Coordination-driven self-assembly of discrete Ru6-Pt6 prismatic cages

The coordination-driven self-assembly of two new Ru6-Pt6 hexanuclear trigonal prismatic cages comprising arene-ruthenium(II) clips (1a(NO3)2 and 1b(NO3)2 ) and a tritopic platinum(II) metalloligand 2 has been performed in methanol at room temperature. The [3 + 2] hexanuclear cages 3a and 3b were isolated in good yields and characterized by well-known spectroscopic techniques including multinuclear NMR, mass spectrometry, UV-vis and infrared studies. Geometry optimization revealed the shapes and sizes of these hexanuclear prismatic cages. The combination of ruthenium and platinum metal center in a one-pot self-assembly reaction showcases the construction of aesthetically elegant heterometallic structures in supramolecular chemistry leading to the formation of a single major product.

Light-initiated reversible conversion of macrocyclic endoperoxides derived from half-sandwich rhodium-based metallarectangles

A series of metallarectangles were synthesized by an anthracene-based ligand and three different half-sandwich rhodium precursors. The photochemical reactions show that these metallarectangles can be reversibly converted to the macrocyclic endoperoxides.

Stacking-interaction-induced host–guest chemistry and Borromean rings based on a polypyridyl ligand

Template-free molecular Borromean rings and open-ended molecular capsules were constructed via precisely controlled stacking interactions.

Controllable construction of half-sandwich octanuclear complexes based on pyridyl-substituted ligands with conjugated centers

Based on three tetradentate ligands with conjugated centers, seven half-sandwich octanuclear complexes were selectively obtained. Several subsequent structural conversions were also successfully conducted.

Stepwise construction of discrete parallelogram- and prism-shaped organometallic architectures based on half-sandwich rhodium fragments

Using a versatile pyridyl-substituted imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylate proligand, together with half-sandwich rhodium fragments, a series of discrete organometallic complexes with parallelogram and trigonal prism shapes were constructed stepwise.

Controlled Orthogonal Self-Assembly of Heterometal-Decorated Coordination Cages

Multiple orthogonal coordinative interactions were utilized to construct heterometal-decorated tetrahedral cages from in situ formed trinuclear Zr^IV clusters through the combination with other metal ions such as Cu^II or Pd^II . Through effective use of the hard/soft acid/base principle, the orthogonal self-assembly process of Zr-bpydc-CuCl₂ (H₂ bpydc=2,2-bipyridine-5,5-dicarboxylic acid) can be finely controlled using three strategies: post-synthetic metallization, a stepwise metalloligand approach, or a one-pot reaction.

Coordination-Driven Self-Assembly and Anticancer Potency Studies of Ruthenium-Cobalt-Based Heterometallic Rectangles

Three new cobalt-ruthenium heterometallic molecular rectangles, 1-3, were synthesized through the coordination-driven self-assembly of a new cobalt sandwich donor, (η⁵ -Cp)Co[C₄ -trans-Ph₂ (4-Py)₂ ] (L; Cp: cyclopentyl; Py: pyridine), and one of three dinuclear precursors, [(p-cymene)₂ Ru₂ (OO∩OO)₂ Cl₂ ] [OO∩OO: oxalato (A₁ ), 5,8-dioxido-1,4-naphthoquinone (A₂ ), or 6,11-dioxido-5,12-naphthacenedione (A₃ )]. All of the self-assembled architectures were isolated in very good yield (92-94 %) and were fully characterized by spectroscopic analysis; the molecular structures of 2 and 3 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The anticancer activities of bimetallic rectangles 1-3 were evaluated with a 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, an autophagy assay, and Western blotting. Rectangles 1-3 showed higher cytotoxicity than doxorubicin in AGS human gastric carcinoma cells. In addition, the autophagic activities and apoptotic cell death ratios were increased in AGS cells by treatment with 1-3; the rectangles induced autophagosome formation by promoting LC3-I to LC3-II conversion and apoptotic cell death by increasing caspase-3/7 activity. Our results suggest that rectangles 1-3 induce gastric cancer cell death by modulating autophagy and apoptosis and that they have potential use as agents for the treatment of human gastric cancer.

A nonanuclear triangular macrocycle and a linear heptanuclear heterometallic complex based on a 2-substituted imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylate ligand

A Cp*Rh-based nonanuclear triangular macrocycle complex [(Cp*Rh)9L3(NO3)4.5(MeOH)](OTf)4.5 (1), a Cp*Ir-based trinuclear complex [(Cp*Ir)3L(MeCN)4](OTf)3 (2) and a linear heptanuclear heterometallic complex [(Cp*Ir)6ZnL2(MeCN)8(MeOH)2](OTf)8 (3) (Cp* = η(5)-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) have been synthesized from a 2-(4-(pyridin-4-yl)phenyl)-1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid proligand. These complexes were further characterized by X-ray crystallography, (1)H NMR, DOSY NMR, IR spectroscopy, and elemental analyses.

Heterogeneous catalysis of water oxidation supported by a novel metallamacrocycle

Metallamacrocycles 1 and 2 were constructed, and 1 was further explored as a precatalyst for water oxidation, giving a good efficiency.