Nitroxide radicals appended to phthalonitriles: synthesis, structural characterization and photophysical properties

The syntheses of 4-[4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-imidazoline-3-oxide-1-oxyl-2-yl)phenoxy]phthalonitrile (3, C21H19N4O3) and 4-[4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-imidazoline-1-oxyl-2-yl)phenoxy]phthalonitrile (4) were carried out by microwave-assisted nucleophilic aromatic substitution of 4-nitrophthalonitrile (2) by the pre-formed 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-2-imidazoline-3-oxide-1-oxyl (1). Compounds 3 and 4 were characterized unambiguously by a rich array of analyses, such as melting point, FT–IR, MALDI–TOF MS, elemental analysis, UV–Vis, CV, EPR, magnetic measurements and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Structural studies demonstrate that the C—H...X and C—X...π (X = O and N) interactions in the radical nitronyl nitroxide groups play an important role in the assembly of the crystal structures. Moreover, cyclic voltammetry analyses show that the phthalonitrile substituent retains the redox properties of the Ullman radicals.

Helical screw-sense preferences of peptides based on chiral, Cα-tetrasubstituted α-amino acids

The preferred helical screw senses of chiral α-amino acids with a C(α)-tetrasubstituted α-carbon atom, as determined in the crystal state by X-ray diffraction analyses on derivatives and peptides, are reviewed. This survey covers C(α)-methylated and C(α)-ethylated α-amino acids, as well as α-amino acids cyclized on the α-carbon, including those characterized by the combination of lack of chirality at the α-carbon with either side-chain or axial chirality. Although, in general, chiral C(α)-tetrasubstituted α-amino acids show a less pronounced bias toward a single helical screw sense than their proteinogenic (C(α)-trisubstituted) counterparts, our analysis highlights significant differences in terms of magnitude and direction of such a bias among the various sub-families of residues, and between individual amino acids within each sub-family as well. The experimental findings can be rationalized, at least in part, on the basis of steric considerations.