Stereochemistry of tartrato(4-)-bridged binuclear complexes

A Comprehensive Potentiometric Study of the Tartrate Complexes of Trivalent Arsenic, Antimony, and Bismuth in Aqueous Solution

The tartrate complexes of trivalent arsenic, antimony, and bismuth were studied potentiometrically. The existing, fragmentary data on the antimony/l-(+)-tartrate system were confirmed. Nine complexes of arsenic and bismuth with optically active, racemic, and meso-tartrate, as well as complexes of antimony with meso-tartrate, were newly identified, and their formation constants computed. Difficulties arising from the poor stability of the arsenic complexes and precipitation in the Sb(III)/meso-tartrate system were overcome by titrating at very high concentrations [As(III) systems] and using an auxiliary ligand [Sb(III) in the presence of catechol]. All data were obtained at 25.0 °C and at constant ionic strength [0.1 mol L^-1 for Sb(III) and Bi(III) complexes and 1 mol L^-1 for As(III) complexes]. Speciation diagrams of all systems at millimolar concentrations were computed on the basis of the newly obtained constants and the results discussed.

Structure and activity of the anticaking agent iron(III) meso-tartrate

Iron(III) meso-tartrate, a metal-organic complex, is a new anticaking agent for sodium chloride. A molecular structure in solution is proposed, based on a combination of experimental and molecular modelling results. We show that the active complex is a binuclear iron(iii) complex with two bridging meso-tartrate ligands. The iron atoms are antiferromagnetically coupled, resulting in a reduced paramagnetic nature of the solution. In solution, a water molecule coordinates to each iron atom as a sixth ligand, resulting in an octahedral symmetry around each iron atom. When the water molecule is removed, a flat and charged site is exposed, matching the charge distribution of the {100} sodium chloride crystal surface. This charge distribution is also found in the iron(iii) citrate complex, another anticaking agent. This gives a possible adsorption geometry on the crystal surface, which in turn explains the anticaking activity of the iron(III) meso-tartrate complex.

Antimony(III)-D, L-tartrates exhibit proton-assisted enantioselective binding in solution and in the gas phase

The negative ion mode ESI mass spectral analysis of antimony(III)-D- and -L-tartrate ("tartar emetic"), in association with leucine enantiomeric isotopomers, revealed remarkable proton-assisted enantioselective molecular recognition phenomena. The current study infers that recognition of amino acids by antimony(III)-D,L-tartrate complexes requires that the chiral selector associate a proton to become enantioselective. The dianionic selector itself failed to show enantiomeric discrimination capacity. This observation was shown to be consistent both in solution-phase targeting full scan and gas-phase targeting collision threshold dissociation (CTD) experiments. Importantly, this disparity in enantioselective binding capacity between the dianionic and the protonated monoanionic representatives of antimony(III)-D- and -L-tartrates could only be clearly revealed by ESI-MS and tandem mass spectrometry experiments as described herein. This finding urges a more in-depth study of mechanisms associated with exhibited enantiomeric resolving capacity of antimony tartrates in HPLC and CE applications, as well as in former ESI-MS association studies.

Oxovanadium(IV) and oxovanadium(V) complexes relevant to biological systems

Different aspects of the coordination chemistry of oxovanadium(IV) and oxovanadium(V), relevant to the bioinorganic chemistry of vanadium, are presented. Some of the investigated complexes are good models for different aspects of the metabolism and detoxification of vanadium or for a better characterization and understanding of the structural and electronic peculiarities of the coordination spheres of VO2+ and VO2+ in biomolecules. Their structural, spectroscopic and magnetic properties are briefly discussed. The investigated systems include ligands such as reduced and oxidized glutathione, L-ascorbic acid, nucleotides and related systems, carbohydrates, phosphates, carboxylic acids, oxine derivatives and some others.

Characterization of the antimonial antileishmanial agent meglumine antimonate (glucantime)

Meglumine antimonate (Glucantime), a drug of choice for the treatment of leishmaniasis, is produced by the reaction of pentavalent antimony with N-methyl-D-glucamine, a carbohydrate derivative. We investigated the structure and composition of meglumine antimonate, which remain poorly understood, despite 50 years of use. Measurement of the antimony content of meglumine antimonate powder indicated a 1:1.37 molar ratio of antimony to N-methyl-D-glucamine. Osmolality measurements performed with meglumine antimonate solutions demonstrated an average of 1.43 antimony atoms per molecule of meglumine antimonate. The osmolality of a 1:10 dilution of stock meglumine antimonate increased by 45% over 8 days, suggesting hydrolysis to less complex species. A comparison of the proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of N-methyl-D-glucamine and meglumine antimonate revealed an increase in complexity in the latter but with all of the resonances of the former still being evident, consistent with the presence of coordination complexes between antimony and each of the N-methyl-D-glucamine hydroxyls. Fast atom bombardment and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry coupled with several derivatization procedures provided evidence that up to four N-methyl-D-glucamine hydroxyls are coordinated with each antimony. A series of oligomers were observed. The major moiety has a molecular mass of 507 atomic mass units and consists of NMG-Sb-NMG, where Sb represents antimony and NMG represents N-methyl-D-glucamine. Additional species containing up to four antimony atoms and five N-methyl-D-glucamine moieties and corresponding to the general form (NMG-Sb)n-NMG are also present. These results suggest that this agent is a complex mixture that exists in equilibrium in aqueous solution.

An NMR study of mixed, tartrate-containing TiIV complexes

The reactions of amines and amino alcohols with diisopropyl or diethyl R,R- or S,S-tartrate and Ti(OiPr)4 were examined by 1H and 13C NMR to obtain and characterize nonfluxional complexes with the tartrate units in novel binding modes. The mildly acidic 8-hydroxyquinoline and N-phenyl-N-benzoylhydroxylamine selectively formed the products of a double OiPr substitution, Ti2(tartrate)2(ligand)2(OiPr)2, and the products of double tartrate substitution, Ti(ligand)2(OiPr)2, while 2,4-pentanedione formed only the latter Basic amino alkanols formed diastereomerically pure Ti2(tartrate)2(aminoalkoxide)(OiPr)3 species. N,N-Dimethyl-2-aminoethanol (Hdmae) also and uniquely formed monomeric Ti(tartrate)2(Hdmae)2 species that could be described as doubly zwitterionic. Secondary or tertiary amines formed triply C2-symmetric Ti3(tartrate)4(amine)2(OiPr)4 assemblies. Some minor components were believed to be μ-OiPr species. All mixed complexes except Ti(tartrate)2(Hdmae)2 contained chelating and bridging tartrate units, without coordination by ester carbonyls. A nonchelating, nonbridging tartrate unit was also present in the amino alcohol cases. Primary amines, aromatic amines, and hydrazines all failed to provide identifiable complexes. As well, N,N-dibenzylhydroxylamine failed to generate in solution the complex that had previously been characterized by X-ray crystallography. Amidst the rich chemistry of TiIV-tartrate systems, the evident selectivities in product formation were ascribed to macro-ring closures that are specifically directed by the electronic nature of the addend. Transient OiPr-bridged intermediates were also implicated. Keywords: mixed TiIV alkoxides, chiral TiIV alkoxides, enantiospecific complexation.

Electron spin resonance studies of the solution structure of vanadyl amino acid complexes and mixed ligand complexes of oxalate

Esr and electronic spectra of complexes of the general composition VO(AA)2 and VO(ox)(AA) have been characterized; AA = gly, his, cys, pro, val, met, asp amino acids. Spectra of the formulation VO(ox)(LL) (with LL = imidazole plus monodentate oxalate, histamine plus monodentate oxalate, histidine, cysteine, 4-imidazolepropionic acid, mercaptopropionic acid, ethylenediamine and ethanolamine) have been used to deduce a self-consistent assignment of AL, a ligand donor additivity constant contribution to the observed hyperfine splitting, Aiso. Values of AL are sensitive to inductive effects in the ligand structure. The solution structures and likely coordination geometries of VO(his)2, and VO(cys)22-- are discussed. The role of the imidazole moiety as a sigma donor and sulfhydryl sulfur as a pi acceptor is observed in VO(AA)2 and VO(ox)(AA) complexes.