Encapsulated Neutral Ruthenium Catalyst for Substrate-Selective Oxidation of Alcohols

The neutral complex dichloro-{diethyl[(5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-ylamino)-(4-trifluoro-methylphenyl)methyl]phosphonate} (p-cymene)-ruthenium(II) was encapsulated inside a self-assembled hexameric host obtained upon reaction of 2,8,14,20-tetra-undecyl-resorcin[4]arene and water. The formation of an inclusion complex was inferred from a combination of spectral measurements (MS, UV/Vis spectroscopy, ¹H and DOSY NMR). The ³¹P and ¹⁹F NMR spectra are consistent with motions of the ruthenium complex inside the self-assembled capsule. Molecular dynamics simulations carried out on the inclusion complex confirmed these intra-cavity movements and highlighted possible supramolecular interactions between the ruthenium first coordination sphere ligands and the inner part (aromatic rings) of the capsule. The embedded ruthenium complex was assessed in the catalytic oxidation (using NaIO₄ as oxidant) of mixtures of three arylmethyl alcohols into the corresponding aldehydes. The reaction kinetics were shown to vary as a function of the substrates’ size, with the oxidation rate varying in the order benzylalcohol >4-phenyl-benzylalcohol >9-anthracenemethanol. Control experiments realized in the absence of hexameric capsule did not allow any discrimination between the substrates.     

Mononuclear and Dinuclear Copper Complexes of Tridentate Redox-active Ligands with Tunable H-bonding Donors: Structure,Spectroscopy and H+/e− Reactivity

In this research article, we describe the synthesis and characterization of mononuclear and dinuclear Cu complexes bound by a family of tridentate redox-active ligands with tunable H-bonding donors. The mononuclear Cu-anion complexes were oxidized to the corresponding “high-valent” intermediates by oxidation of the redox-active ligand. These species were capable of oxidizing phenols with weak O−H bonds via H-atom abstraction. Thermodynamic analysis of the H-atom abstractions, which included reduction potential measurements, pK_a determination and kinetic studies, revealed that modification of the anion coordinated to the Cu and changes in the H-bonding donor did not lead to major differences in the reactivity of the “high-valent” CuY complexes (Y: hydroxide, phenolate and acetate), which indicated that the tridentate ligand scaffold acts as the H⁺ and e⁻ acceptor.     

Spectroscopic and Crystallographic Characterization of the R3N+−C−H⋅⋅⋅X Interaction

As appreciation for nonclassical hydrogen bonds has progressively increased, so have efforts to characterize these interesting interactions. Whereas several kinds of C−H hydrogen bonds have been well-studied, much less is known about the R₃N⁺−C−H⋅⋅⋅X variety. Herein, we present crystallographic and spectroscopic evidence for the existence of these interactions, with special relevance to Selectfluor chemistry. Of particular note is the propensity for Lewis bases to engage in nonclassical hydrogen bonding over halogen bonding with the electrophilic F atom of Selectfluor. Further, the first examples of ¹H NMR experiments detailing R₃N⁺−C−H⋅⋅⋅X (X=O, N) hydrogen bonds are described.     

A Lock-and-Kill Anticancer Photoactivated Chemotherapy Agent†

Photosubstitutionally active ruthenium complexes show high potential as prodrugs for the photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) treatment of tumors. One of the problems in PACT is that the localization of the ruthenium compound is hard to trace. Here, a ruthenium PACT prodrug, [Ru(3)(biq)(STF-31)](PF₆)₂ (where 3 = 3-(([2,2′:6′,2″-ter- pyridin]-4′-yloxy)propyl-4-(pyren-1-yl)butanoate) and biq = 2,2′-biquinoline), has been prepared, in which a pyrene tracker is attached via an ester bond. The proximity between the fluorophore and the ruthenium center leads to fluorescence quenching. Upon intracellular hydrolysis of the ester linkage, however, the fluorescence of the pyrene moiety is recovered, thus demonstrating prodrug cellular uptake. Further light irradiation of this molecule liberates by photosubstitution STF-31, a known cytotoxic nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) inhibitor, as well as singlet oxygen via excitation of the free pyrene chromophore. The dark and light cytotoxicity of the prodrug, embedded in liposomes, as well as the appearance of blue emission upon uptake, were evaluated in A375 human skin melanoma cells. The cytotoxicity of the liposome-embedded prodrug was indeed increased by light irradiation. This work realizes an in vitro proof-of-concept of the lock-and-kill principle, which may ultimately be used to design strategies aimed at knowing where and when light irradiation should be realized in vivo.     

Role of Cu-doping in CdTe thin films: Experiments and simulations

Due to its outstanding physical properties, CdTe is used to fabricate high efficiency solar cells. However, its high work function poses a challenge, and hence, to fabricate an efficient CdTe-based solar cell, Cu-doping may be useful. Here, we present the role of temperature-dependent Cu-doping in radio frequency sputter-deposited CdTe films and the related changes occurring in their optical, electrical, structural and microstructural properties. For instance, Cu-doping at different temperatures leads to an increase in the grain size and a reduction in the optical reflectance with increasing temperature. In addition, Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements reveal that the work function is found to be smaller corresponding to the annealing temperature of 473 K, whereas resistivity measurements show that it decreases with increasing temperature (the lowest value of resistivity is found to be 1.8 × 10⁻² Ω-cm). To understand the electronic structure of CdTe before and after Cu-doping, we have carried out first-principles density functional theory (DFT) simulation, which reveals a strong hybridization among Cu, Cd and Te atoms. This study paves the way to fabricate efficient Cu-doped CdTe-based solar cells.     

Stability Enhancement of a Dimeric HER2-Specific Affibody Molecule through Sortase A-Catalyzed Head-to-Tail Cyclization

Natural backbone-cyclized proteins have an increased thermostability and resistance towards proteases, characteristics that have sparked interest in head-to-tail cyclization as a method to stability-enhance proteins used in diagnostics and therapeutic applications, for example. In this proof-of principle study, we have produced and investigated a head-to-tail cyclized and HER2-specific Z_HER2:342 Affibody dimer. The sortase A-mediated cyclization reaction is highly efficient (>95%) under optimized conditions, and renders a cyclic Z_HER3:342-dimer with an apparent melting temperature, T_m, of 68 °C, which is 3 °C higher than that of its linear counterpart. Circular dichroism spectra of the linear and cyclic dimers looked very similar in the far-UV range, both before and after thermal unfolding to 90 °C, which suggests that cyclization does not negatively impact the helicity or folding of the cyclic protein. The cyclic dimer had an apparent sub-nanomolar affinity (K_d ~750 pM) to the HER2-receptor, which is a ~150-fold reduction in affinity relative to the linear dimer (K_d ~5 pM), but the anti-HER2 Affibody dimer remained a high-affinity binder even after cyclization. No apparent difference in proteolytic stability was detected in an endopeptidase degradation assay for the cyclic and linear dimers. In contrast, in an exopeptidase degradation assay, the linear dimer was shown to be completely degraded after 5 min, while the cyclic dimer showed no detectable degradation even after 60 min. We further demonstrate that a site-specifically DyLight 594-labeled cyclic dimer shows specific binding to HER2-overexpressing cells. Taken together, the results presented here demonstrate that head-to-tail cyclization can be an effective strategy to increase the stability of an Affibody dimer.     

ortho‐, meta‐, and para‐Dihydroindenofluorene Derivatives as Host Materials for Phosphorescent OLEDs

This work reports the first structure–properties relationship study of ortho [2,1‐c]‐, meta [1,2‐a]‐, and para [1,2‐b]dihydroindenofluorenes, highlighting the influence of bridge rigidification on the electronic properties. This study has made it possible to devise an extended π‐conjugated molecule with both a high triplet state energy level and excellent thermal and morphological stability. As a proof of concept, dihydroindenofluorenes were used as the host in sky‐blue phosphorescent organic light‐emitting diodes (PhOLEDs) w ith high performance.