Chiral Self-Sorting, Spontaneous Resolution, and Hierarchical Self-Assembly in Metal-Organic Cages

The ability to collectively program chiral recognition and the hierarchical self-assembly of molecular and supramolecular building blocks into complex higher-order superstructures is a significant goal in supramolecular chemistry. Metal-organic cages are excellent model systems to examine chiral self-sorting and build hierarchical self-assembly. Herein, details on how limiting the conformational flexibility and incorporating hydrogen bonding functional groups in the ligands can influence chiral self-sorting and hierarchical self-assembly of metal-organic cages are reported. The urea-functionalized axially chiral bis-pyridyl ligands afford high-fidelity in chiral self-sorting in Pd2L4 cages, when they have fewer conformations. Ligand L1, with more conformations, affords mixture of heterochiral and homochiral cages (≈70:30). Among them, the heterochiral cage adopts unusual twisted conformation and self-assembles into 2D sheets, linked by anion coordination between urea and nitrate. Ligand L2, with fewer conformations, affords homochiral cages via high-fidelity chiral self-sorting. The choice of counter anions influences further self-sorting in the solid state: racemate with PF6 - and spontaneously resolves conglomerate with BF4 -. Urea-BF4 hydrogen bonding directs hierarchical self-assembly of the Pd2L4 metal-organic cages into super-cubic networks. The study introduces a new approach in hierarchical self-assembly of metal-organic cages into higher-order networks aided by hydrogen bonding anion coordination with functional ligands.

Steric and Geometrical Frustration Generate Two Higher-Order CuI12L8 Assemblies from a Triaminotriptycene Subcomponent

The use of copper(I) in metal-organic assemblies leads readily to the formation of simple grids and helicates, whereas higher-order structures require complex ligand designs. Here, we report the clean and selective syntheses of two complex and structurally distinct CuI12L8 frameworks, 1 and 2, which assemble from the same simple triaminotriptycene subcomponent and a formylpyridine around the CuI templates. Both represent new structure types. In T-symmetric 1, the copper(I) centers describe a pair of octahedra with a common center but whose vertices are offset from each other, whereas in D3-symmetric 2, the metal ions form a distorted hexagonal prism. The syntheses of these architectures illustrate how more intricate CuI-based complexes can be prepared via subcomponent self-assembly than has been possible to date through consideration of the interplay between the subcomponent geometry and solvent and electronic effects.

Dynamic Stereochemistry of M8 Pd6 Supramolecular Cages Based on Metal-Center Lability for Differential Chiral Induction, Resolution, and Recognition

A series of isostructural supramolecular cages with a rhombic dodecahedron shape have been assembled with distinct metal-coordination lability (M8 Pd6 -MOC-16, M=Ru2+ , Fe2+ , Ni2+ , Zn2+ ). The chirality transfer between metal centers generally imposes homochirality on individual cages to enable solvent-dependent spontaneous resolution of Δ8 /Λ8 -M8 Pd6 enantiomers; however, their distinguishable stereochemical dynamics manifests differential chiral phenomena governed by the cage stability following the order Ru8 Pd6 >Ni8 Pd6 >Fe8 Pd6 >Zn8 Pd6 . The highly labile Zn centers endow the Zn8 Pd6 cage with conformational flexibility and deformation, enabling intrigue chiral-Δ8 /Λ8 -Zn8 Pd6 to meso-Δ4 Λ4 -Zn8 Pd6 transition induced by anions. The cage stabilization effect differs from inert Ru2+ , metastable Fe2+ /Ni2+ , and labile Zn2+ , resulting in different chiral-guest induction. Strikingly, solvent-mediated host-guest interactions have been revealed for Δ8 /Λ8 -(Ru/Ni/Fe)8 Pd6 cages to discriminate the chiral recognition of the guests with opposite chirality. These results demonstrate a versatile procedure to control the stereochemistry of metal-organic cages based on the dynamic metal centers, thus providing guidance to maneuver cage chirality at a supramolecular level by virtue of the solvent, anion, and guest to benefit practical applications.

Spontaneous Resolution of Chiral Janus-Type Double-Layered Metallocyclic Strips Incorporating Möbius Ring and Circular Helicate

Homochiral metal-organic macrocyclic complexes are of great significance owing to their chirality and well-defined internal cavities that potentially have the ability to mimic complicated biological processes. Here we report a novel metal/anion-coordination co-driven strategy for the formation of nanoscale supramolecular metallocycles with unique topology, large size, and desired chirality. The enantiomeric Janus-type metallocyclic strips are assembled based on the synergistic coordination of sulfate anions and CoII ions to a bifunctional achiral ligand combining the o-phenylene-(bis)urea anion-chelating and 8-hydroxyquinoline metal-coordinating sites. The inherent chirality arises from two types of helical chiralities (triply twisted Möbius ring and circular helicate), which is observed for the first time for metal-organic complex systems. Notably, spontaneous chiral resolution by conglomerate crystallization into a pair of enantiomers (P- or M-Co9) is realized, which is attributed to the multiple weak intermolecular interactions facilitating the hierarchically helical superstructure.

Piano-stool ruthenium(II) complexes with maleimide and phosphine or phosphite ligands: synthesis and activity against normal and cancer cells

In these studies, we designed and investigated cyto- and genotoxic potential of five ruthenium cyclopentadienyl complexes bearing different phosphine and phosphite ligands. All of the complexes were characterized with spectroscopic analysis (NMR, FT-IR, ESI-MS, UV-vis, fluorescence and XRD (for two compounds)). For biological studies, we used three types of cells - normal peripheral blood mononuclear (PBM) cells, leukemic HL-60 cells and doxorubicin-resistance HL-60 cells (HL-60/DR). We compared the results obtained with those obtained for the complex with maleimide ligand CpRu(CO)₂(η¹-N-maleimidato) 1, which we had previously reported. We observed that the complexes CpRu(CO)(PPh₃)(η¹-N-maleimidato) 2a and CpRu(CO)(P(OEt)₃)(η¹-N-maleimidato) 3a were the most cytotoxic for HL-60 cells and non-cytotoxic for normal PBM cells. However, complex 1 was more cytotoxic for HL-60 cells than complexes 2a and 3a (IC₅₀ = 6.39 μM vs. IC₅₀ = 21.48 μM and IC₅₀ = 12.25 μM, respectively). The complex CpRu(CO)(P(OPh)₃)(η¹-N-maleimidato) 3b is the most cytotoxic for HL-60/DR cells (IC₅₀ = 104.35 μM). We found the genotoxic potential of complexes 2a and 3a only in HL-60 cells. These complexes also induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells. Docking studies showed that complexes 2a and CpRu(CO)(P(Fu)₃)(η¹-N-maleimidato) 2b have a small ability to degrade DNA, but they may cause a defect in DNA damage repair mechanisms leading to cell death. This hypothesis is corroborated with the results obtained in the plasmid relaxation assay in which ruthenium complexes bearing phosphine and phosphite ligands induce DNA breaks.

Subtle Stereochemical Effects Influence Binding and Purification Abilities of an FeII4L4 Cage

A tetrahedral Fe^II₄L₄ cage assembled from the coordination of triangular chiral, face-capping ligands to iron(II). This cage exists as two diastereomers in solution, which differ in the stereochemistry of their metal vertices, but share the same point chirality of the ligand. The equilibrium between these cage diastereomers was subtly perturbed by guest binding. This perturbation from equilibrium correlated with the size and shape fit of the guest within the host; insight as to the interplay between stereochemistry and fit was provided by atomistic well-tempered metadynamics simulations. The understanding thus gained as to the stereochemical impact on guest binding enabled the design of a straightforward process for the resolution of the enantiomers of a racemic guest.

Homochiral Porous Metal-Organic Polyhedra with Multiple Kinds of Vertices

Metal-organic polyhedra featuring non-Archimedean/Platonic architectures with multiple kinds of vertices have aroused great attention for their fascinating structures and properties but are yet challenging to achieve. Here, we report a combinatorial strategy to make such nonclassic polyhedral cages by combining kinetically labile metal ions with non-planar organic linkers instead of the usual only inert metal centers and planar ligands. This facilitates the synthesis of an enantiopure twisted tetra(3-pyridyl)-based TADDOL (TADDOL = tetraaryl-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-dimethanol) ligand (L) capable of binding Ni(II) ions to produce a regular convex cage, Ni₆L₈, with two mixed metal/organic vertices and three rarely reported concave cages Ni₁₄L₈, Ni₁₈L₁₂, and Ni₂₄L₁₆ with three or four mixed vertices. Each of the cages has an amphiphilic cavity decorated with chiral dihydroxyl functionalities and packs into a three-dimensional structure. The enantioselective adsorption and separation performances of the cages are strongly dependent on their pore structure features. Particularly, Ni₁₄L₈ and Ni₁₈L₁₂ with wide openings can be solid adsorbents for the adsorptive and solid-phase extractive separation of a variety of racemic spirodiols with up to 98% ee, whereas Ni₆L₈ and Ni₂₄L₁₆ with smaller pore apertures cannot adsorb the racemates. The combination of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of the host-guest adduct and GCMC simulation indicates that the enantiospecific recognition capabilities originate from the well-organized chiral inner sphere as well as multiple interactions within the chiral microenvironment. This work therefore provides an attractive strategy for the rational design of polyhedral cages, showing geometrically fascinating structures with properties different from those of classic assemblies.

Solvent Drives Switching between Λ and Δ Metal Center Stereochemistry of M8L6 Cubic Cages

An enantiopure ligand with four bidentate metal-binding sites and four (S)-carbon stereocenters self-assembles with octahedral Zn^II or Co^II to produce O-symmetric M₈L₆ coordination cages. The Λ- or Δ-handedness of the metal centers forming the corners of these cages is determined by the solvent environment: the same (S)-ligand produces one diastereomer, (S)₂₄-Λ₈-M₈L₆, in acetonitrile but another with opposite metal-center handedness, (S)₂₄-Δ₈-M₈L₆, in nitromethane. Van ’t Hoff analysis revealed the Δ stereochemical configuration to be entropically favored but enthalpically disfavored, consistent with a loosening of the coordination sphere and an increase in conformational freedom following Λ-to-Δ transition. The binding of 4,4′-dipyridyl naphthalenediimide and tetrapyridyl Zn-porphyrin guests did not interfere with the solvent-driven stereoselectivity of self-assembly, suggesting applications where either a Λ- or Δ-handed framework may enable chiral separations or catalysis.

Structural Chemistry of Giant Metal Based Supramolecules

The review presents a bird-eye view on the state of research in the field of giant nonbiological discrete metal complexes and ions of nanometer size, which are structurally characterized by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction, using the crystal structure as a common key feature. The discussion is focused on the main structural features of the metal clusters, the clusters containing compact metal oxide/hydroxide/chalcogenide core, ligand-based metal-organic cages, and supramolecules as well as on the aspects related to the packing of the molecules or ions in the crystal and the methodological aspects of the single-crystal neutron and X-ray diffraction of these compounds.

Chiral metal-organic cages used as stationary phase for enantioseparations in capillary electrochromatography

Since some metal-organic cages (MOCs) have been synthesized in past several years, the applications of MOCs such as drug delivery, molecular recognition, separation, catalysis, and gas storage, etc. have been witnessed with a significant increase. However, to the best of our knowledge, so far no one has used MOCs as chiral stationary phase to separate chiral compounds in CEC. In this study, three MOCs were developed as the stationary phase for CEC separation of enantiomers. The MOCs coated capillary column showed good chiral recognition ability for some chiral compounds, including amine, alcohols, ketone, etc. The influence of buffer concentration, applied voltage, pH of buffer solution on the chiral separations was also investigated. The RSDs of run-to-run, day-to-day, and column-to-column for retention time were 2.1-4.67%, 1.2-4.36%, and 3.62-6.43%, respectively. This work reveals that the chiral MOCs material is feasible for the enantioseparation in CEC.

Cations Controlling the Chiral Assembly of Luminescent Atomically Precise Copper(I) Clusters

Chiral assembly and asymmetric synthesis are critically important for the generation of chiral metal clusters with chiroptical activities. Here, a racemic mixture of [K(CH₃ OH)₂ (18-crown-6)]⁺ [Cu₅ (S^t Bu)₆ ]^- (1⋅CH₃ OH) in the chiral space group was prepared, in which the chiral red-emissive anionic [Cu₅ (S^t Bu)₆ ]^- cluster was arranged along a twofold screw axis. Interestingly, the release of the coordinated CH₃ OH of the cationic units turned the chiral 1⋅CH₃ OH crystal into a mesomeric crystal [K(18-crown-6)]⁺ [Cu₅ (S^t Bu)₆ ]^- (1), which has a centrosymmetric space group, by adding symmetry elements of glide and mirror planes through both disordered [Cu₅ (S^t Bu)₆ ]^- units. The switchable chiral/achiral rearrangement of [Cu₅ (S^t Bu)₆ ]^- clusters along with the capture/release of CH₃ OH were concomitant with an intense increase/decrease in luminescence. We also used cationic chiral amino alcohols to induce the chiral assembly of a pair of enantiomers, [d/l-valinol(18-crown-6)]⁺ [Cu₅ (S^t Bu)₆ ]^- (d/l-Cu_5V ), which display impressive circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) in contrast to the CPL-silent racemic mixture of 1⋅CH₃ OH and mesomeric 1.

Chiral two bladed ML2 metallamacrocycles: design, structures and solution behavior

Chiral two bladed complexes of [Co(L)₂][BF₄]₂ (1) and [Zn(L)₂][BF₄]₂ (2) containing an atropoisomeric semi-rigid bidentate ligand L were synthesized and characterized. They are obtained as homochiral species but in a racemic mixture via a ligand self-sorting mechanism. These enantiomers can be differentiated in solution using optically active anions.

Homochiral Self-Sorted and Emissive IrIII Metallo-Cryptophanes

The racemic ligands (±)-tris(isonicotinoyl)-cyclotriguaiacylene (L1), or (±)-tris(4-pyridyl-methyl)-cyclotriguaiacylene (L2) assemble with racemic (Λ,Δ)-[Ir(ppy)2 (MeCN)2 ]+ , in which ppy=2-phenylpyridinato, to form [{Ir(ppy)2 }3 (L)2 ]3+ metallo-cryptophane cages. The crystal structure of [{Ir(ppy)2 }3 (L1)2 ]⋅3BF4 has MM-ΛΛΛ and PP-ΔΔΔ isomers, and homochiral self-sorting occurs in solution, a process accelerated by a chiral guest. Self-recognition between L1 and L2 within cages does not occur, and cages show very slow ligand exchange. Both cages are phosphorescent, with [{Ir(ppy)2 }3 (L2)2 ]3+ having enhanced and blue-shifted emission when compared with [{Ir(ppy)2 }3 (L1)2 ]3+ .

Polypyridyl-functionalizated alkynyl gold(i) metallaligands supported by tri- and tetradentate phosphanes

The synthesis of photophysical active polytopic alkynyl gold(i) metallaligands and preliminary studies of their interaction with metal cations are presented.

Quantification of Stereochemical Communication in Metal-Organic Assemblies

The derivation and application of a statistical mechanical model to quantify stereochemical communication in metal-organic assemblies is reported. The factors affecting the stereochemical communication within and between the metal stereocenters of the assemblies were experimentally studied by optical spectroscopy and analyzed in terms of a free energy penalty per "incorrect" amine enantiomer incorporated, and a free energy of coupling between stereocenters. These intra- and inter-vertex coupling constants are used to track the degree of stereochemical communication across a range of metal-organic assemblies (employing different ligands, peripheral amines, and metals); temperature-dependent equilibria between diastereomeric cages are also quantified. The model thus provides a unified understanding of the factors that shape the chirotopic void spaces enclosed by metal-organic container molecules.

Quantification of Stereochemical Communication in Metal-Organic Assemblies

The derivation and application of a statistical mechanical model to quantify stereochemical communication in metal-organic assemblies is reported. The factors affecting the stereochemical communication within and between the metal stereocenters of the assemblies were experimentally studied by optical spectroscopy and analyzed in terms of a free energy penalty per "incorrect" amine enantiomer incorporated, and a free energy of coupling between stereocenters. These intra- and inter-vertex coupling constants are used to track the degree of stereochemical communication across a range of metal-organic assemblies (employing different ligands, peripheral amines, and metals); temperature-dependent equilibria between diastereomeric cages are also quantified. The model thus provides a unified understanding of the factors that shape the chirotopic void spaces enclosed by metal-organic container molecules.

M12L8 metallo-supramolecular cube with cyclotriguaiacylene-type ligand: spontaneous resolution of cube and its constituent host ligand

(±)-Tris-(4-methylthiazolyl)cyclotriguaiacylene forms chirally resolved clathrate complexes and self-assembles with Ag(i) to form a homochiral cubic coordination cage with spontaneous resolution.