Synthesis of Polyamines from Ethylenediamine and Their Platinum(II) Complexes, Potential Antitumor Agents

Interactions of diamines with adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) in the systems including copper(II) ions

Interactions were studied in the systems ATP/tn and ATP/Put (tn=1,3-diaminopropane, Put=putrescine) whereas the complexation reactions in ternary systems Cu(II)/ATP/tn and Cu(II)/ATP/Put. Results of the potentiometric and spectroscopic studies evidenced the formation of adducts of the type (ATP)H_x(PA), where PA=diamine. The thermodynamic stability of the complexes and the mode of interactions were determined. On the basis of analysis of changes in the positions of NMR signals, in the pH range of (ATP)H₃(Put) formation, the preferred centres of the interaction between ATP and Put are the endocyclic nitrogen atoms from the nucleotide. On the other hand, the shorter diamine tn in the entire pH range reacts with the phosphate groups from ATP. The positive centres of noncovalent interactions are the protonated NH_x⁺ groups from amines. In both complexes Cu(ATP)H₂(tn) and Cu(ATP)H₃(Put) formed in ternary systems at pH<6.5, the amines are in the outer sphere of coordination with the noncovalent interaction with anchoring Cu(ATP). Only the phosphate groups from the nucleotide take part in metalation. At higher pH in the range of Cu(ATP)(PA) complex formation, significant differences in the reactions of the two amines appear. The shorter one (tn) binds Cu(II) ions with two nitrogen atoms, while putrescine coordinates in the monofunctional mode, which is undoubtedly related to the differences in lengths of methylene chain. This explains the considerable differences in the stability of Cu(ATP)(tn) and Cu(ATP)(Put). In both complexes the nucleotide is coordinated through phosphate groups.

SYNOPSIS

As a result of noncovalent interactions ATP forms molecular complexes with 1,3-diaminopropane and 1,4-diaminobutane (putrescine). Significant differences in the mode of interactions between the two diamines were observed in ATP/diamine binary systems and in ternary systems Cu(II)/ATP/diamine, at high pH.

Platinum and Palladium Polyamine Complexes as Anticancer Agents: The Structural Factor

Since the introduction of cisplatin to oncology in 1978, Pt(II) and Pd(II) compounds have been intensively studied with a view to develop the improved anticancer agents. Polynuclear polyamine complexes, in particular, have attracted special attention, since they were found to yield DNA adducts not available to conventional drugs (through long-distance intra- and interstrand cross-links) and to often circumvent acquired cisplatin resistance. Moreover, the cytotoxic potency of these polyamine-bridged chelates is strictly regulated by their structural characteristics, which renders this series of compounds worth investigating and their synthesis being carefully tailored in order to develop third-generation drugs coupling an increased spectrum of activity to a lower toxicity. The present paper addresses the latest developments in the design of novel antitumor agents based on platinum and palladium, particularly polynuclear chelates with variable length aliphatic polyamines as bridging ligands, highlighting the close relationship between their structural preferences and cytotoxic ability. In particular, studies by vibrational spectroscopy techniques are emphasised, allowing to elucidate the structure-activity relationships (SARs) ruling anticancer activity.

Acyclic cucurbit[n]uril congeners are high affinity hosts

We present the design, synthesis via methylene bridged glycoluril tetramer building blocks, and charaterization of acyclic cucurbit[n]uril congeners that function as hosts for a wide variety of ammonium ions in water. The X-ray crystallographic characterization of the free host and its complexes with p-xylylenediamine and spermine establish the flexibility of the methylene bridged backbone of the acyclic cucurbit[n]uril congeners that allow them to adapt to the structural features of the guest. We find that the acyclic cucurbit[n]uril congeners-with their four contiguous methylene bridged glycoluril units and two aromatic o-xylylene walls bearing CO(2)H substituents-bind to ammonium ions in buffered water with values of K(a) ranging from approximately 10(5) M(-1) to greater than 10(9) M(-1). Similar to the cucurbit[n]uril family of hosts, we find that increasing the concentration of metal cations in the buffer reduces the affinity of the acyclic cucurbit[n]uril congener toward guests by competitive binding at the ureidyl C horizontal lineO portals. Although the acyclic cucurbit[n]uril congeners retain the ability to bind to ammonium ions with high affinity, they do so with lower selectivity than cucurbit[n]urils presumably do to the structural flexibility of the hosts. A methylene bridged glycoluril tetramer model compound that lacks the substituted o-xylylene walls is a much lower affinity host, which establishes the importance of these rings on the overall recognition behavior of the acyclic cucurbit[n]uril congeners. Overall, the results in this paper establish that acyclic cucurbit[n]uril receptors that contain four or more contiguous methylene bridged glycoluril units retain many of the excellent recognition properties of the cucurbit[n]uril family.