Chiral Recognition between Dissymmetric Tb- and Eu(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate)33- Complexes and Fe(III) Proteins in Aqueous Solution. Luminescence Quenching by Cytochrome c from Horse Heart and Cytochrome c-550 from Thiobacillus versutus and Its Lys14 → Glu and Lys99 → Glu Mutants

The Importance of Spin-Polarized Charge Reorganization in the Catalytic Activity of D-Glucose Oxidase

The reaction of D-glucose oxidase (GOx) with D- and L-glucose was investigated using confocal fluorescence microscopy and Hall voltage measurements, after the enzyme was adsorbed as a monolayer. By adsorbing the enzyme on a ferromagnetic substrate, we verified that the reaction is spin dependent. This conclusion was supported by monitoring the reaction when the enzyme is adsorbed on a Hall device that does not contain any magnetic elements. The spin dependence is consistent with the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect; it can be explained by the improved fidelity of the electron transfer process through the chiral enzyme due to the coupling of the linear momentum of the electrons and their spin. Since the reaction studied often serve as a model system for enzymatic activity, the results may suggest the general importance of the spin-dependent electron transfer in bio-chemical processes.

Luminescent chiral lanthanide(III) complexes as potential molecular probes

This perspective gives an introduction into the design of luminescent lanthanide(iii)-containing complexes possessing chiral properties and used to probe biological materials. The first part briefly describes general principles, focusing on the optical aspect (i.e. lanthanide luminescence, sensitization processes) of the most emissive trivalent lanthanide ions, europium and terbium, incorporated into molecular luminescent edifices. This is followed by a short discussion on the importance of chirality in the biological and pharmaceutical fields. The second part is devoted to the assessment of the chiroptical spectroscopic tools available (typically circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence) and the strategies used to introduce a chiral feature into luminescent lanthanide(iii) complexes (chiral structure resulting from a chiral arrangement of the ligand molecules surrounding the luminescent center or presence of chiral centers in the ligand molecules). Finally, the last part illustrates these fundamental principles with recent selected examples of such chiral luminescent lanthanide-based compounds used as potential probes of biomolecular substrates.

Diastereoselective Formation and Photophysical Behavior of a Chiral Copper(I) Phenanthroline Complex

The Friedländer condensation of (1R,5S)-(+)- and (1S,5R)-(-)-nopinone with 8-aminoquinoline-7-carbaldehyde leads to the corresponding enantiomerically pure (2,3-b)-pineno-1,10-phenanthrolines. Coordination of these ligands with Cu(I) affords non-interconvertable chiral complexes which show equal and opposite Cotton effects in their CD spectra as well as identical half-wave oxidation potentials of +0.37 V and identical MLCT absorptions at 442 nm. Both complexes are nonemissive at 298 and 77 K. Stern-Volmer quenching studies were carried out with optically pure Delta- and Lambda-[Ru(bpy)(3)](2+) and racemic [Ru(dpb)(3)](2+) as donors (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine and dpb = 4,4'-diphenyl-bpy). Neither study provides any evidence of enantioselective quenching, indicating that energy or electron transfer may be occurring through a distance where chiral recognition is unimportant.