A One-Pot, High-Yield Synthesis of a Paramagnetic Nickel Square from Divergent Precursors by Anion Template Assembly

A paramagnetic Ni-containing molecular square has been synthesized in high yield from divergent precursors. An X-ray structure (shown in the picture) reveals the presence of an encapsulated tetrafluoroborate anion, which appears to be a requisite condition for the formation of the cyclic oligomer.     

CLIP: similarity searching of 3D databases using clique detection

This paper describes a program for 3D similarity searching, called CLIP (for Candidate Ligand Identification Program), that uses the Bron-Kerbosch clique detection algorithm to find those structures in a file that have large structures in common with a target structure. Structures are characterized by the geometric arrangement of pharmacophore points and the similarity between two structures calculated using modifications of the Simpson and Tanimoto association coefficients. This modification takes into account the fact that a distance tolerance is required to ensure that pairs of interatomic distances can be regarded as equivalent during the clique-construction stage of the matching algorithm. Experiments with HIV assay data demonstrate the effectiveness and the efficiency of this approach to virtual screening.     

Structural,magnetic, and optoelectronic properties of (diimine)(dithiolato)platinum(II) and -palladium(II) complexes and their charge-transfer adducts with nitrile acceptors

Two new diimine dithiolato complexes, (dbbpy)Pt(dmid), 1, and (dbbpy)Pd(dmid), 2, were prepared and characterized (dbbpy = 4,4'-di-tert-butyl-2,2'-bipyridine; dmid = 2-oxo-1,3-dithiole-4,5-dithiolate). Both complexes interact with the nitrile acceptor TCNQ, and 1 also interacts with TCNQF(4) and TCNE (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane; TCNQF(4) = 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane; TCNE = tetracyanoethylene) to form supramolecular 2:1 charge-transfer solids that stack in the manner -DDADDADDA- (D = electron donor; A = electron acceptor). All compounds have been fully characterized by magnetic, spectroscopic, electrochemical, and single-crystal X-ray crystallographic analyses. Magnetic susceptibility studies of the charge-transfer compounds revealed that the platinum-based complexes exhibit temperature-independent paramagnetism of approximately 10(-3) emu/mol. The donor complexes exhibit continuous absorption bands across the UV/visible and into the NIR region. Upon interaction with the nitrile acceptors, the extinction coefficients of the absorption bands increase and the energies of some d-d transitions in the NIR region change. The donor-acceptor compounds possess desired spectral features for solar cell dyes, but low conversion efficiencies resulted when a representative compound was tested in a TiO(2) solar cell. The results, however, serve to illustrate that the donor-acceptor interactions persist in solution and the adsorption of the dye molecules to the semiconductor surface occurs in the absence of typical anchoring groups. Evaluation of the spectral and electrochemical data for the title compounds and the results of the preliminary solar cell study serve as guides for future research in choosing promising candidates for efficient solar cell dyes.     

Metal-metal bonded diruthenium(II, III) assemblies with the polycyano anionic linkers N(CN)2-, C(CN)3-, and 1,4-dicyanamido-2,5-dimethylbenzene (DM-dicyd2-): syntheses, structures, and magnetic properties

The new metal-metal bonded diruthenium(II,III) compounds [Ru2(O2CCH3)4(mu-L)]infinity (L = N(CN)2-, 1; C(CN)3-, 2) and [[Ru2(O2CCH3)2(mhp)2]2(mu-DM-Dicyd)] (3) (mhp = 2-oxy-6-methylpyridinate, DM-Dicyd = 1,4-dicyanamido-2,5-dimethylbenzene dianion) have been synthesized and fully characterized. Compounds 1 and 2 were synthesized by the reaction of [Ru2(O2CCH3)4(NCCH3)2](BF4) with NaN(CN)2 and KC(CN)3, respectively. The "dimer-of-dimers", 3, was synthesized by a 2:1 reaction of [Ru2(O2CCH3)2(mhp)2(MeOH)](BF4) with [As(Ph)4]2[DM-Dicyd]. Compound 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m with a = 10.174(2) A, b = 13.016(3) A, c = 7.0750(14) A, beta = 101.83(3) degrees, and Z = 2. Compound 2 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Fdd2 with a = 29.679(6) A, b = 31.409(6) A, c = 7.3660(15) A, V = 6866(2) A3, and Z = 16. In compound 1, dicyanamide anions (N(CN)2-) bridge the [Ru2(O2CCH3)4]+ units in an end-to-end bridging mode, thereby forming an alternating one-dimensional chain. In compound 2, two cyano groups of tricyanomethanide anion (C(CN)3-) are coordinated to independent [Ru2(O2CCH3)4]+ units to give a chain similar to that found in 1. The Ru-Ru bond distances in 1 and 2 are 2.2788(14) and 2.2756(5) A, respectively, which are typical values for Ru2(O2CR)4Cl and [Ru2(O2CR)4]+ compounds. The Ru-N distances are 2.257(8) A in 1 and 2.259(4) and 2.283(4) A in 2. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibilities of compounds 1-3 reveals a weak antiferromagnetic interaction between Ru2 units (S = 3/2) through each polycyano anionic linker: g = 2.16, zJ = -0.33 cm(-1), D = 63.3 cm(-1) for 1; g = 2.15, zJ = -0.22 cm(-1), D = 58.0 cm(-1) for 2; and g = 2.10, zJ = -0.90 cm(-1), D = 75.0 cm(-1) for 3.     

Amyloid binding and beyond: a new approach for Alzheimer's disease drug discovery targeting Aβo–PrPC binding and downstream pathways

Amyloid β oligomers (Aβo) are the main toxic species in Alzheimer''s disease, which have been targeted for single drug treatment with very little success. In this work we report a new approach for identifying functional Aβo binding compounds. A tailored library of 971 fluorine containing compounds was selected by a computational method, developed to generate molecular diversity. These compounds were screened for Aβo binding by a combined ¹⁹F and STD NMR technique. Six hits were evaluated in three parallel biochemical and functional assays. Two compounds disrupted Aβo binding to its receptor PrP^C in HEK293 cells. They reduced the pFyn levels triggered by Aβo treatment in neuroprogenitor cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). Inhibitory effects on pTau production in cortical neurons derived from hiPSC were also observed. These drug-like compounds connect three of the pillars in Alzheimer''s disease pathology, i.e. prion, Aβ and Tau, affecting three different pathways through specific binding to Aβo and are, indeed, promising candidates for further development.

A new approach combining virtual screening, ¹⁹F and STD NMR, and biochemical assays using hiPSC and targetting multiple pathways involving Aβ, PrP^C and Tau provides a more effective strategy for Alzheimer''s disease drug discovery than Aβ only approach.     

The step-wise assembly of an undecanuclear heterotrimetallic cyanide cluster

The step-wise assembly of the high nuclearity cluster, {[Ni(II)(H2O)5]6[Co(III)(tmphen)2]3[Fe(II)(CN)6]2}13+, is achieved by treating {[Co(tmphen)2]3[Fe(CN)6]2} with six equivalents of Ni(ClO4)2 in aqueous MeOH.