Intramolecular equilibria in metal ion complexes of artificial nucleotide analogues with antiviral properties. A case study

Extent of Intramolecular Aromatic-Ring Stacking in Ternary Cu(2+) Complexes Formed by 2,2'-Bipyridyl or 1,10-Phenanthroline and Flavin Mononucleotide (FMN(2)(-))(1)(,)(2)

The stability constants of the 1:1 complexes formed between Cu(Arm)(2+), where Arm = 2,2'-bipyridyl or 1,10-phenanthroline, and flavin mononucleotide (= FMN(2)(-) = riboflavin 5'-phosphate) were determined by potentiometric pH titrations in aqueous solution at 25 degrees C and I = 0.1 M (NaNO(3)). The experimental conditions were carefully selected such that only the monomeric complex species formed. On the basis of previously established log K versus pK(a) straight-line plots (Chen, D.; et al. J. Chem. Soc., Dalton Trans. 1993, 1537-1546) for the corresponding ternary complexes of simple phosphate monoesters and phosphonate derivatives, R-PO(3)(2)(-), where R is a noncoordinating residue, it is shown that the stability of the ternary Cu(Bpy)(FMN) and Cu(Phen)(FMN) complexes is considerably higher than is expected on the basis of the basicity of the phosphate group of FMN(2)(-). By comparison with the stability of the ternary Cu(Arm)(G1P) complexes, where G1P = glycerol 1-phosphate, which had previously been studied (Liang, G.; et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc.1992, 114, 7780-7785) and in which the coordination sphere of Cu(2+) is identical with the one in Cu(Arm)(FMN), it can unequivocally be shown that the mentioned enhanced stability of the Cu(Arm)(FMN) complexes is solely due to the formation of intramolecular stacks; their formation degree reaches for Cu(Bpy)(FMN) and Cu(Phen)(FMN) about 80 and 90%, respectively. These, as well as recent results regarding the self-stacking of FMN(2)(-) (Bastian, M.; Sigel, H. Biophys. Chem. in press) show that the flavin moiety is ideally suited for stacking and charge-transfer interactions, which are so important for the flavin coenzymes in nature.