Fifty Years of Inorganic Biomimetic Chemistry: From the Complexation of Single Metal Cations to Polynuclear Metal Complexes by Multidentate Thiolate Ligands

This article covers 50 years of coordination chemistry of transition metal complexes and metal-sulfur aggregates involving thiolate-incorporating ligands by reviewing selected examples. The studies in the coordination chemistry of sulfur-rich ligands have been undoubtedly triggered and fed by the concomitant development of bioinorganic chemistry, particularly of iron-sulfur enzymes. The review is broken down in five sections, which examine complexes of increasing nuclearity, including binuclear complexes based on compartmental macrocyclic ligands. We show also how ligand engineering has allowed the researchers in the field to control the nuclearity of the complexes, which was a particularly difficult task for sulfur-based ligands, as thiolates show a strong tendency to coordinate to more than one metal cation at once.     

Structural Diversity in the Self‐Assembly of Pseudopeptidic Macrocycles

The self‐assembling abilities of several pseudopeptidic macrocycles have been thoroughly studied both in the solid (SEM, TEM, FTIR) and in solution (NMR, UV, CD, FTIR) states. Detailed microscopy revealed large differences in the morphology of the self‐assembling micro/nanostructures depending on the macrocyclic chemical structures. Self‐assembly was triggered by the presence of additional methylene groups or by changing from para to meta geometry of the aromatic phenylene backbone moiety. More interestingly, the nature of the side chain also plays a fundamental role in some of the obtained nanostructures, thus producing structures from long fibers to hollow spheres. These nanostructures were obtained in different solvents and on different surfaces, thus implying that the chemical information for the self‐assembly is contained in the molecular structure. Dilution NMR studies (chemical shift and self‐diffusion rates) suggest the formation of incipient aggregates in solution by a combination of hydrogen‐bonding and π–π interactions, thus implicating amide and aryl groups, respectively. Electronic spectroscopy further supports the π–π interactions because the compounds that lead to fibers show large hypochromic shifts in the UV spectra. Moreover, the fiber‐forming macrocycles also showed a more intense CD signature. The hydrogen‐bonding interactions within the nanostructures were also characterized by attenuated total‐reflectance FTIR spectroscopy, which allowed us to monitor the complete transition from the solution to the dried nanostructure. Overall, we concluded that the self‐assembly of this family of pseudopeptidic macrocycles is dictated by a synergic action of hydrogen‐bonding and π–π interactions. The feasibility and geometrical disposition of these interactions finally render a hierarchical organization, which has been rationalized with a proposal of a model. The understanding of the process at the molecular level has allowed us to prepare hybrid soft materials.     

Prins-type macrocyclizations as an efficient ring-closing strategy in natural product synthesis

Prins-type macrocyclizations have recently emerged as a successful strategy in the synthesis of polyketide-derived natural products. This reaction provides a concise and selective means to form tetrahydropyran-containing macrocyclic rings of varying size. A high degree of functionality within the macrocycle is tolerated and the yields for these transformations are typically good to excellent. Since the initial report of a Prins macrocyclization reaction in 1979, examples of this approach did not re-emerge until 2008. However, the use of this method in natural product synthesis has rapidly gained momentum in the synthetic community, with multiple examples of this macrocyclization tactic reported in the recent literature.     

Formation of Metal‐Assisted Stable Double Helices in Dimers of Cyclic Bis‐Tetrapyrroles that Exhibit Spring‐Like Motion

Bidipyrrin‐bridged macrocycles, prepared from Ni^II‐bridged dipyrrin‐based nanorings by intramolecular oxidative biaryl coupling reactions, yielded [2+4]‐type Zn^II‐assisted stable twisted‐ring dimers comprising two double helices. These [2+4]‐type metal complexes can be optically resolved by chiral HPLC and exhibit tunable electronic and optical properties as a result of spring‐like motions. The double helices behave as glue to connect two macrocycles and as the screws of hinges to form thermally responsive synchronized spring systems.     

Efficient access to new chemical space through flow--construction of druglike macrocycles through copper-surface-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions

A series of 12‐ to 22‐membered macrocycles, with druglike functionality and properties, have been generated by using a simple and efficient copper‐catalyzed azide–acetylene cycloaddition reaction, conducted in flow in high‐temperature copper tubing, under environmentally friendly conditions. The triazole‐containing macrocycles have been generated in up to 90 % yield in a 5 min reaction, without resorting to the high‐dilution conditions typical of macrocyclization reactions. This approach represents a very efficient method for constructing this important class of molecules, in terms of yield, concentration, and environmental considerations.     

The Effect of the Equatorial Environment on Oxo‐Group Silylation of the Uranyl Dication: A Computational Study

A theoretical investigation of the reductive oxo‐group silylation reaction of the uranyl dication held in a Pacman macrocylic environment has been carried out. The effect of the modeling of the Pacman ligand on the reaction profiles is found to be important, with the dipotassiation of a single oxo group identified as a key component in promoting the reaction between the Si? X and uranium–oxo bonds. This reductive silylation reaction is also proposed to occur in an aqueous environment but was found not to operate on bare ions; in this latter case, substitution of a ligand in the equatorial plane was the most likely reaction. These results demonstrate the importance of the presence but not the identity of the equatorial ligands upon the silylation of the uranyl U? O bond.     

Oligomerization of 1,2‐Ethanedithiol: An Expedient Approach to Oligothiaethylenethioglycols

Reactions of ethylenedithioglycol (ETG) with Na₂CO₃, K₂CO₃, and Cs₂CO₃ provided the oligothiaethylenethioglycols (nETG): di‐ (DETG), tri‐ (TrETG), tetra‐ (TETG), and pentathiaethylenethioglycol (PETG), along with higher polymers. The most efficient carbonate was K₂CO₃ and reactions using DETG and TrETG as starting materials—or their mixtures—were also found to afford similar species. This largely unknown oligomerization process was thoroughly explored and potential pathways were put forward. A convenient conversion of ETG to laboratory quantities of the otherwise scarce and/or expensive DETG, TrETG, TETG, and PETG oligomers, in organic or aqueous media was achieved. Notably, this straightforward reaction takes place without the addition of expensive or toxic metal catalysts and with pure water as the solvent, thereby highlighting its potential as a green chemical reaction. Moreover, the process opens up new approaches to dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs) of oligomers and macrocycles with manifolded nETG [(SCH₂CH₂)_nS] bridges.     

In Pursuit of a Competitive Target: Total Synthesis of the Antibiotic Kendomycin

Kendomycin is a novel polyketide having a unique quinone methide ansa structure and an impressive biological profile. Herein we provide a chronological overview of the synthetic work towards the title compound. Thus far, over a period of about eight years, eight groups worldwide have published on their synthetic efforts resulting in five total syntheses, one formal synthesis, and a number of fragment syntheses. Most approaches roughly mimic the biogenetic pathway, starting with an aromatic polyphenol subunit to which a polyketide chain is attached. Subsequent key steps include macrocyclization and the formation of the densely substituted tetrahydropyran ring, and then a late‐stage oxidation and lactol formation.