Arene Ruthenium Cages: Boxes Full of Surprises

Self-assembled palladium(II) "click" cages: synthesis, structural modification and stability

Readily synthesised and functionalised di-1,2,3-triazole "click" ligands are shown to self-assemble into coordinatively saturated, quadruply stranded helical [Pd(2)L(4)](BF(4))(4) cages with Pd(II) ions. The cages have been fully characterised by elemental analysis, HR-ESMS, IR, (1)H, (13)C and DOSY NMR, DFT calculations, and in one case by X-ray crystallography. By exploiting the CuAAC "click" reaction we were able to rapidly generate a small family of di-1,2,3-triazole ligands with different core spacer units and peripheral substituents and examine how these structural modifications affected the formation of the [Pd(2)L(4)](BF(4))(4) cages. The use of both flexible (1,3-propyl) and rigid (1,3-phenyl) core spacer units led to the formation of discrete [Pd(2)L(4)](BF(4))(4) cage complexes. However, when the spacer unit of the di-1,2,3-triazole ligand was a 1,4-substituted-phenyl group steric interactions led to the formation of an oligomeric/polymeric species. By keeping the 1,3-phenyl core spacer constant the effect of altering the "click" ligands' peripheral substituents was also examined. It was shown that ligands with alkyl, phenyl, electron-rich and electron-poor benzyl substituents all quantitatively formed [Pd(2)L(4)](BF(4))(4) cage complexes. The results suggest that a wide range of functionalised palladium(II) "click" cages could be rapidly generated. These novel molecules may potentially find uses in catalysis, molecular recognition and drug delivery.

Self-assembled arene-ruthenium-based rectangles for the selective sensing of multi-carboxylate anions

Novel arene-ruthenium [2+2] metalla-rectangles 4 and 5 have been synthesized by self-assembly using dipyridyl amide ligand 3 and arene-ruthenium acceptors (arene: benzoquinone (1), naphthacenedione (2)) and characterized by NMR spectroscopy and ESI-MS. The solid-state structure of 5 was determined by X-ray diffraction and shows encapsulated diethyl ether molecule in the rectangular cavity of 5. The luminescent 5 was further used for anion sensing with the amidic linkage serving as a hydrogen-bond donor site for anions and the ruthenium moiety serving as a signaling unit. A UV/Vis titration study demonstrated that although 5 interacts very weakly with common monoanions as well as with flexible dicarboxylate anions such as malonate and succinate, it displays significant binding affinity (K>10(3) in MeOH) for rigid multi-carboxylate anions such as oxalate, citrate, and tartrate, exhibiting a 1:1 stoichiometry. It has been suggested that 1:1 bidentate hydrogen bonding assisted by appropriate geometrical complementarity is mainly responsible for the increased affinity of 5 towards such anions. A fluorescence titration study revealed a large fluorescence enhancement of 5 upon binding to multi-carboxylate anions, which can be attributed to the blocking of the photoinduced electron-transfer process from the arene-Ru moiety to the amidic donor in 5 as a result of hydrogen bonding between the donor and the anion.

Coordination-driven self-assembly of M3L2 trigonal cages from preorganized metalloligands incorporating octahedral metal centers and fluorescent detection of nitroaromatics

The design and preparation of novel M(3)L(2) trigonal cages via the coordination-driven self-assembly of preorganized metalloligands containing octahedral aluminum(III), gallium(III), or ruthenium(II) centers is described. When tritopic or dinuclear linear metalloligands and appropriate complementary subunits are employed, M(3)L(2) trigonal-bipyramidal and trigonal-prismatic cages are self-assembled under mild conditions. These three-dimensional cages were characterized with multinuclear NMR spectroscopy ((1)H and (31)P) and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The structure of one such trigonal-prismatic cage, self-assembled from an arene ruthenium metalloligand, was confirmed via single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The fluorescent nature of these prisms, due to the presence of their electron-rich ethynyl functionalities, prompted photophysical studies, which revealed that electron-deficient nitroaromatics are effective quenchers of the cages' emission. Excited-state charge transfer from the prisms to the nitroaromatic substrates can be used as the basis for the development of selective and discriminatory turn-off fluorescent sensors for nitroaromatics.

Ruthenium-oxygen coordination-driven self-assembly of a Ru(II)8 incomplete prism: synthesis, structure, and shape-selective molecular recognition study

Coordination-driven self-assembly of 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate (tma; 1) and oxalato-bridged p-cymeneruthenium(II) building block [Ru(2)(μ-η(4)-C(2)O(4))(MeOH)(2)(η(6)-p-cymene)(2)](O(3)SCF(3))(2) (2) affords an unusual octanuclear incomplete prism [Ru(8)(η(6)-p-cymene)(8)(tma)(2)(μ-η(4)-C(2)O(4))(2)(OMe)(4)](O(3)SCF(3))(2) (3), which exhibits a remarkable shape-selective binding affinity for neutral phenolic compounds via hydrogen-bonding interactions (p-cymene = p-(i)PrC(6)H(4)Me). Such a binding was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis using 1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene as an analyte.

Drug delivery of lipophilic pyrenyl derivatives by encapsulation in a water soluble metalla-cage

The self-assembly of 2,4,6-tris(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,5-triazine (tpt) triangular panels with p-cymene (p-Pr(i)C(6)H(4)Me) ruthenium building blocks and 2,5-dioxydo-1,4-benzoquinonato (dobq) bridges, in the presence of a functionalised pyrenyl derivative (pyrene-R), affords the triangular prismatic host-guest compounds [(pyrene-R) [symbol: see text] Ru(6)(p-Pr(i)C(6)H(4)Me)(6)(tpt)(2)(dobq)(3)](6+) ([(pyrene-R) [symbol: see text] 1](6+)). The inclusion of eight mono-substituted pyrenyl derivatives including biologically relevant structures (a = 1-pyrenebutyric acid, b = 1-pyrenebutanol, c = 1-pyrenemethylamine, d = 1-pyrenemethylbutanoate, e = 1-(4,6-dichloro-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)pyrene, f = N-hexadecylpyrene-1-sulfonamide, g = pyrenyl ethacrynic amide and h = 2-(pyren-1-ylmethylcarbamoyl) phenyl acetate), and a di-substituted pyrenyl derivative (i = 1,8-bis(3-methyl-butyn-1-yl-3-ol)pyrene), has been accomplished. The carceplex nature of these systems with the pyrenyl moiety being firmly encapsulated in the hydrophobic cavity of the cage with the functional groups pointing outwards was confirmed by NMR ((1)H, 2D, DOSY) spectroscopy and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The cytotoxicities of these water-soluble compounds have been established using human ovarian A2780 cancer cells. All the host-guest systems are more cytotoxic than the empty cage itself [1][CF(3)SO(3)](6) (IC(50) = 23 microM), the most active carceplex [f [symbol: see text] 1][CF(3)SO(3)](6) is an order of magnitude more cytotoxic.

The impact of ion pair association upon the 1H NMR spectra of cationic complexes akin to Grubbs catalysts

A reconsideration of the (1)H NMR spectra of cationic transition metal complexes exhibiting the features of cyclophanes on the basis of Mislow's classification of topic groups arrives at the conclusion that the spectral changes triggered by chiral counterions reflect an intracationic diastereotopication of enantiotopic protons rather than the existence of pairs of long-lived diastereomeric ion pairs.

A multicomponent CuAAC "click" approach to a library of hybrid polydentate 2-pyridyl-1,2,3-triazole ligands: new building blocks for the generation of metallosupramolecular architectures

A one pot, multicomponent CuAAC reaction has been exploited for the safe generation of alkyl, benzyl or aryl linked polydentate pyridyl-1,2,3-triazole ligands from their corresponding halides, sodium azide and alkynes in excellent yields. The ligands have been fully characterised by elemental analysis, HR-ESMS, IR, (1)H and (13)C NMR and in two cases the structures were confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Additionally, we have examined the Ag(I) coordination chemistry of these ligands and found, using HR-ESMS, (1)H NMR, and X-ray crystallography, that both discrete and polymeric metallosupramolecular architectures can be formed.