Towards catenanes using π-stacking interactions and their influence on the spin-state of a bis(2,2':6',2"terpyridine)iron(II) domain

The ligand 6,6"bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-4'-phenyl-2,2':6',2"terpyridine (2) has been prepared and characterized; deprotection using pyridinium chloride leads to the formation of 6,6"bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4'-phenyl-2,2':6',2"terpyridinium chloride ([H3]Cl). Treatment of the latter with 3-(2-(2-bromoethoxy)ethoxy)prop-1-ene under basic conditions yields ligand 4 containing pendant, alkene-terminated chains. Whereas direct complexation of 4 with ruthenium(II) proved problematical, the homoleptic complexes [Fe(2)(2)][PF(6)](2) and [Ru(2)(2)][PF(6)](2) were prepared in good to moderate yields. In the solid state, both complexes exhibit multiple face-to-face π-stacking of arene and pyridine rings which influences the coordination geometry about the metal ion. Consequential weakening of the ligand field results in [Fe(2)(2)][PF(6)](2) being high-spin. Variable temperature solution (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies confirm the iron(ii) centre remains high-spin between 200 and 295 K. The paramagnetically shifted (1)H NMR spectrum exhibits signals in the range δ 109.7 to -66.5 ppm and has been fully assigned. Paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (PRE) has been used to correlate the observed proton line-widths to the distances of the protons from the metal centre and these are in good agreement with the Fe···H separations observed in the solid state. The [Fe(2)(2)](2+) ion undergoes two dynamic processes (i) rotation of the pendant phenyl rings which is fast on the NMR timescale at 200 K, and (ii) twisting and sliding of the aromatic rings of the tpy and anisyl units which interconverts the two enantiomers of [Fe(2)(2)](2+) at 295 K.     

CAN-mediated oxidations for the synthesis of xanthones and related products

Reaction of (2,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)(2-hydroxyphenyl)methanone with ceric ammonium nitrate furnished the xanthone, 2,3-dimethoxy-9H-xanthen-9-one. Under the same conditions the related (1,4-dimethoxynaphthalen-2-yl)(2-hydroxyphenyl)methanone resulted in the formation of 12a-methoxy-5H-benzo[c]xanthenes 5,7(12aH)-dione. Other examples of this novel transformation are also outlined.     

Difference of Electron Capture and Transfer Dissociation Mass Spectrometry on Ni<Superscript>2+</Superscript>-, Cu<Superscript>2+</Superscript>-, and Zn<Superscript>2+</Superscript>-Polyhistidine Complexes in the Absence of Remote Protons

Electron capture dissociation (ECD) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) in metal-peptide complexes are dependent on the metal cation in the complex. The divalent transition metals Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺ were used as charge carriers to produce metal-polyhistidine complexes in the absence of remote protons, since these metal cations strongly bind to neutral histidine residues in peptides. In the case of the ECD and ETD of Cu²⁺-polyhistidine complexes, the metal cation in the complex was reduced and the recombination energy was redistributed throughout the peptide to lead a zwitterionic peptide form having a protonated histidine residue and a deprotonated amide nitrogen. The zwitterion then underwent peptide bond cleavage, producing a and b fragment ions. In contrast, ECD and ETD induced different fragmentation processes in Zn²⁺-polyhistidine complexes. Although the N–C_α bond in the Zn²⁺-polyhistidine complex was cleaved by ETD, ECD of Zn²⁺-polyhistidine induced peptide bond cleavage accompanied with hydrogen atom release. The different fragmentation modes by ECD and ETD originated from the different electronic states of the charge-reduced complexes resulting from these processes. The details of the fragmentation processes were investigated by density functional theory.

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Influence of Equilibration Time in Solution on the Inclusion/Exclusion Topology Ratio of Host–Guest Complexes Probed by Ion Mobility and Collision‐Induced Dissociation

Host–guest complexes are formed by the creation of multiple noncovalent bonds between a large molecule (the host) and smaller molecule(s) or ion(s) (the guest(s)). Ion‐mobility separation coupled with mass spectrometry nowadays represents an ideal tool to assess whether the host–guest complexes, when transferred to the gas phase upon electrospray ionization, possess an exclusion or inclusion nature. Nevertheless, the influence of the solution conditions on the nature of the observed gas‐phase ions is often not considered. In the specific case of inclusion complexes, kinetic considerations must be taken into account beside thermodynamics; the guest ingression within the host cavity can be characterized by slow kinetics, which makes the complexation reaction kinetically driven on the timescale of the experiment. This is particularly the case for the cucurbituril family of macrocyclic host molecules. Herein, we selected para‐phenylenediamine and cucurbit[6]uril as a model system to demonstrate, by means of ion mobility and collision‐induced dissociation measurements, that the inclusion/exclusion topology ratio varies as a function of the equilibration time in solution prior to the electrospray process.     

Crystal structures of functional building blocks derived from bis(benzo[b]thiophen‐2‐yl)methane

The syntheses of three bis(benzo[b]thiophen‐2‐yl)methane derivatives, namely bis(benzo[b]thiophen‐2‐yl)methanone, C₁₇H₁₀OS₂, (I), 1,1‐bis(benzo[b]thiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐(trimethylsilyl)prop‐2‐yn‐1‐ol, C₂₂H₂₀OS₂Si, (II), and 1,1‐bis(benzo[b]thiophen‐2‐yl)prop‐2‐yn‐1‐ol, C₁₉H₁₂OS₂, (III), are described and their crystal structures discussed comparatively. The conformation of ketone (I) and the respective analogues are rather similar for most of the compounds compared. This is true for the interplanar angles, the C_aryl—C_bridge—C_aryl angles and the dihedral angles. The best resemblance is found for a bioisotere of (I), viz. 2,2′‐dinaphthyl ketone, (VII). By way of interest, the crystal packings also reveal similarities between (I) and (VII). In (I), the edge‐to‐face interactions seen between two napthyl residues in (VII) are substituted by S…π contacts between the benzo[b]thiophen‐2‐yl units in (I). In the structures of the bis(benzo[b]thiophen‐2‐yl)methanols, i.e. (II) and (III), the interplanar angles are also quite similar compared with analogues and related active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) containing the dithiophen‐2‐ylmethane scaffold, though the dihedral angles show a larger variability and produce unsymmetrical molecules.