A luminescent multicomponent species made of fullerene and Ir(III) cyclometallated subunits

The first system containing a luminescent Ir(m) cyclometallated species and a functionalized C60 unit has been prepared; triplet-triplet energy transfer from the Ir-based MLCT state to the C60 triplet state occurs, leading to phosphorescence (lifetime, 4.8 ms) of the derivatized-C60 at 77 K.     

Comparison of four C18 columns for the liquid chromatographic determination of deoxynivalenol in naturally contaminated wheat

Three long and 1 short reversed-phase C18 columns were compared for separation of deoxynivalenol (DON) in extracts of naturally contaminated wheat samples using liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Among the 3 long columns used, a Symmetry C18 column with an isocratic solvent mixture of water-acetonitrile-methanol (90 + 5 + 5, v/v/v) gave the best separation for DON without interferences from other compounds in the wheat extracts. The Symmetry short (75 mm) column was comparable with the long column (250 mm) in resolving DON but significantly reduced retention time (i.e., 5.8 versus 16.3 min). Increasing the column temperature from 25 to 45 degrees C resulted in a further reduction in retention time. Identity of DON in the wheat extracts and standard solutions was confirmed by LC/MS in the positive ion mode, whereby DON appeared with an (M+1)+ ion at a mass-to-charge ratio of 297 plus fragment ions associated with loss of water and/or a 30 atomic mass unit (amu) CH2O fragment. The Symmetry short column was also capable of separating a mixture of the mycotoxins DON, 15-acetyl-DON, nivalenol, and zearalenone by use of a combination of an isocratic and gradient solvent system. The overall method showed high precision, exhibiting a relative standard deviation of 4.8%, limit of detection of 50 ng/g, and limit of quantitation of 165 ng/g. It was significantly correlated with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis, indicating its appropriateness for safety and quality assurance of wheat and related grains.     

Supramolecular circular helicates formed by destabilisation of supramolecular dimers

The effect of changes in the angles at the connection points of linear/circular helicates is explored as a route to control the nuclearity and architecture of metallo-supramolecular arrays. This effect is probed by changing the geometry of the metal centre used to assemble bis-pyridylimine ligands that contain a 1,3-bis(aminomethyl) benzene spacer group. Tetrahedral metal ions favour linear dimers, whereas octahedral nickel(II) predominantly gives a triangular circular helicate. Five-coordinate copper(II) falls in the middle of these extremes and results in the formation of solvent-dependent mixtures of dimer and trimer. The trinuclear, triangular, circular helicate structures, which result from coordination to copper(II) and nickel(II), are structurally characterised by X-ray crystallography and reveal that the units can aggregate into hexagonal arrays that contain anion-filled tube-like channels in the solid state.     

Changes in electronic couplings of mixed-valence systems due to through-space intramolecular interactions

The strength of the electronic interactions between the two redox moieties in fullerene-substituted mixed-valence bis(ferrocenylethynyl)ethene derivatives is modulated by the through-space intramolecular electronic interactions of C(60) with the bridging conjugated system.     

Macrocyclic multicenter complexes of nickel and copper of increasing complexity

Multicenter (bi-, tri-, and tetranuclear) tetraazamacrocyclic complexes were self-assembled from Ni and Cu tetraazamacrocyclic mononuclear units and α,ω-diamines as building blocks. The structures of all compounds studied were proved by spectroscopic methods (ESI MS and NMR spectroscopy). Electrochemical experiments revealed reversible one-electron electrode processes at each of the Ni(2+) and Cu(2+) centers with formation of metal cations in oxidation state +3. Long linkers allow bi- and trinuclear complexes with noninteracting metal centers to be obtained. In the case of the short linkers (e.g. ethylenediamine) higher, trinuclear species are formed as major product. The structures of the bis- and tris-macrocyclic systems were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The tris-macrocyclic systems form cations in the shape of triangles partially filled with counterions and solvent molecules. The cations form positively charged layers, which interact in the crystal lattice with the neighboring negatively charged layers of anions. In solution, the trinuclear complexes exhibit strong host-guest interactions with 9,10-dimethyltriptycene due to complementarity of shape and size of this guest molecule. The association constants were determined by NMR spectroscopy and voltammetry, and very good agreement was obtained. The structural flexibility of the tetranuclear complex with long linkers allows for attractive interactions between the metal-complexing macrocycles that result in folding of the molecule. On the contrary, no folding is possible in the case of short linkers consisting of two CH(2) groups.     

Development of chiral N,N-ditopic metalloligands based on a Cinchona alkaloids' backbone for constructing homochiral coordination polymers

The bimetallic chiral bipyridyl-type metalloligands based on aluminium derivatives of cinchonine, [R(2)Al(μ-CN)](2) (R = Me or Et), in combination with the corresponding ZnR(2) compound as nodes were used for the generation of novel homochiral heterometallic coordination polymers of either zig-zag or helical topology, depending on the character of the R substituent.     

A soluble hybrid material combining carbon nanohorns and C60

A soluble hybrid nanomaterial that combines fullerenes and carbon nanohorns (CNHs) has been prepared and fully characterized. Electrochemical investigations revealed that the CNHs modify the electron accepting ability of C(60) in the hybrid material.     

tert-Butylzinc hydroxide as an efficient predesigned precursor of ZnO nanoparticles

The reaction of (t)Bu(2)Zn with water was investigated which led to isolation of the novel hexameric tert-butylzinc hydroxide. The resulting zinc hydroxide cluster appears to be an ideal predesigned single-source precursor which decomposes smoothly in one step at only ca. 120 °C into ZnO nanoparticles.     

Platinum(IV) coordination compounds containing 5-methyl-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7(4H)-one as nonleaving ligand. Molecular and cytotoxicity in vitro characterization

Novel platinum(IV) coordination compounds with 5-methyl-1,2,4-triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-7(4H)-one (HmtpO): cis-trans-[PtCl(2)(OH)(2)(NH(3))(HmtpO)] (1), cis-trans-[PtCl(5)(HmtpO)][(CH(3))(2)NH(2)] (2) have been prepared and structurally characterized by spectroscopic methods ((1)H, IR and X-ray crystallography (2)). The X-ray results indicate that the local geometry around the platinum(IV) centre approximates a typical octahedral arrangement with nitrogen atom N3 of the HmtpO and three chloride atoms in equatorial positions. The remaining two axial positions are occupied by two chlorides. The preliminary assessment of antitumor properties of (1) was performed as an in vitro antiproliferative activity against HL-60 human acute promyelocytic leukemia and HCV29T bladder cancer. The cis-trans-[PtCl(2)(OH)(2)(NH(3))(HmtpO)] (1) exhibits higher cytotoxic activity against HL-60 (IC(50)=6.4 μM) than cisplatin.     

Fullerene‐sp2‐Iminosugar Balls as Multimodal Ligands for Lectins and Glycosidases: A Mechanistic Hypothesis for the Inhibitory Multivalent Effect

Concerted functioning of lectins and carbohydrate‐processing enzymes, mainly glycosidases, is essential in maintaining life. It was commonly assumed that the mechanisms by which each class of protein recognizes their cognate sugar partners are intrinsically different: multivalency is a characteristic feature of carbohydrate–lectin interactions, whereas glycosidases bind to their substrates or substrate‐analogue inhibitors in monovalent form. Recent observations on the glycosidase inhibitory potential of multivalent glycomimetics have questioned this paradigm and led to postulate an inhibitory multivalent effect. Here the mechanisms at the origin of this phenomenon have been investigated. A D ‐gluco‐configured sp²‐iminosugar glycomimetic motif, namely 1‐amino‐5N,6O‐oxomethylydenenojirimycin (1N‐ONJ), behaving, simultaneously, as a ligand of peanut agglutinin (PNA) lectin and as an inhibitor of several glycosidases, has been identified. Both the 1N‐ONJ–lectin‐ and 1N‐ONJ–glycosidase‐recognition processes have been found to be sensitive to multivalency, which has been exploited in the design of a lectin–glycosidase competitive assay to explore the implication of catalytic and non‐glycone sites in enzyme binding. A set of isotropic dodecavalent C₆₀‐fullerene–sp²‐iminosugar balls incorporating matching or mismatching motifs towards several glycosidases (inhitopes) was synthesized for that purpose, thereby preventing differences in binding modes arising from orientational preferences. The data supports that: 1) multivalency allows modulating the affinity and selectivity of a given inhitope towards glycosidases; 2) multivalent presentation can switch on the inhibitory capacity for some inhitope–glycosidase pairs, and 3) interactions of the multivalent inhibitors with non‐glycone sites is critical for glycosidase recognition. The ensemble of results point to a shift in the binding mode on going from monovalent to multivalent systems: in the first case a typical ′′key–lock′′ model involving, essentially, the high‐affinity active site can be assumed, whereas in the second, a lectin‐like behavior implying low‐affinity non‐glycone sites probably operates. The differences in responsiveness to multivalency for different glycosidases can then be rationalized in terms of the structure and accessibility of the corresponding carbohydrate‐binding regions.