 6b. Although there is no significant metallocene-metallocene interaction through the alkynyl-platinum-oligothiophene bridge, a slight negative shift of the ferrocene-ferrocenium redox potential in the platinum-containing species indicates some degree of electron delocalization into the platinum segment, in line with the results from theoretical studies. Oxidation of the thiophene units is facilitated by the presence of the platinum centre and increased conjugation in the chain. Results and discussion SynthesisScheme 1 summarizes the reaction steps leading to the new ferrocenyl compounds in this study. 2-Bromo-5-(2-ferrocenylethynyl)-DALTON

Treatment of (2,7-dibromo-9H-fluoren-9-ylidene)malononitrile (1) with excesses of substituted acetylenes RCϵCH [R = Ph, MeC 6 H 4 , (η 5 -C 5 H 5 )Fe(η 5 -C 5 H 4 )] under Sonogashira coupling catalytic conditions afforded novel 9-[cyano(ethynyl)methylene]fluorene derivatives 2−4, respectively, in moderate yields. In these reactions, facile functionalization occurs at the 9-methylene position in the fluorene, one of the cyano groups being substituted by an acetylide moiety. In order to prepare the 2,7-diethynyl-substituted 9-(dicyanomethylene)-fluorene compounds 8−10, palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions between 2,7-dibromofluoren-9-one and RCϵCH in a

We investigated the antimicrobial activity of bis-(alkynyl)mercury(ii) complexes with oligothiophene and bithiazole linking units against MRSA and C. albicans, and their cytotoxicity was tested on NIH 3T3 cells.