Helical versus Flat Bis-Ferrocenyl End-Capped Peptides: The Influence of the Molecular Skeleton on Redox Properties

Despite the fact that peptide conjugates with a pendant ferrocenyl (Fc) have been widely investigated, bis-ferrocenyl end-capped peptides are rarely synthetized. In this paper, in addition to the full characterization of the Fc-CO-[_L-Dap(Boc)]_n-NH-Fc series, we report a comparison of the three series of bis-ferrocenyl homopeptides synthesized to date, to gain insights into the influence of α-amino isobutyric (Aib), 2,3-diamino propionic (Dap) and C^α,β-didehydroalanine (ΔAla) amino acids on the peptide secondary structure and on the ferrocene redox properties. The results obtained by 2D NMR analysis and X-ray crystal structures, and further supported by electrochemical data, evidence different behaviors depending on the nature of the amino acid; that is, the formation of 3₁₀-helices or fully extended (2.0₅-helix) structures. In these foldamers, the orientation of the carbonyl groups in the peptide helix yields a macrodipole with the positive pole on the N-terminal amino acid and the negative pole on the C-terminal amino acid, so that oxidation of the Fc moieties takes place more or less easily depending on the orientation of the macrodipole moment as the peptide chain grows. Conversely, the fully extended conformation adopted by ΔAla flat peptides neither generates a macrodipole nor affects Fc oxidation. The utilization as electrochemical and optical (Circular Dichroism) probes of the two terminal Fc groups, bound to the same peptide chain, makes it possible to study the end-to-end effects of the positive charges produced by single and double oxidations, and to evidence the presence “exciton-coupled” CD among the two intramolecularly interacting Fc groups of the _L-Dap(Boc) series.     

9,9′-Bicarbazole: New Molecular Skeleton for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Carbazole is a classic tricyclic aromatic compound that has been widely used in organic optoelectronics. Appropriate functionalization on its aromatic rings will significantly increase the possibilities for its application as an optoelectronic material. Position engineering of carbazole not only leads to its structural diversity, but also substantially enriches its functionality. Bicarbazoles have 15 isomers, most of which are well studied and have been applied in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). However, one isomer, 9,9′-bicarbazole, is rarely investigated as an OLED material. Therefore, two 9,9′-bicarbazole derivatives, 3,3′-di(10H-phenoxazin-10-yl)-9,9′-bicarbazole and 3,3′-di(10H-phenothiazin-10-yl)-9,9′-bicarbazole, have been designed and prepared for use as host materials for green and red OLEDs. These two compounds demonstrated good device performances, and it is believed that the 9,9′-bicarbazole building block could be a novel platform for the design of efficient host materials for OLEDs.     

A New Metalloligand Powerful in Forming Helical Coordination Polymers

A new macrocyclic oxamido carboxylate metalloligand was designed and three heteronuclear coordination polymers of the metalloligand and metal nodes Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺ were prepared. X-ray single crystal analyses (CIF files CCDC nos. 1025722–1025724 for I–III) revealed that multiple favourable features endowed the metalloligand with a strong power to force the metal nodes to generate 1D helical coordination polymers. Thermogravimetric analyses showed that the complexes with Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ nodes exhibited moderate thermal stability. The three complexes were also characterized by IR spectra and PXRD.     

Distinct Helical Molecular Orbitals through Conformational Lock**

Several theoretical studies have proposed strategies to generate helical molecular orbitals (Hel-MOs) in [n]cumulenes and oligoynes. While chiral even-[n] cumulenes feature Hel-MOs, odd-[n] cumulenes may also present them if the terminal groups lie in different planes. However, the proposed systems have been either experimentally unfeasible or resulted in opposite pseudo-degenerated Hel-MOs. We hereby demonstrate the introduction of a remarkable energy difference between helical orbitals of opposite twist by fixing the torsion angle between the terminal groups in butadiyne fragments. To experimentally lock the conformation of the terminal groups, we designed and synthesized cyclic architectures by combining acetylenes with chiral spirobifluorenes. The high stability of these systems with distinct helical orbitals allowed their isolation and full characterization. In our view, these results constitute a step further in the development of real systems presenting helical molecular orbitals.     

Encoded Helical Self-Organization and Self-Assembly into Helical Fibers of an Oligoheterocyclic Pyridine - Pyridazine Molecular Strand

The conformational information of an oligoheterocyclic strand containing a repeating pyridine - pyridazine codon self-organizes into a helical molecular unit, which subsequently self-assembles into helical fibers and macrofibers in dichloromethane and pyridine. The spontaneous formation of helical structures is based on a general self-organization process enforced by the conformational information encoded within the molecular strand itself.     

A Diterpenoid with a New Skeleton and Cytotoxic Terpenoids Isolated from Amentotaxus formosana

The new diterpenoid 6α‐hydroxy‐ent‐kaur‐16‐en‐15‐one ( 1 ) and a diterpenoid with a new skeleton, i.e., amentotaxin BB ( 5 ), as well as three new lanostanoids, i.e., (3β,23R)‐3‐methoxy‐24‐methylenelanost‐8‐en‐23‐ol ( 6 ), (23S)‐23‐methoxy‐24‐methylenelanost‐8‐en‐3‐one ( 7 ), and (3β,24ξ)‐3‐methoxy‐24‐methyl‐9,19‐cyclolanostan‐25‐ol ( 8 ), were isolated from the bark and leaves of Amentotaxus formosana. Their structures, including the relative configurations, were elucidated from spectroscopic data. Compound 1 and a known compound, ent‐kaur‐16‐en‐15‐one ( 2 ), showed potent cytotoxic effects against a number of cancer cells in vitro.     

Synthesis and Characterization of New Helical Coumarins

The phenomenon of peri interaction of 1,8‐disubstituted naphthalene has been utilized to construct small molecules with internal twist resulting in helical isomers. A series of new naphthalene‐attached coumarins have been synthesized and characterized. The helical conformational twist in thiophene–coumarin capped naphthalene was established by H‐NMR and single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis.     

一种新的具有双螺旋结构特征的光学活性分子方的设计、合成及其光学性质

分别从手性构型高度稳定的(R)和(S)-2,2'-二乙炔基-1,1'-联萘模板出发, 通过保护基的控制导入、偶联反应、保护基脱去以及分子间偶合成环4个步骤成功地合成了一种具有螺旋结构特征的新的光学活性分子方(Molecular square)(R,R,R,R)-1和(S,S,S,S)-1. 用MS, IR, UV-Vis, 1H和13C NMR以及元素分析等方法对目标化合物进行了结构表征. 测定并分析比较了2个目标化合物的比旋光度[α]D和圆二色性(CD)等光学性质. 在CH2Cl2溶液中, 异构体(R,R,R,R)-1和(S,S,S,S)-1的[α]25D值分别为+887.3°和-889.7°, 并且其CD谱表现出对称的镜像特征.     

A Hexabenzocoronene-Based Helical Nanographene

A synthetic route towards a novel hexabenzocoronene-based helical nanographene motif was developed. A hexaphenylbenzene precursor was therefore designed, which cannot undergo, due to steric restrictions, a complete planarization reaction. This precursor was transformed under oxidative cyclodehydrogenation conditions to a π-extended [5]helicene, which was fully characterized including X-ray diffraction analysis.     

A New Method for Molecular Mechanics

A promising new method for optimizing molecular structures is described. In place of the terms involving bond angles and torsion angles, used in the force fields of conventional molecular mechanics, two-body central forces between atoms are used exclusively, resulting in a considerable computational advantage. The program STRFIT, using this method has been tested by comparing geometries obtained with those found using the popular molecular mechanics program MM2 (Allinger) for a variety of cyclic and acyclic molecules. For unstrained molecules, the difference in steric energy between geometries refined by STRFIT and MM2 is only a few tenths of a kilocalorie and up to about a kilocalorie for strained molecules. Geometry optimization with STRFIT, to a structure that is slightly higher in energy than the structure arrived at by MM2 starting from the same initial starting geometry, is three to eight times faster. A complete new package of programs for conveniently and rapidly doing molecular mechanics calculations is described. It includes a convenient algorithm for the input of approximate molecular structures, a rapid structure-optimizing module using a pure Central force-field approach, and a drawing program designed for use with a dot-matrix printer or a laser printer.     

含潜在异构手性双臂配体的螺旋组装和手性聚集

采用具有潜在异构手性的双臂配体，双吡啶二甲基联苯-2，2′-二酰肼，合成了4个双核螺旋配合物。配体与CdI₂和Cu(NO₃)₂反应得到双核单螺旋化合物1和2，在化合物2中，由于C-H…π和π…π的协同相互作用沿ab面形成单一手性的二维平面。双核双螺旋化合物3(Ni(Ⅱ))和4(Co(Ⅱ))中的金属中心表现相同的绝对构型，说明含异构手性的配体能够把金属中心的手性从一个中心传递到另一个中心。