Models for the Active Center of Pterin-Containing Molybdenum Enzymes: Crystal structure of a molybdenum complex with sulfur and pterin ligands

The first crystal structure of a molybdenum complex 9 with a hydrogenated pterin and a sulfur ligand contributes to the discussion about the active center of molybdenum and tungsten enzymes containing a molybdopterin cofactor. Complex 9 was synthesized through a redox reaction of [Mo^VIO₂ (LN-S₂)] ( 8 ; LN-S₂ = pyridine-2, 6-bis(methanethiolato)) with 5, 6, 7, 8-tetrahydropterin ( 7 ). 2 HCl (H₄Ptr.2 HCl). The complex crystallizes, with a non-coordinating Cl-atom acting as a counterion, in the monoclinic space group C2/c (No. 15) with cell dimensions a = 22.900(5), b = 10.716(2), c = 17.551(4) Å, β = 120.36(3)°, and Z = 8. We interpret 9 as [Mo^IVO(LN-S₂)(H⁺-q-H₂Ptr)]Cl (q = quinonoid; H₂Ptr = dihydropterin), i.e., a Mo^IV monooxo center coordinated by a pyridine-2, 6-bis(methanethiolato) ligand and a protonated dihydropterin. The spectroscopic properties of this new complex are comparable to those of other crystalline molybdenum complexes of hydrogenated pterins without additional S-coordination. The slightly H₂O-soluble complex 9 reacts with the natural enzyme substrate DMSO very slowly, possibly due to the lack of easily dissociable ligands at the metal center.     

Methanofullerene Molecular Scaffolding: Towards C60-substituted poly(triacetylenes) and expanded radialenes,preparation of a C60–C70 hybrid derivative,and a novel macrocyclization reaction

The synthesis of (E)-hex-3-ene-l, 5-diynes and 3-methylidenepenta-1, 4-diynes with pendant methano[60]-fullerene moieties as precursors to C₆₀-substituted poly(triacetylenes) (PTAs, Fig. 1) and expanded radialenes (Fig. 2) is described. The Bingel reaction of diethyl (E)-2, 3-dialkynylbut-2-ene-1, 4-diyl bis(2-bromopropane-dioates) 5 and 6 with two C₆₀ molecules (Scheme 2) afforded the monomeric, silyl-protected PTA precursors 9 and 10 which, however, could not be effectively desilylated (Scheme 4). Also formed during the synthesis of 9 and 10 , as well as during the reaction of C₆₀ with thedesilylated analogue 16 (Scheme 5 ), were the macrocyclic products 11, 12 , and 17 , respectively, resulting from double Bingel addition to one C-sphere. Rigorous analysis revealed that this novel macrocyclization reaction proceeds with complete regio- and diastereoselectivity. The second approach to a suitable PTA monomer attempted N, N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide(DCC)-mediated esterification of (E)-2, 3-diethynylbut-2-ene-l, 4-diol ( 18 , Scheme 6) with mono-esterified methanofullerene-dicarboxylic acid 23 ; however, this synthesis yielded only the corresponding decarboxylated methanofullerene-carboxylic ester 27 (Scheme 7). To prevent decarboxylation, a spacer was inserted between the reacting carboxylic-acid moiety and the methane C-atom in carboxymethyl ethyl 1, 2-methano[60]fullerene-61, 61-dicarboxylate ( 28 , Scheme 8), and DCC-mediated esterification with diol 18 afforded PTA monomer 32 in good yield. The formation of a suitable monomeric precursor 38 to C₆₀-substituted expanded radialenes was achieved in 5 steps starting from dihydroxyacetone (Schemes 9 and 10), with the final step consisting of the DCC-mediated esterification of 28 with 2-[1-ethynyl(prop-2-ynylidene)]propane-1, 3-diol ( 33 ). The first mixed C₆₀-C₇₀ fullerene derivative 49 , consisting of two methano[60]fullerenes attached to a methano[70]fullerene, was also prepared and fully characterized (Scheme 13). The C_s-symmetrical hybrid compound was obtained by DCC-mediated esterification of bis[2-(2-hydroxy-ethoxy)ethyl] 1, 2-methano[70]fullerene-71, 71-dicarboxylate ( 46 ) with an excess of the C₆₀-carboxylic acid 28 . The presence of two different fullerenes in the same molecule was reflected by its UV/VIS spectrum, which displayed the characteristic absorption bands of both the C₇₀ and C₆₀ mono-adducts, but at the same time indicated no electronic interaction between the different fullerene moieties. Cyclic voltammetry showed two reversible reduction steps for 49 , and comparison with the corresponding C₇₀ and C₆₀ mono-adducts 46 and 30 indicated that the three fullerenes in the composite fullerene compound behave as independent redox centers.     

Variants of Solid-State and Solution Structures of (η3-Allyl)- {2-[2′-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]-4,5-dihydrooxazole-P,N}palladium(II) hexafluorophosphates and tetraphenylborates

Crystal and solution structures of the enantiomerically pure and the racemic pairs of (η³-allyl) {2-[2′-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]-4,5-dihydro-4-phenyloxazole}palladium(II) hexafluorophosphates ( 1 , and rac- 1 , resp.) and tetraphenylborates ( 2 , and rac- 2 , resp.) as well as (η³-allyl){2-[2′-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]-4,5-dihydro-4-isopropyloxazole}palladium(II) tetraphenylborate ( 3 ) were characterized by X-ray crystallography and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy. In the solid state, rac- 1 and rac- 2 proved to be disordered with both diastereoisomeric complexes in the crystal. The complexes 2 and 3 exist only in the ‘exo’ form. The X-ray structures show that the [Pd^II(η³-allyl)] moiety may adopt different configurations between a nearly symmetrical three-electron Pd^II(π³-allyl) system and an asymmetrical allyl group with a η¹- and a η²-bonding to the metal center. The [Pd^II(η³-allyl)] system of rac- 1 and of ‘endo’ rac- 2 is closer to the former, and that of 2 , ‘exo’-rac- 2 , and 3 closer to the later geometry. The ¹H-NMR spectra of the hexafluorophosphates 1 and rac- 1 show two sets of signals of the allylic protons in an ‘exo’/‘endo’ ratio of 2:3. The tetraphenylborates 2, rac- 2 , and 3 give only one set of broad signals of the allylic protons.     

Photoreduction of Triplet Benzophenone by Tertiary Amines: Amine molecular structure and ketyl radical yield

The photoreduction of triplet benzophenone by 14 tertiary amines was investigated. The ketyl radical yields do not correlate with the quenching rate constants, nor with the electron donor propensity of the amines. Individual structural features of the amines seem to determine the photoreduction yields.     

Nanopatterns of molecular spoked wheels as giant homologues of benzene tricarboxylic acids

Molecular spoked wheels with D_3h and C_s symmetry are synthesized by Vollhardt trimerization of C_2v-symmetric dumbbell structures with central acetylene units and subsequent intramolecular ring closure. Scanning tunneling microscopy of the D_3h-symmetric species at the solid/liquid interface on graphite reveals triporous chiral honeycomb nanopatterns in which the alkoxy side chains dominate the packing over the carboxylic acid groups, which remain unpaired. In contrast, C_s-symmetric isomers partially allow for pairing of the carboxylic acids, which therefore act as a probe for the reduced alkoxy chain nanopattern stabilization. This observation also reflects the adsorbate substrate symmetry mismatch, which leads to an increase of nanopattern complexity and unexpected templating of alkoxy side chains along the graphite armchair directions. State-of-the-art GFN-FF calculations confirm the overall structure of this packing and attribute the unusual side-chain orientation to a steric constraint in a confined environment. These calculations go far beyond conventional simple space-filling models and are therefore particularly suitable for this special case of molecular packing.

Scanning tunneling microscopy investigations of phenylene-based molecular spoked wheels with D_3h and C_s symmetries on graphite show the competitive or complementary effects of carboxylic acid groups and alkoxy chains on the nanopattern formation.     

Stability of a fluid-fluid interface in a biconical pore segment

Pore networks that include biconical pore segments are frequently used to model two-phase flow. In this work, we describe in detail the displacement of a fluid-fluid interface in such a pore segment. We assume sharp edges in the throat, inlet, and outlet of the pore segment to be the limiting cases of round edges, the radii of which vanish. We account for interfacial and lineal tensions that cause nonconstant contact angles. For zero lineal tension, we provide analytical solutions for flow induced by changing infinitesimally slowly either capillary pressure or the volume of one fluid. In diverging and converging cones, the common line among the two fluids and the solid phase slides while it is pinned in the throat, inlet, and outlet. We observe hysteresis within the pore segment, and drainage entry pressures deviate from prior work.     

Synthesis of cyclopentane amide DNA (cpa-DNA) and its pairing properties

We recently reported on the synthesis and pairing properties of the DNA analogue bicyclo[3.2.1]amide DNA (bca-DNA). In this analogue the nucleobases are attached via a linear, 4-bond amide-linker to a structurally preorganized sugar-phosphate backbone unit. To define the importance of the degree of structural rigidity of the bca-backbone unit on the pairing properties, we designed the structurally simpler cyclopentane amide DNA (cpa-DNA), in which the bicyclo[3.2.1]-scaffold was reduced to a cyclopentane unit while the base-linker was left unchanged. Here we present a synthetic route to the enantiomerically pure cpa-DNA monomers and the corresponding phosphoramidites containing the bases A and T, starting from a known, achiral precursor in 9 and 12 steps, respectively. Fully modified oligodeoxynucleotides were synthesized by standard solid-phase oligonucleotide chemistry, and their base-pairing properties with complementary oligonucleotides of the DNA-, RNA-, bca-DNA-, and cpa-DNA-backbones were assessed by UV melting curves and CD-spectroscopic methods. We found that cpa-oligoadenylates form duplexes with complementary DNA that are less stable by -2.7 degrees C/mod. compared to DNA. The corresponding cpa-oligothymidylates do not participate in complementary base-pairing with any of the investigated backbone systems except with its own (homo-duplex). As its congener bca-DNA, cpa-DNA seems to prefer left-handed helical duplex structures with DNA or with itself as indicated by the CD spectra.