NMR in paramagnetic complexes of radicals with organic ligands. II. Method of identification of electronic structure of complexes — Theory

A method of identification of the electronic structure of stable nitroxide radical complexes with organic ligands is developed. The idea of this approach is that the concentration dependences of the paramagnetic shifts and line widths of the NMR spectra of two ligands in solution depend on whether these ligands form complexes with the same radical orbital or with different orbitals. In the latter case the complexation of one ligand should not influence the paramagnetic shift and line broadening of another ligand molecule present in the solution. In contrast, in the former case such influence should exist since both ligands are in competition. On this basis different schemes of complexation are considered and theoretical expressions for paramagnetic shifts and line widths are derived that show what kind of experimental data is required to identify the structure of the complex. The theory developed can be generalized to other paramagnetic complexes of radicals, ions and molecules.     

Structure and properties of a series of 2-cinnamoyl-1,3-indandiones and their metal complexes

A series of seven 2-cinnamoyl-1,3-indandiones and their metal(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized by means of spectroscopic (IR, NMR, electron absorption and emission spectroscopy) and/or single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. The optical spectra of the organic compounds show very strong absorption in the visible region and weak fluorescence with moderate to strong Stokes shift. The effect of concentration, water addition and metal ion complexation on the optical properties was also studied. In search of potential practical application, the complexation of 2-cinnamoyl-1,3-indandiones with metal(II) ions was investigated. A series of non-charged complexes with Cu(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) was isolated and analyzed by elemental analyses and IR. Most of the complexes show presence of water molecules, most probably coordinated to the metal ion, thus forming octahedral geometry. For the paramagnetic Cu(II) complexes a distorted, flattened tetrahedral structure is proposed, basing on the EPR data. The optical properties of the metal complexes, however, do not differ appreciably from those of the free ligands.     

Solution Equilibrium Studies on Salicylidene Aminoguanidine Schiff Base Metal Complexes: Impact of the Hybridization with L-Proline on Stability,Redox Activity and Cytotoxicity

The proton dissociation processes of two tridentate salicylidene aminoguanidine Schiff bases (SISC, Pro-SISC-Me), the solution stability and electrochemical properties of their Cu(II), Fe(II) and Fe(III) complexes were characterized using pH-potentiometry, cyclic voltammetry and UV-visible, ¹H NMR and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic methods. The structure of the proline derivative (Pro-SISC-Me) was determined by X-ray crystallography. The conjugation of L-proline to the simplest salicylidene aminoguanidine Schiff base (SISC) increased the water solubility due to its zwitterionic structure in a wide pH range. The formation of mono complexes with both ligands was found in the case of Cu(II) and Fe(II), while bis complexes were also formed with Fe(III). In the complexes these tridentate ligands coordinate via the phenolato O, azomethine N and the amidine N, except the complex [Fe(III)L₂]⁺ of Pro-SISC-Me in which the (O,N) donor atoms of the proline moiety are coordinated beside the phenolato O, confirmed by single crystal X-ray crystallographic analysis. This binding mode yielded a stronger Fe(III) preference for Pro-SISC-Me over Fe(II) in comparison to SISC. This finding is also reflected in the lower redox potential value of the iron-Pro-SISC-Me complexes. The ligands alone were not cytotoxic against human colon cancer cell lines, while complexation of SISC with Cu(II) resulted in moderate activity, unlike the case of its more hydrophilic counterpart.     

Structural study of hyaluronic acid oligomers and their complexes with copper in water by NMR and IR and molecular dynamics calculations

The hexasaccharide (trimer) and tetrasaccharide (dimer) oligomers of hyaluronic acid were investigated by ¹H and ¹³C high resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. The dynamic behavior of the molecules and their complexation with copper(II) were analysed by ¹H NMR relaxation studies. A specific site for the complexation of the tetrasaccharide with Cu²⁺ was demonstrated by analysis of the paramagnetic effect of the metal on non-selective proton relaxation rates. A model for the complex involving two molecules of the tetrasaccharide is proposed.     

pH-dependent magnetic phase transition of iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized by gamma-radiation reduction method

In this study, the influence of pH variation on structural and magnetic phase transition of gamma radiolytic synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles is investigated. The structure and magnetic properties of irradiated samples are characterized using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer. It was found that, in acidic irradiated solution, Fe³⁺ ions make various complexes with polyvinyl alcohol and water molecules which exhibit a multiphase magnetic property as a mixture of dia and paramagnetic materials. On the other hand, in basic condition, rate of radiation induced reduction of Fe³⁺ ions increased which leads to the formation of superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. By increasing pH value, in strong basic condition, the tendency of paramagnetic iron (III) oxy-hydroxide formation was high compared to other phases. This variation in the magnetic properties was explained based on iron ions reduction mechanism and the variation of the ligands’ properties during formation of nanoparticles under irradiation.     

A New Class of Lanthanide Complexes with Three Ligand Centered Radicals: NMR Evaluation of Ligand Field Energy Splitting and Magnetic Coupling

Combination of three radical anionic Ph-BIAN ligands (Ph-BIAN=bis-(phenylimino)-acenaphthenequinone) with lanthanoid ions leads to a series of homoleptic, six-coordinate complexes of the type Ln(Ph-BIAN)₃. Magnetic coupling data were measured by paramagnetic solution NMR spectroscopy. Combining ¹H NMR with ²H NMR of partially deuterated compounds allowed a detailed study of the magnetic susceptibility anisotropies over a large temperature range. The observed chemical shifts were separated into ligand- and metal-centered contributions by comparison with the Y analogue (diamagnetic at the metal). The metal-centered contributions of the complexes with the paramagnetic ions could then be separated into pseudocontact and Fermi contact shifts. The latter is large within the Ph-BIAN scaffold, which shows that magnetic coupling is significant between the lanthanide ion and the radical ligand. Pseudocontact shifts were further correlated to structural data obtained from X-ray diffraction experiments. Ligand-field parameters were determined by fitting the temperature dependence of the observed magnetic susceptibility anisotropies. The electronic structure determined by this approach shows, that the Er and Tm analogues are candidates for single molecule magnets (SMM). These results demonstrate the possibilities for the application of NMR spectroscopy in investigations of paramagnetic systems in general and single molecule magnets in particular.     

Spectroscopic approaches to the study of the interaction of aluminum with humic substances

Aluminum ion (Al³⁺) in the ‘free’ (aquo) state is becoming increasingly prevalent in environmental waters, especially fresh waters, as a consequence of acid rain and other environmental processes. As Al³⁺ ion is known to affect markedly a wide range of biological systems, and since the presence of Al³⁺ in humans has been linked to a number of human diseases, it is important to understand the speciation of Al³⁺ ion in natural waters. Since some of the most important complexation agents for Al³⁺ in both fresh and sea waters are members of the complex humic substances group, it is important to understand the manner in which Al³⁺ interacts with this class of molecules, especially since binding of Al³⁺ to these molecules can effectively increase the bioavailability of this toxic metal ion to biological systems. The objective of this review is to present the current state of our understanding of aqueous aluminum complexation with the most acidic members (and therefore the most likely candidates for serving as Al³⁺ complexing agents) of the humic substances group, the fulvic acids. Much of the current knowledge has been revealed by comprehensive fluorescence titration analyses. Some additional information has come from other experimental approaches, including infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and a variety of electrochemical approaches. In this review, we also report on the results of our recent fluorescence and IR spectroscopy survey of the interaction of metals from of all three Nieboer and Richardson categories of environmental metals (Class A, Class B and Intermediate Class) with the fulvic acid sub-group of the humic substances. This has proven helpful in understanding some of the unique spectral behaviors of the Al³⁺-fulvic acid complex vis-a-vis fulvic acid complexes with many other metal ions. The results of our fluorescence and IR experiments with the model compounds, such as salicylic and phthalic acids, have allowed confirmation of the important roles played by both salicylic acid-like sites and phthalic acid-like sites in the unique complexation of Al³⁺ to humic substances, and help to explain some of the observed spectroscopic changes associated with Al³⁺ ion complexation to humic material. From the current work, it seems clear that major sources of the deviation in spectral properties between Al³⁺ and many other metal ions (across all three Nieboer and Richardson categories) are the unusually high value of its charge density and relatively low propensity for involvement in covalent bonding interactions (i.e. a very high ionic index combined with a relatively low covalent index in the Nieboer and Richardson classification of environmental metals), as well as affinity for certain functional groups.     

Complexation and DFT studies of lanthanide ions by (2-pyridylmethoxy)homooxacalixarene derivatives

The binding of lanthanide cations by 2-pyridylmethoxy derivatives of p-tert-butyldihomooxacalix[4]arene (1b), in the cone conformation, and p-tert-butylhexahomotrioxacalix[3]arene (2b), in both cone and partial cone conformations, was studied. These properties were assessed by extraction studies of the metal picrates from water into dichloromethane and stability constant measurements in methanol and acetonitrile, using spectrophotometric and microcalorimetric techniques. Proton NMR titrations with La³⁺ and Yb³⁺ cations were done in order to get information on the binding sites. Computational methods (density functional theory (DFT) calculations) were also used to complement the NMR data. The p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene analogue (3b) was also studied, and the results of the four ligands were compared. Partial cone-2b is the best extractant for lanthanide ions, showing some preference for the heavy lanthanides. In complexation, all four ligands show the same trend and a high selectivity for Yb³⁺ (ML, log β ≥ 7). Besides the formation of ML complexes, ML₂ species were also obtained. In most cases, these species were corroborated by the proton NMR studies. For partial cone-2b with Pr³⁺ the complexation process is enthalpically driven, whereas for 3b the formation of the ML₂ species with this cation is due to a favourable entropy term. DFT studies indicate that ligand 3b forms the most stable complex with La³⁺, followed by partial cone-2b.     

Magnetic resonance study of a vanadium pentoxide gel

In this work we report results from continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies of the vanadium pentoxide xerogel V₂O₅:nH₂O (n ≈ 1.6). The low temperature CW-EPR spectrum shows hyperfine structure due to coupling of unpaired V⁴⁺ electron with the vanadium nucleus. The analysis of the spin Hamiltonian parameters suggests that the V⁴⁺ ions are located in tetragonally distorted octahedral sites. The transition temperature from the rigid-lattice low-temperature regime to the high temperature liquid-like regime was determined from the analysis of the temperature dependence of the hyperfine splitting and the V⁴⁺ motional correlation time. The Electron Spin Echo Envelope Modulation (ESEEM) data shows the signals resulting from the interaction of ¹H nuclei with V⁴⁺ ions. The modulation effect was observed only for field values in the center of the EPR absorption spectrum corresponding to the single crystals orientated perpendicular to the magnetic field direction. At least three protons are identified in the xerogel by our magnetic resonance experiments: (I) the OH groups in the equatorial plane, (ii) the bound water molecules in the axial V=O bond and (iii) the free mobile water molecules between the oxide layers. Proton NMR lineshapes and spin-lattice relaxation times were measured in the temperature range between 150 K and 323 K. Our analysis indicates that only a fraction of the xerogel protons contribute to the measured conductivity.     

Synthesis,characterization, and antimicrobial activity of cobalt(II), nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes with ferrocenyl Schiff bases containing a phenol moiety

Three ferrocenyl Schiff bases containing a phenol moiety have been formed by 1:1 molar condensation of acetylferrocene with 2‐aminophenol, 2‐amino‐5‐picoline or 2‐amino‐5‐chlorophenol. These ligands form 2:1 complexs with cobalt(II), copper(II), nickel(II), and zinc(II) ions. From the different spectral data, it was found that coordination of the ligands with the metal ions takes place via the azomethine nitrogen atoms and the deprotonated oxygen of the phenol groups. These ligands and their complexes have been characterized by IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, UV–Vis spectra, and elemental analysis. The spectral data of the ligands and their complexes are discussed in connection with the structural changes due to complexation. The complexes prepared showed good antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilus, and Candida albicans. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Highly Oxidized States of Phthalocyaninato Terbium(III) Multiple-Decker Complexes Showing Structural Deformations,Biradical Properties and Decreases in Magnetic Anisotropy

Presented here is a comprehensive study of highly oxidized multiple-decker complexes composed of Tb^III and Cd^II ions and two to five phthalocyaninato ligands, which are stabilized by electron-donating n-butoxy groups. From X-ray structural analyses, all the complexes become axially compressed upon ligand oxidation, resulting in bowl-shaped distortions of the ligands. In addition, unusual coexistence of square antiprism and square prism geometries around metal ions was observed in +4e charged species. From paramagnetic ¹H NMR studies on the resulting series of triple, quadruple and quintuple-decker complexes, ligand oxidation leads to a decrease in the magnetic anisotropy, as predicted from theoretical calculations. Unusual paramagnetic shifts were observed in the spectra of the +2e charged quadruple and quintuple-decker complexes, indicating that those two species are actually unexpected triplet biradicals. Magnetic measurements revealed that the series of complexes show single-molecule magnet properties, which are controlled by the multi-step redox induced structural changes.     

Mn(II) complexes of novel hexadentate AAZTA-like chelators: a solution thermodynamics and relaxometric study

Three novel chelators based on the 6-amino-6-methylperhydro-1,4-diazepine scaffold and possessing three pendant N-acetic or N-α-methylacetic acid have been synthesised. The ligands contain six donor atoms for complexation of Mn(II) ions and thus potentially leave an additional site for coordination of a water molecule. The protonation constants of the ligands and the stability constants of their complexes formed with Mn(II) ion were determined by pH-potentiometric titrations in 0.15 M NaCl solution at 25 °C and compared to those of the parent AAZTA ligand (AAZTA = 6-amino-6-methylperhydro-1,4-diazepine tetraacetic acid). In spite of the similar value of the total basicity (Σlog K), the values of the stability constants of the Mn(II)AAZTA-like complexes are more than three orders of magnitude lower than that of MnAAZTA (log K(MnL) = 14.19). A detailed (1)H and (17)O NMR relaxometric study was carried out on the Mn(II) complexes in aqueous solution as a function of pH, temperature and magnetic field strength. The (1)H NMRD profiles of all the complexes show a similar shape, typical of low-molecular weight systems, but amplitudes that markedly differ to indicate a different degree of hydration. A similar behaviour is shown by the (17)O NMR transverse relaxation rates and chemical shift data as a function of temperature. The experimental data can be rationalised by considering the presence in solution of a mixture of two isomeric species differing in coordination number (7 and 6) and in the number (1 and 0) of bound water molecules. Whereas this type of coordination equilibrium has been previously reported for lanthanide(III) complexes, it is observed for the first time on Mn(II) chelates.     

7Li NMR chemical shift titration and theoretical DFT calculation studies: solvent and anion effects on second‐order complexation of 12‐crown‐4 and 1‐aza‐12‐crown‐4 with Lithium cation in several aprotic solvents

⁷Li NMR titration was used to determine stepwise complexation constants for the second‐order complexation of lithium cation with 12‐crown‐4 in acetonitrile, propylene carbonate and a binary mixture of propylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate. The anions used were perchlorate, hexaflurophosphate and trifluromethanesulfonate. A second ligand 1‐aza‐12‐crown‐4 was similarly investigated. The exchange between the free and complexed cation in these reactions is fast on an NMR timescale resulting in a single lithium peak which is a concentration‐weighted average of the free and bound species. Solvent effects show that the 1:1 complex is much more stable in acetonitrile than in propylene carbonate or in the propylene carbonate dimethyl carbonate mixture. Anion effects for a given solvent were small. Optimized geometries of the free ligands and the 1:1 and 1:2 (sandwich) metal–ligand complexes were predicted by hybrid‐density functional theory using the Gaussian 03 software package. Results were compared to literature values for 1:1 stability constants found by microcalorimetry for several of these systems and are found to be in good agreement. Although microcalorimetry only considered the formation of 1:1 complexes, ⁷Li NMR shows evidence that both 1:1 and 1:2 complexes should be considered. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solution structure of chiral lanthanide complexes

The determination of solution structure of small to medium size chiral lanthanide complexes through paramagnetic NMR and circular dichroism is briefly reviewed. The main focus is on ytterbium as the rare earth, because of its negligible contact contribution to the hyperfine shift and of its intense CD spectrum in the near IR. The structures discussed contain various stereogenic elements: classical chiral centres, atropisomeric axes, slowly interconverting conformations, which gives rise to a manifold of situations to be identified, classified, and characterised through spectroscopic tools. The fallout of these structural properties are in enantioselective catalysis, in molecular recognition, or even in biomedicine, on account of the role of Gd³⁺ complexes as MRI contrast agents. Moreover, the information encoded in the NMR and CD spectra of Ln³⁺ complexes may be used to extract original data on the solution stereochemistry of organic molecules used as ligands. The first part summarises some basic theoretical aspects, with special emphasis onto those which have practical consequences in the experimental design. A discussion of selected applications can be found in the second part.     

The preparation and properties of neutral diamide ionophores for group IIa metal cations

The preparation of a series of neutral ligands featuring ether and N-methyl-N-carbethoxypentylamide groups is described. These ligands as well as related ones bearing other diamide groups are shown to selectively chelate Group IIA cations by picrate extraction from water to methylene chloride. The changes in UV absorption of aromatic rings and amide groups in the ligands upon titration with metal salts in methanol allow the estimation of the stoichiometry of complexation and the ordering of cation binding. The observed selectivity sequences of cation extraction and binding are briefly discussed. Preliminary proton and ¹³C NMR studies on the effect of addition of Group IIA cation salts to several of the ligands in methanol suggest that most of the complexation occurs at the central ether and amide groups. ¹³C NMR T₁ changes by the Inversion Recovery Fourier Transform method are in agreement with the cation-induced shift data.     

63Cu NMR spectroscopy of copper(I) complexes with various tridentate ligands: CO as a useful 63Cu NMR probe for sharpening 63Cu NMR signals and analyzing the electronic donor effect of a ligand

63Cu NMR spectroscopic studies of copper(I) complexes with various N-donor tridentate ligands are reported. As has been previously reported for most copper(I) complexes, 63Cu NMR signals, when acetonitrile is coordinated to copper(I) complexes of these tridentate ligands, are broad or undetectable. However, when CO is bound to tridentate copper(I) complexes, the 63Cu NMR signals become much sharper and show a large downfield shift compared to those for the corresponding acetonitrile complexes. Temperature dependence of 63Cu NMR signals for these copper(I) complexes show that a quadrupole relaxation process is much more significant to their 63Cu NMR line widths than a ligand exchange process. Therefore, an electronic effect of the copper bound CO makes the 63Cu NMR signal sharp and easily detected. The large downfield shift for the copper(I) carbonyl complex can be explained by a paramagnetic shielding effect induced by the copper bound CO, which amplifies small structural and electronic changes that occur around the copper ion to be easily detected in their 63Cu NMR shifts. This is evidenced by the correlation between the 63Cu NMR shifts for the copper(I) carbonyl complexes and their nu(C[triple bond]O) values. Furthermore, the 63Cu NMR shifts for copper(I) carbonyl complexes with imino-type tridentate ligands show a different correlation line with those for amino-type tridentate ligands. On the other hand, 13C NMR shifts for the copper bound 13CO for these copper(I) carbonyl complexes do not correlate with the nu(C[triple bond]O) values. The X-ray crystal structures of these copper(I) carbonyl complexes do not show any evidence of a significant structural change around the Cu-CO moiety. The findings herein indicate that CO complexation makes 63Cu NMR spectroscopy much more useful for Cu(I) chemistry.     

Evaluation of metal complexation as an alternative to protonation for electrospray ionization of pharmaceutical compounds

The use of pyridyl and polyether compounds as auxiliary ligands to promote metal complexation of a series of pharmaceutical analytes by electrospray ionization (ESI) is explored as an alternative to conventional protonation by ESI. The auxiliary ligands vary in the number and nature of binding sites, the orientation of the binding sites with respect to each other, and the conformational flexibility of the ligand during complexation of the metal ion. The ESI of ternary solutions composed of a pharmaceutical substrate, a transition metal ion salt, and an auxiliary complexation agent generate metal complexes of the type [(L-H⁺)M^II(aux)]⁺, where L is the pharmaceutical, M is either copper, nickel, or cobalt, and aux is the auxiliary ligand. Overall, the pyridine-type ligands are more useful for the generation of ternary metal complexes than the polyether-type ligands, which preferentially complex sodium ions and, upon collisional activation, undergo fragmentation of the polyether skeleton in addition to the structurally informative dissociation of the analytes. The auxiliary ligand that exhibits the best performance is 2,2′-dipyridine; its ternary metal complexes enhance the structural characterization of five of the pharmaceuticals by promoting a greater number of fragments relative to the CAD patterns of the protonated substrates.     

Noncovalent complex formation of tetratosylated resorcarene with aromatic,aliphatic, and cyclic alkyl ammonium ions: a mass spectrometric study of complex properties

The ability of tetratosylated resorcarene to form complexes with aromatic ammonium ions was investigated by electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The formation of noncovalent complexes, [1+guest]⁺ and [1 · 1+guest]⁺, as observed with singly charged aromatic anilinium and phenylene aminoammonium guests. Comparison of the complexation efficiencies of the aromatic and aliphatic ammonium ions showed the importance of proton affinity of conjugate amines in complex formation. In collision‐induced dissociation experiments, gas‐phase stability was found to be lower for complexes formed with aromatic ions and this behavior was not found to depend on the proton affinity of conjugate amines. Fast oxidation of the para and ortho aminoammonium ions and complexation of these ions with tetratosylated resorcarene was observed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Metal‐Chelated Polymer Nanodiscs for NMR Studies

Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) is commonly used to speed up spin lattice relaxation time (T₁) for rapid data acquisition in NMR structural studies. Consequently, there is significant interest in novel paramagnetic labels for enhanced NMR studies on biomolecules. Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of a modified poly(styrene‐co‐maleic acid) polymer which forms nanodiscs while showing the ability to chelate metal ions. Cu²⁺‐chelated nanodiscs are demonstrated to reduce the T₁ of protons for both polymer and lipid‐nanodisc components. The chelated nanodiscs also decrease the proton T₁ values for a water‐soluble DNA G‐quadruplex. These results suggest that polymer nanodiscs functionalized with paramagnetic tags can be used to speed‐up data acquisition from lipid bilayer samples and also to provide structural information from water‐soluble biomolecules.