Die Cambridge Structural Database: Rückblick und Vorausschau

Minimum Information Standards in Chemistry: A Call for Better Research Data Management Practices

Research data management (RDM) is needed to assist experimental advances and data collection in the chemical sciences. Many funders require RDM because experiments are often paid for by taxpayers and the resulting data should be deposited sustainably for posterity. However, paper notebooks are still common in laboratories and research data is often stored in proprietary and/or dead-end file formats without experimental context. Data must mature beyond a mere supplement to a research paper. Electronic lab notebooks (ELN) and laboratory information management systems (LIMS) allow researchers to manage data better and they simplify research and publication. Thus, an agreement is needed on minimum information standards for data handling to support structured approaches to data reporting. As digitalization becomes part of curricular teaching, future generations of digital native chemists will embrace RDM and ELN as an organic part of their research.

Spectroscopic and Crystallographic Characterization of the R3 N+ -C-H⋅⋅⋅X Interaction

As appreciation for nonclassical hydrogen bonds has progressively increased, so have efforts to characterize these interesting interactions. Whereas several kinds of C-H hydrogen bonds have been well-studied, much less is known about the R₃ N⁺ -C-H⋅⋅⋅X variety. Herein, we present crystallographic and spectroscopic evidence for the existence of these interactions, with special relevance to Selectfluor chemistry. Of particular note is the propensity for Lewis bases to engage in nonclassical hydrogen bonding over halogen bonding with the electrophilic F atom of Selectfluor. Further, the first examples of ¹ H NMR experiments detailing R₃ N⁺ -C-H⋅⋅⋅X (X=O, N) hydrogen bonds are described.

The Supramolecular Structural Chemistry of Pentafluorosulfanyl and Tetrafluorosulfanylene Compounds

The analysis of crystal structures of SF5 - or SF4 -containing molecules revealed that these groups are often surrounded by hydrogen or other fluorine atoms. Even though fluorine prefers F⋅⋅⋅H over F⋅⋅⋅F contacts, the latter appeared to be important in many compounds. In a significant number of datasets, the closest F⋅⋅⋅F contacts are below 95 % of the van der Waals distance of two F atoms. Moreover, a number of repeating structural motifs formed by contacts between SF5 groups was identified, including different supramolecular dimers and infinite chains. Among SF4 -containing molecules, the study focused on SF4 Cl compounds, including the first solid-state structure analyses of these reactive species. Additionally, electrostatic potential surfaces of a series of Ph-SF5 derivatives were calculated, pointing out the substituent influence on the ability of F⋅⋅⋅X contact formation (X=F or other electronegative atom). Interaction energies were calculated for different dimeric arrangements of Ph-SF5 , which were extracted from experimental crystal structure determinations.

Hydrogen Peroxide Insular Dodecameric and Pentameric Clusters in Peroxosolvate Structures

Peroxosolvates of 2-aminonicotinic acid (I) and lidocaine N-oxide (II) including the largest insular hydrogen peroxide clusters were isolated and their crystal structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. An unprecedented dodecameric hydrogen peroxide insular cluster was found in I. An unusual cross-like pentameric cluster was observed in the structure of II. The topology of the (H₂ O₂ )₁₂ assembly was never observed for small-molecule clusters. In I and II new double and triple cross-orientational disorders of H₂ O₂ were found. Cluster II is the first example of a peroxosolvate crystal structure containing H₂ O₂ molecules with a homoleptic hydrogen peroxide environment. In II, a hydrogen bond between an H₂ O₂ molecule and a peptide group -CONH⋅⋅⋅O₂ H₂ was observed for the first time.

Synthesis, structure, and first reactions of a new class of thiacyclophanes

In our effort to prepare [m.n]cyclophanes carrying functional groups in their molecular bridges, the thiacyclophanes 14, 19, 20, and 21 have been prepared by simple routes from the pseudo-gem dibromide 10a and the corresponding bis-thiol 10b. The triply-bridged bis-thia-cyclophanes 14, and 19-21 were characterized by their spectroscopic data as well as by X-ray structural analyses. The meta-isomer 20 was oxidized to the bis-sulfone 23, which on flash vacuum pyrolysis (FVP) yielded a product mixture presumably containing the hydrocarbon 26 with a cleaved molecular bridge. Subjecting 23 to Ramberg-Bäcklund conditions (CCl4, NaOH, phase transfer catalysis) provided the chloride 24 in poor yield (9%), a [2.2]paracyclophane in which the new molecular bridge is fully conjugated.

Metal NHC Complexes with Naphthalimide Ligands as DNA-Interacting Antiproliferative Agents

Naphthalimide-based N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes of the type [(1,5-cyclooctadiene)(NHC)RhCl)] (4 a-c), [(p-cymene)(NHC)RuCl₂ )] (5 a-c), and [(NHC)CuBr] (6 a-c) were synthesized and investigated as antiproliferative agents that target DNA. The cytotoxic effects were largely driven by the naphthalimide structure, which is a DNA-intercalating moiety. Regarding the metal center, the highest activities were observed with the rhodium complexes, and cytotoxic activity was significantly lower for the ruthenium derivatives. The stable coordination of the NHC ligands of selected complexes 4 b and 5 b in solution was confirmed, and their DNA binding properties were studied by UV/Vis spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and circular dichroism. Stable intercalative binding into the DNA for all selected naphthalimide-based complexes is indicated by high DNA binding constants. Particularly efficient binding was observed in the case of the rhodium complex 4 b. More detailed biological studies on 4 b showed promising activities against multidrug-resistant Nalm-6 cells and confirmed an important role for mitochondrial pathways in 4 b-induced apoptosis.