Efficient enhancement of DNA cleavage activity by introducing guanidinium groups into diiron(III) complex

Emerging computational approaches for the study of regio- and stereoselectivity in organic synthesis

Computational chemistry has become important in organic synthesis as it provides a detailed understanding of molecular structures and properties and detailed reaction mechanisms.

A theoretical study of the Duff reaction: insights into its selectivity

The selectivity-determining step of the Duff ortho-formylation was studied using DFT calculations; a hydrogen bond establishes the position where the formylation will take place.

Self-assembled Cu(ii) and Ni(ii) metallamacrocycles formed from 3,3,3′,3′-tetrabenzyl-1,1′-aroylbis(thiourea) ligands: DNA and protein binding studies, and cytotoxicity of trinuclear complexes

The synthesis and characterization of metallamacrocyclic square planar Ni(ii) and Cu(ii) complexes and the interaction of cytotoxic trinuclear complexes with CT DNA and BSA protein are described.

Design, synthesis and antibacterial activity of minor groove binders: the role of non-cationic tail groups

The design and synthesis of a new class of minor groove binder (MGBs) in which, the cationic tail group has been replaced by a neutral, polar variant including cyanoguanidine, nitroalkene, and trifluoroacetamide groups. Antibacterial activity (against Gram positive bacteria) was found for both the nitroalkene and trifluoroacetamide groups. For the case of the nitroalkene tail group, strong binding of a minor groove binder containing this tail group was demonstrated by both DNA footprinting and melting temperature measurements, showing a correlation between DNA binding and antibacterial activity. The compounds have also been evaluated for binding to the hERG ion channel to determine whether non-cationic but polar substituents might have an advantage compared with conventional cationic tail groups in avoiding hERG binding. In this series of compounds, it was found that whilst non-cationic compounds generally had lower affinity to the hERG ion channel, all of the compounds studied bound weakly to the hERG ion channel, probably associated with the hydrophobic head groups.

Synthesis and crystal structure of and DFT calculations on bisglycinato-bis(p-hydroxymethylpyridine)nickel(II)

A new Ni(II) complex of bisglycinato-bis(phydroxylmethylpyridine) was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-Vis spectroscopy and X-ray single crystal diffraction analysis. The thermal stability of the title complex was also determined. The complex adopts a distorted octahedral geometry and possesses inversion symmetry with the Ni(II) ion as the center of inversion. Density function theory (DFT) calculations of the structure, electronic absorption spectra, electron structure and natural population analysis (NPA) at the B3LYP/LANL2DZ level of theory were performed. The predicted geometric parameters and electronic spectra were compared with the experimental values and they supported each other. The NPA results indicate that the electronic transitions were mainly derived from the contribution of an intra-ligand (IL) transition, a ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) transition and a d-d transition. The electron structure calculations suggest that the central Ni(II) ion uses its 4s and 3d orbitals to form covalent bonds with coordinated N and O atoms. The calculated bond orders are also consistent with the thermal decomposition results. Based on vibrational analysis, the thermodynamic properties of the title complex were predicted and the correlative equations between these thermodynamic properties and temperature are also reported.