Distorted Phthalocyanines by Click Chemistry: Photoacoustic,Photothermal, and Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Studies

Distortion of nominally planar phthalocyanine macrocycles affects the excited state dynamics in that most of the excited-state energy decays through internal conversion. A click-type annulation reaction on a perfluorophthalocyanine platform appending a seven-membered ring to the β-positions on one or more of the isoindoles distorts the macrocycle and modulates solubility. The distorted derivative enables photoacoustic imaging, photothermal effects, and strong surface-enhanced resonance Raman signals.     

Vibrational spectra and structure of isopropylbenzene

Infrared spectra (4,000-400 cm(-1)) and Raman spectra (1,700-40 cm(-1)) of the liquid and two crystalline solids of isopropylbenzene (cumene) and isopropylbenzene-d(12) have been recorded. The spectra indicate that in the liquid and crystalline solids isopropylbenzene exists in planar conformation only (CH bond is in the plane of the benzene ring). An assignment of the observed band wave numbers both isopropylbenzene and isopropylbenzene-d(12) is discussed by comparison with normal mode wave numbers and IR intensities calculated from ab initio 6-31G (d) force fields.     

Sterically Crowded Trianglimines—Synthesis,Structure, Solid‐State Self‐Assembly,and Unexpected Chiroptical Properties

The chiral, triangular‐shape hexaimine macrocycles (trianglimines), bearing bulky alkynyl or aryl substituents were synthesized and studied by means of experimental and theoretical methods. The macrocyclization reactions are driven by the extraordinary stability of the trianglimine ring and provided products with high yields. Electrostatic repulsion between imine nitrogen atoms and the substituents forced an anti conformation of the aromatic linkers. Although the DFT‐optimized structure of 7 is D₃ symmetrical, in the crystal, the macrocycle adopts a bowl‐like molecular shape. The macrocycle self‐assembles into tail‐to‐tail dimers by mutual interdigitation of aromatic moieties. In contrast, macrocycle 8 adopts a rigid pillararene‐like conformation. The nature of the substituent significantly affects the electronic properties of the linker. As a result, unexpectedly high exciton Cotton effects are observed in the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. The origin of these effects was subject of an in‐depth study.     

IR, Raman and SERS studies of methyl salicylate

The IR and Raman spectra of methyl salicylate (MS) were recorded and analysed. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrum was recorded in silver colloid. The vibrational wave numbers of the compound have been computed using the Hartree-Fock/6-31G* basis and compared with the experimental values. SERS studies suggest a flat orientation of the molecule at the metal surface.     

Fourier-transform infrared and Raman spectra,and ab initio calculations for cadmium-n-di-iso-propylphosphorylguanidine-di-chloride (CdDPGCl2) complex

Cadmium-n-di-isopropylphosphorylguanidine-di-chloride (CdDPGCl2) was synthesized in the solid phase and characterized previously. The Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectra of (CdDPGCl2) in the solid state were recorded and analyzed. Emphasis was placed on the vibrational assignment of the [(O2P=O-[CdCl2]-HN=C) fragment of the complete molecular structure. With the aim of assisting the vibrational assignment of the experimental spectra, a comparison with the spectra of N-di-isopropylphosphorylguanidine ligand was carried out and ab initio calculations have been performed with several effective core potentials and valence basis sets (Hay-Wadt (HW) and Stevens-Basch-Krauss (SBK)). Due to our limited computational resources, hydrogen atoms replaced the isopropyl groups. The calculated geometrical parameters showed excellent agreement with the experimental, as well as the RHF/MP2 calculated infrared wave numbers, when compared to the IR/Raman experimental wave numbers.     

Structure of the ring in drop coating deposited proteins and its implication for Raman spectroscopy of biomolecules

Drop coating deposition Raman spectroscopy represents a new technique that enables nondestructive measurements of solutions with concentration of biomolecules down to 1 μM. It has been demonstrated that the solution structure is preserved even after drying and Raman spectra taken from the glass-like dried deposit and a solution are virtually identical. Here, we report for the first time measurements of the structure of a drop coating ring. Proteins deposited at the outer part of the ring perimeter are affected by desiccation and the spectra differ significantly from those taken in solution. Reproducible measurements of biomolecules by means of drop coating deposition Raman spectroscopy must therefore be obtained from central or slightly inward-located parts of the coating ring. The structure as well as mechanisms participating in the formation of the coating rings is explained on the basis of recently published physical theories of droplets desiccation. Formation of the final shape of the ring is analogous to processes that give rise to desiccated droplets, whereas the coating ring behaves as an “independent ring droplet” in final stages of desiccation of an ancestral droplet. Its structure is dominated by a dip or plateau in the upper part. Oscillation of the ancestral droplet contact line is probably responsible for complete desiccation of the proteins at the outer perimeter of the coating ring. It seems plausible the arrangement of a glassy “skin” at the coating ring surface caused by the accumulation of the biomolecules near this region plays an important role in preservation of “solution-like” spectral shape.     

A new thermo- and photo-driven [2]rotaxane

A new rotaxane with functional chromophores porphyrin and fluorene as stoppers has been synthesized. It displays dual fluorescent character. The macrocycle ring can shuttle between the fumaramide part and the succinimide part on the dumbbell. Heating and UV light irradiating on the rotaxane lead to the reversible E/Z conversion, driving the ring to shuttle between the two stations. The optical properties of porphyrin and fluorene stoppers of the thread do not change so much while the ring shuttles because the macrocycle does not interact with the two stoppers. However, the active group, propargyloxyl, is introduced onto the two sides of the ring so that the rotaxane has the potential to be functionalized by further decoration.     

Synthesis and electronic properties of regioisomerically pure oxochlorins

We describe a two-step conversion of C-alkylated zinc chlorins to zinc oxochlorins wherein the keto group is located in the reduced ring (17-position) of the macrocycle. The transformation proceeds by hydroxylation upon exposure to alumina followed by dehydrogenation with DDQ. The reactions are compatible with ethyne, iodo, ester, trimethylsilyl, and pentafluorophenyl groups. A route to a spirohexyl-substituted chlorin/oxochlorin has also been developed. Representative chlorins and oxochlorins were characterized by static and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy, resonance Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemistry. The fluorescence quantum yields of the zinc oxochlorins (Phi(f) = 0.030-0.047) or free base (Fb) oxochlorins (Phi(f) = 0.13-0.16) are comparable to those of zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) or free base tetraphenylporphyrin (FbTPP), respectively. The excited-state lifetimes of the zinc oxochlorins (tau = 0.5-0.7 ns) are on average 4-fold lower than that of ZnTPP, and the lifetimes of the Fb oxochlorins (tau = 7.4-8.9 ns) are approximately 40% shorter than that of FbTPP. Time-resolved absorption spectroscopy of a zinc oxochlorin indicates the yield of intersystem crossing is >70%. Resonance Raman spectroscopy of copper oxochlorins show strong resonance enhancement of the keto group upon Soret excitation but not with Q(y)()-band excitation, which is attributed to the location of the keto group in the reduced ring (rather than in the isocyclic ring as occurs in chlorophylls). The one-electron oxidation potential of the zinc oxochlorins is shifted to more positive potentials by approximately 240 mV compared with that of the zinc chlorin. Collectively, the fluorescence yields, excited-state lifetimes, oxidation potentials, and various spectral characteristics of the chlorin and oxochlorin building blocks provide the foundation for studies of photochemical processes in larger architectures based on these chromophores.     

The structure of a thiadiazole-containing expanded heteroazaporphyrinoid determined by gas electron diffraction and density functional theory calculations

The molecular structure of a macrocycle with a 24-membered ring, a thiadiazole-containing expanded heteroazaporphyrinoid, has been, for the first time, directly characterised by a synchronous gas electron diffraction and mass spectrometric experiment and DFT calculations; the molecule has the equilibrium structure of C(3h) symmetry with a planar macrocycle.     

Tropiporphyrins, cycloheptatrienyl analogues of the porphyrins: synthesis, spectroscopy, chemistry, and structural characterization of a silver(III) derivative

Tripyrranes were condensed with 1,3,5-cycloheptriene-1,6-dicarbaldehyde in TFA-CH(2)Cl(2) to give, following oxidation with 0.1% aqueous ferric chloride solutions, a series of tropiporphyrins 9. These cycloheptatrienyl analogues of the porphyrins show strong diatropic ring currents by proton NMR spectroscopy where the internal CH gives a resonance at -7.3 ppm, although the meso-protons are not shifted as far downfield as most aromatic porphyrinoid systems. These data indicate that the seven-membered ring distorts the porphyrinoid macrocycle and decreases the overall diatropicity in tropiporphyrins. Addition of trace amounts of TFA to solutions of 9 affords the corresponding aromatic monocations, and at higher acid concentrations a nonaromatic dication is generated. The dication has undergone C-protonation at one of the meso-bridges and has lost the plane of symmetry present in the parent system. This species shows significant downfield shifts to the cycloheptatrienyl protons, indicating that this unit has taken on tropylium character. Tropiporphyrin 9a underwent a Diels-Alder cycloaddition with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate in refluxing xylenes to give modest yields of the related adduct. The Diels-Alder adduct 17 showed an increased diatropic ring current where the internal proton shifted beyond -9 ppm, and this indicates that the [18]annulene substructure has flattened out compared to 9a. Diimide reduction of 9a afforded a dihydrotropiporphyrin that also showed a stronger ring current. Tropiporphyrins 9 were also shown to react with silver(I) acetate in the presence of DBU in refluxing pyridine to give the corresponding silver(III) organometallic derivatives. The meso-protons for these metal complexes give proton NMR chemical shift values similar to those for the parent tropiporphyrins, indicating that the macrocycle is still distorted, but the external olefinic protons are shifted downfield compared to 9. A diphenyl-substituted silver(III) derivative 18b was further characterized by X-ray crystallography. This shows that the cycloheptatriene unit takes on a highly twisted geometry that distorts the overall conformation of the porphyrinoid macrocycle.     

2D supramolecular structures of a shape-persistent macrocycle and co-deposition with fullerene on HOPG

Two 2D supramolecular structures of macrocycle 1 and 1/C60 have been obtained on HOPG by self-assembly under ambient conditions and investigated by high-resolution STM. The monolayers of 1 are characterized by structures with perfect ordering over relatively large areas. In the case of 1/C60, the size of the macrocycle 1 and the presence of two individual bithiophene units per ring lead in the final superstructure to a 1:2 stoichiometry. The fullerenes are not trapped at the graphite surface inside the macrocyclic holes but are located around the periphery of the bithiophene units. This clearly shows that the donor-acceptor interaction between C60 and the electron-rich units of the ring is the dominant factor for the structure formation.     

Synthesis,characterization and coordination chemistry of the new tetraazamacrocycle 4,10-dimethyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,7-bis(methanephosphonic acid monoethyl ester) dipotassium salt

A new potentially hexadentate tetraazamacrocycle based on the cyclen skeleton has been synthesized and fully characterized. The macrocycle 4,10-dimethyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,7-bis(methanephosphonic acid monoethyl ester) dipotassium salt (Me2DO2PME) contains mutually trans monoethyl ester phosphonate acid substituents on two nitrogen atoms, and trans methyl substituents on the other two nitrogen atoms. The protonation constants of this macrocycle and the stability constants of its complexes with Cu2+, Zn2+, Gd3+ and Ca2+ ions have been determined by pH potentiometric titrations. The protonation sequence of the macrocycle has been studied by 1H, 31P[1H] and 13C[1H] NMR spectroscopy: the first and second protonation steps take place at the methyl-substituted nitrogen atoms, while the third protonation involves one oxygen from a phosphonate group. Upon protonation, all the CH2 ring protons become magnetically inequivalent on the NMR time scale due to a slow conformational rearrangement, most likely occasioned by the formation of multiple hydrogen bonds within the macrocyclic ring. Me2DOPM forms neutral, mononuclear complexes with all the metals investigated. The presence of hydroxo complexes was observed for Ca2+ and Zn2+ at high pH values. Structural information on the neutral complex [Cu(Me2DO2PME)] has been obtained by a solution X-Band EPR study. It is proposed that Me2DO2PME binds Cu2+ in a distorted octahedral structure using all of its donor atoms, i.e. the four nitrogen atoms and the two phosphonate oxygen atoms. The redox chemistry of [Cu(Me2DO2PME)] in dimethyl sulfoxide and water has been studied by electrochemical measurements. Cyclic voltammetry in DMSO shows the complex to undergo a quasireversible one-electron reduction step leading to an unstable CuI species.     

Synthetic studies toward sarain A. Formation of the western macrocyclic ring

Starting with the tricyclic core 2b, annulation to form the 13-membered western ring of sarain A has been achieved to afford the macrocycle 30a by initial construction of the sterically congested quaternary center at C-3, followed by elaboration of the C-3 side-chain and ring-closing olefin metathesis. Also included is a parallel conversion of tricycle 2c to macrocycle 30b containing a functionalized side-chain at N-1 suitable for attachment of the eastern macrocyclic ring.     

Modified expanded corrole-ferrocene conjugates: syntheses, structure and properties

Syntheses, characterization and properties of expanded corrole-ferrocene conjugates are reported. Ferrocenyl group are covalently linked to the corrole macrocycle through three different spacers groups. The synthetic strategy involved prior insertion of ferrocene with spacers to the dipyrromethane unit followed by a "3+2" acid-catalyzed oxidative coupling methodology. The optical and emission data of the expanded corrole-ferrocene conjugates depend on the nature and length of the spacer groups and the maximum effects are seen where ferrocene is directly linked to the meso carbon of macrocycle. The single crystal X-ray structure of two expanded corrole-ferrocene conjugates; [22]pentaphyrin (1.1.0.1.0) with different meso substituents, clearly reveal shortening of the C-C bond length linking the meso carbon and the aryl substituent containing the ferrocene moiety relative to meso aryl substituents without ferrocene. The results suggest that an electronic interaction between the two pi systems. Electrochemical data reveal harder oxidation for the ferrocene unit in the conjugates relative to free ferrocene; this suggests the electron donating nature of the ferrocene. The first corrole ring oxidation shows easier oxidation relative to 1 and the magnitude of shifts in potential is inversely proportional to the length of spacer. The molecular first hyperpolarizabilities (beta) measured at 1064 nm by HRS method vary in the range 20-32x10(-30) esu and imply that the beta values can be increased by enhancing the number of mobile electrons in the conjugation. The conjugates form 1:1 metal complex with the Rh(I) where rhodium is coordinated to one amino and one imino nitrogen of the dipyrromethane unit.     

Synthesis of a Strained Acetylenic Macrocycle Incorporating a para‐Oligo[2]cruciform Bridge Bent over Nanoscopic Dimensions: Structural,Electronic, Spectroscopic,and Ion‐Sensing Properties

An Eglinton–Galbraith diethyne cyclization preferentially yielded a structurally unusual macrocycle, comprising a strained conjugated oligo[2]cruciform wire, forced into a 2.2 nm bow‐shape by a terpyridine rein or tether, and stabilized towards light and heat by four insulating triisopropylsilylacetylene (TIPSA) substituents. Spectroscopic ion‐binding studies revealed the macrocycle to exhibit a particularly high UV/Vis selectivity for Pd^II in dilute solution, and one of its precursors to afford a variety of luminescence quenching and color responses to particular metals, suggestive of promising ion‐sensor applications. Under more concentrated conditions, the new macrocycle is able to bind specific metals (e.g., Au^I) within its cavity despite the steric constraints. Intriguingly, variable‐temperature (VT) UV/Vis/¹H NMR investigations showed the TIPSA substituents to undergo restricted intramolecular motions along with reversible changes in the spectroscopic bandgap of the compound with temperature. In line with the theoretical calculations, the VT UV/Vis observations are consistent with a thermal modulation of the electronic conjugation through the strained oligo[2]cruciform bridge, which is coupled with redistributions within a mixture of conformational isomers of the macrocycle with differing relative twisting between the TIPSA‐substituted phenyl rings. Overall, the generation of a para‐oligo[2]cruciform, bent and flexed over nanoscopic dimensions through conformational tethering within the macrocyclic ring is noteworthy, and suggests a general approach to nanosized, curved, and strained, yet heat‐ and light‐stable, para‐phenyleneethynylene oligomers with unique physicochemical properties and challenging theoretical possibilities.     

Macrocycle Embrace: Encapsulation of Fluoroarenes by m‐Phenylene Ethynylene Host

We report structural characterization of a new member of m‐phenylene ethynylene ring family. This shape‐persistent macrocycle also co‐crystallizes with hexafluoro‐, 1,2,4,5‐tetrafluoro‐, 1,3,5‐trifluoro, and 1,4‐difluorobenzene. The four complexes are almost isostructural, and all show the fluoroarene included into the central cavity of the macrocycle. Characterized by multiple short C?H???F?C contacts, these inclusion complexes further dimerize in the solid state into a 2+2 assembly, in which the two macrocycles embrace each other by their large hydrophobic groups that are rotated by 60° relative to one another.     

Spectroscopic (FTIR and FT Raman) analysis and vibrational study on 2,3-dimethyl naphthalene using ab-initio HF and DFT calculations

A combined experimental and theoretical study on molecular and vibrational structure of 2,3-dimethyl naphthalene (2,3-DMN) has been undertaken in the present work. The FTIR and FT Raman spectra of 2,3-DMN were recorded in the region 4000-100 cm(-1). The optimized geometries were calculated by HF and DFT (B3LYP) methods with 6-31++G (d, p), 6-311G (d, p) and 6-311++G (d, p) basis sets. The harmonic vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities and Raman activities of the 2,3-DMN were evaluated with these methods. After scaling the computational wave numbers are in very good agreement with the experimental values. A detailed interpretation of the infrared and Raman spectra of 2,3-DMN is presented. The effects of substitution of methyl group on the molecule have also been discussed.     

Studies toward Taxuspine X, a potent multidrug-resistance reversing agent, via ring closing metathesis strategy

The synthesis of bicyclic 3,8-secotaxane diterpenoids, which includes Taxuspine U and X, has been achieved through an approach that involves a ring closing metathesis reaction as key step for the macrocycle formation.     

Rules of Macrocycle Topology: A [13]‐Macrodilactone Case Study

Shape is an inherent trait of a molecule that dictates how it interacts with other molecules, either in binding events or intermolecular reactions. Large‐ring macrocyclic compounds in particular leverage their shape when they are selectively bound by biomolecules and also when they exhibit macrocyclic diastereoselectivity. Nonetheless, rules that link structural parameters to the conformation of a macrocycle are still rudimentary. Here we use a structural investigation of a family of [13]‐macrodilactones as a case study to develop rules that can be applied generally to macrocycles of different sizes and with a variety of functionality. A characteristic “ribbon” shape is adopted by the [13]‐macrodilactones in the absence of stereogenic centres, which exhibits planar chirality. When one stereogenic centre at key positions on the backbone is incorporated into the structure, the planar chirality is dictated by the configuration of the centre. In cases where two stereogenic centres are present, their relationships can either reinforce the characteristic ribbon shape or induce alternative shapes to be adopted. The rules established in the case study are then applied to the analysis of a structure of the natural product migrastatin. They lay the groundwork for the development of models to understand macrocycle‐biomolecule interactions and for the preparation of macrocycles with designed properties and activities.