Reactivity of Molybdenum and Rhenium Hydroxo Complexes toward Organic Electrophiles: Reactions that Afford Carboxylato Products

Insertion of Unsaturated C-C Bonds into the O-H Bond of an Iridium(III)-Hydroxo Complex: Formation of Phosphorescent Emitters with an Asymmetrical β-Diketonate Ligand

A synthetic methodology to prepare iridium(III) emitters of the class [3b+3b+3b'] with two ortho-metalated 1-phenylisoquinolines and an asymmetrical β-diketonate has been discovered. The abstraction of the chloride ligands of the dimer [Ir(μ-Cl){κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂]₂ (1, C₆H₅-isoqui = 1-phenylisoquinoline) with AgBF₄ in acetone and the subsequent addition of water to the resulting solution affords the water solvate mononuclear complex [Ir{κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂(H₂O)₂]BF₄ (2), which reacts with KOH to give the dihydroxo-bridged dimer [Ir(μ-OH){κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂]₂ (3). Treatment of the latter with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate leads to Ir{κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂{κ²-O,O-[OC(CO₂CH₃)CHC(OCH₃)O]} (4), as a result of the anti-addition of the O-H bond of a mononuclear [Ir(OH){κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂] fragment to the C-C triple bond of the alkyne and the coordination of one of the carboxylate substituents to the metal center. Complex 3 also reacts with α,β-unsaturated ketones. The reaction with 3-(4-methylphenyl)-1-phenylprop-2-en-1-one affords Ir{κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂{κ²-O,O-[OC(C₆H₅)CHC(p-C₆H₄Me)O]} (5), whereas methyl vinyl ketone gives a mixture of Ir{κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂{κ²-O,O-[OC(CH₃)CHCHO]} (6) and Ir{κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂{κ²-O,O-[OC(CH₃)CHC(CH═CH₂)O]} (7). Complexes 5 and 6 are the result of the addition of the O-H bond of the mononuclear [Ir(OH){κ²-C,N-(C₆H₄-isoqui)}₂] fragment to the C-C double bond of the α,β-unsaturated ketones and the coordination of the carbonyl group to the iridium center, to generate O,O-chelates which lose molecular hydrogen to aromatize into the asymmetrical β-diketonate ligands. Complexes 4-7 are phosphorescent emitters in the red spectral region (599-672 nm) in doped poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) film at 5 wt % at room temperature and 2-methyltetrahydrofuran at room temperature and 77 K. They display short lifetimes (0.8-2.5 μs) and quantum yields in both doped PMMA films and in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran at room temperature depending on the substituents of the β-diketonate: about 0.6-0.5 for 4 and 6 and ca. 0.35 for 5 and 7.

Novel Approach to Generate a Self-Deliverable Ru(II)-Based Anticancer Agent in the Self-Reacting Confined Gel Space

Finding the most effective method for cancer treatment is one of the thought-provoking tasks. Drug delivery by collapsing of metallogel to the cancer cell is an appealing way out. Cancer cells have an acidic environment due to excessive accumulation of lactic acid. In this work, the novel G5 gelator with a strategically free carboxylic acid arm has been designed and fabricated and characterized by several spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. These experiments suggest the formation of an ordered supramolecular gel with clover-leaf-like morphology. Mechanical properties from rheological measurements suggest the viscoelastic nature of the gel. Furthermore, we have obtained crystals of G5 from the pure dimethyl sulfoxide solution, whereas gelation gets induced by addition of water. This G5 gelator loses its gelation capability once the carboxylate is esterified by layering with methanol, which furnished the crystals of Me-G5' (G5' = G5-H). Further, the G5 gelator is used for the formation of ruthenium metallogel. Interestingly, we obtained the monomeric species [Ru(G5')(η⁶-p-cymene)Cl] [Ru(II)G5] only in confined gel space upon addition of a [Ru₂(η⁶-p-cymene)₂Cl₄] dimer to G5. The Ru(II)G5 metallogel has an inherent anticancer property with an IC₅₀ value of 10.53 μM for the A549 cancer cell line. Treatment of the Ru(II)G5 metallogel by lactic acid for mimicking the acidic environment of the malignant cell results in collapsing of the gel by releasing the ruthenium metal ion. This released ruthenium ion binds with the lactic acid derivative making the gelator G5 free and producing a new compound Ru(II)L, which has also shown the anticancer property. The molecular docking study revealed that the released G5 could interact with a monocarboxylate transporter to disrupt the lactate transport chain, which might induce apoptosis.

Luminescent fac-[Re(CO)3(phen)] carboxylato complexes with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: synthesis and mechanistic insights into the in vitro anticancer activity of fac-[Re(CO)3(phen)(aspirin)]

Luminescent fac-[Re(CO)₃(phen)(aspirin)]: insights into in vitro anticancer activity and confocal microscopy imaging in HeLa cells.

General strategy for lanthanide coordination polymers constructed from 1,1′-ferrocenedicarboxylic acid under hydrothermal conditions

26 lanthanide CPs were synthesized under different reaction conditions. As well, their fluorescence and magnetism properties were investigated.

Mitochondria Targeting with Luminescent Rhenium(I) Complexes

Two new neutral fac-[Re(CO)₃(phen)L] compounds (1,2), with phen = 1,10-phenanthroline and L = O₂C(CH₂)₅CH₃ or O₂C(CH₂)₄C≡CH, were synthetized in one-pot procedures from fac-[Re(CO)₃(phen)Cl] and the corresponding carboxylic acids, and were fully characterized by IR and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR, mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography. The compounds, which display orange luminescence, were used as probes for living cancer HeLa cell staining. Confocal microscopy revealed accumulation of both dyes in mitochondria. To investigate the mechanism of mitochondrial staining, a new non-emissive compound, fac-[Re(CO)₃(phen)L], with L = O₂C(CH₂)₃((C₅H₅)Fe(C₅H₄), i.e., containing a ferrocenyl moiety, was synthetized and characterized (3). 3 shows the same mitochondrial accumulation pattern as 1 and 2. Emission of 3 can only be possible when ferrocene-containing ligand dissociates from the metal center to produce a species containing the luminescent fac-[Re(CO)₃(phen)]⁺ core. The release of ligands from the Re center was verified in vitro through the conjugation with model proteins. These findings suggest that the mitochondria accumulation of compounds 1-3 is due to the formation of luminescent fac-[Re(CO)₃(phen)]⁺ products, which react with cellular matrix molecules giving secondary products and are uptaken into the negatively charged mitochondrial membranes. Thus, reported compounds feature a rare dissociation-driven mechanism of action with great potential for biological applications.

Understanding the hydrolysis mechanism of ethyl acetate catalyzed by an aqueous molybdocene: a computational chemistry investigation

A thoroughly mechanistic investigation on the [Cp2Mo(OH)(OH2)](+)-catalyzed hydrolysis of ethyl acetate has been performed using density functional theory methodology together with continuum and discrete-continuum solvation models. The use of explicit water molecules in the PCM-B3LYP/aug-cc-pVTZ (aug-cc-pVTZ-PP for Mo)//PCM-B3LYP/aug-cc-pVDZ (aug-cc-pVDZ-PP for Mo) computations is crucial to show that the intramolecular hydroxo ligand attack is the preferred mechanism in agreement with experimental suggestions. Besides, the most stable intermediate located along this mechanism is analogous to that experimentally reported for the norbornenyl acetate hydrolysis catalyzed by molybdocenes. The three most relevant steps are the formation and cleavage of the tetrahedral intermediate immediately formed after the hydroxo ligand attack and the acetic acid formation, with the second one being the rate-determining step with a Gibbs energy barrier of 36.7 kcal/mol. Among several functionals checked, B3LYP-D3 and M06 give the best agreement with experiment as the rate-determining Gibbs energy barrier obtained only differs 0.2 and 0.7 kcal/mol, respectively, from that derived from the experimental kinetic constant measured at 296.15 K. In both cases, the acetic acid elimination becomes now the rate-determining step of the overall process as it is 0.4 kcal/mol less stable than the tetrahedral intermediate cleavage. Apart from clarifying the identity of the cyclic intermediate and discarding the tetrahedral intermediate formation as the rate-determining step for the mechanism of the acetyl acetate hydrolysis catalyzed by molybdocenes, the small difference in the Gibbs energy barrier found between the acetic acid formation and the tetrahedral intermediate cleavage also uncovers that the rate-determining step could change when studying the reactivity of carboxylic esters other than ethyl acetate substrate specific toward molybdocenes or other transition metal complexes. Therefore, in general, the information reported here could be of interest in designing new catalysts and understanding the reaction mechanism of these and other metal-catalyzed hydrolysis reactions.

Activation of carbon dioxide by divalent tin alkoxides complexes

A series of terminal tin(II) alkoxides have been synthesized utilizing the bulky β-diketiminate ligand [{N(2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3))-C(Me)}(2)CH] (BDI). The nucleophilicities of these alkoxides have been examined, and unexpected trends were observed. For instance, (BDI)SnOR only reacts with highly activated aliphatic electrophiles such as methyl triflate, but reacts reversibly with carbon dioxide. Both the rate of reaction and the degree of reversibility is dependent upon minor changes in the alkoxide ligand, with the bulkier tert-butoxide ligand displaying slower reactivity than the corresponding isopropyl ligand, although the latter system is a more exergonic reaction. Density Function Theory (DFT) calculations show that the differences in the reversibility of carbon dioxide insertion can be attributed to the ground-state energy differences of tin alkoxides while the rate of reaction is attributed to relative bond strengths of the Sn-O bonds. The mechanism of carbon dioxide insertion is discussed.

Ring opening at N1-C2 bond of azetidin-2-ones by a molybdenum hydroxo-carbonyl complex: evidence from a computational study

Computations on the reaction of azetidin-2-one, N-sulfonate azetidin-2-one, and 3-formylamine-N-sulfonate azetidin-2-one with [Mo(OH)(eta3-C3H5)(CO)2(N2C2H4)] were performed at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) (LANL2DZ for Mo augmented by f polarization functions with exponents 1.043) taking into account solvent effects by means of the PCM-UAHF model. According to our calculations, the rate-determining energy barrier for the azetidin-2-one case, 38.0 kcal mol(-1), becomes 28.8 and 26.1 kcal mol(-1) for the N-sulfonate azetidin-2-one and 3-formylamine-N-sulfonate azetidin-2-one ones, respectively. The presence of the sulfonate group is crucial to cleave the beta-lactam N1-C2 bond by the Mo complex thanks to the interaction of the sulfonate group with the hydroxyl and bidentate ligands of the complex. This could be of interest for the synthesis of beta-amino acids and their derivatives from beta-lactams in mild conditions and low polarity solvents promoted by organometallic complexes.

Synthesis, Structure, and Reactivity of Mononuclear Re(I) Oximato Complexes

Complexes [Re(ONCMe2)(CO)3(bipy)] (1) and [Re(ONCMe2)(CO)3(phen)] (2), synthesized by reaction of the respective triflato precursors [Re(OTf)(CO)3(N-N)] (N-N = bipy, phen) with KONCMe2, feature O-bonded monodentate oximato ligands. Compound [Re(CO)3(phen)(HONCMe2)]BAr'4 (3), with a monodentate N-bonded oxime ligand, was prepared by reaction of [Re(OTf)(CO)3(phen)], HONCMe2, and NaBAr'4. Deprotonation of 3 afforded 2. The oximato complexes reacted with p-tolylisocyanate, p-tolylisothiocyanate, maleic anhydride, and tetracyanoethylene, affording the products of the insertion of the electrophile into the Re-O bond, compounds 4-7. One representative of each type of compound was fully characterized, including single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The reactions of 1 and 2 with dimethylacetylenedicarboxylate were found to involve first an insertion as the ones mentioned above but followed by incorporation of water, loss of acetone, and formation of the charge-separated neutral amido complexes 9 and 10. The structure of 9 and 10 was determined by X-ray diffraction, and key features of their electronic distribution were studied using a topological analysis of the electron density as obtained from the Fourier map.

Syntheses, structures, and optical properties of novel zinc(ii) complexes with multicarboxylate and N-donor ligands

Five novel coordination polymers [Zn(2)(OA)(4,4'-bipy)(H(2)O)].0.5(4,4'-bipy), [Zn(2)(OA)(dib)(H(2)O)].H(2)O, [Zn(2)(OA)(bbi)(2)].3H(2)O, [Zn(2)(OA)(phen)(2)(H(2)O)] and [Zn(4)(OA)(2)(2,2'-bipy)(2)(H(2)O)].2H(2)O were obtained by hydrothermal reactions of Zn(NO(3))(2).6H(2)O with a V-shaped multicarboxylate ligand 3,3',4,4'-oxydiphthalic acid (H(4)OA) and a series of N-donor ligands, namely 4,4'-bipyridine (4,4'-bipy), 1,4-di(1-imidazolyl)benzene (dib), 1,1'-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(imidazole) (bbi), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), 2,2'-bipyridine (2,2'-bipy). The structures of the complexes were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Complex exhibits a robust 3D porous structure with uncoordinated 4,4'-bipy molecules filling the cavities. Complexes and show a complicated 3D framework, while complexes and have a 2D network and a 1D helical chain structure, respectively. The results indicate that the multicarboxylate OA(4-) ligand can adopt varied coordination modes in the formation of the complexes and the influence of the N-donor ligand on the structure of the complexes is discussed. The photoluminescence properties of H(4)OA and were studied in the solid state at room temperature. Moreover, nonlinear optical measurements showed that displayed a second-harmonic-generation (SHG) response of 0.5 times of that for urea. The results suggested that the configuration and flexibility of the ligands play a key role in directing the related properties of the complexes.

Reactivity of Lanthanocene Hydroxides toward Ketene, Isocyanate, Lanthanocene Alkyl, and Triscyclopentadienyllanthanide Complexes

The reactivity of [Cp(2)Ln(mu-OH)(THF)]2 (Ln = Y (1), Er (2), Yb (3)) toward PhEtCCO, PhNCO, Cp3Ln, [Cp2Ln(mu-CH3)]2, and the LiCl adduct of Cp2Ln(n)Bu(THF)x was examined. In all cases, OH-centered reactivity is observed: complexes 1-3 react with PhEtCCO to form the O-H addition products [Cp2Ln(mu-eta1:eta2-O2CCHEtPh)]2 (Ln = Yb (5), Er (6), Y (7), respectively, for 1-3), whereas treatment of 1 with PhNCO affords the addition/CpH-elimination/rearrangement product [{Cp2Y(THF)}2(mu-eta2:eta2-O2CNPh)] (8), which contains an unusual PhNCO(2) dianionic ligand. Analogous compound [Cp2Ln(THF)]2(mu-eta2:eta2-O2CNPh) (Ln = Yb (9), Er (10)) and 8 can be obtained in a higher yield by treatment of [Cp2Ln(mu-OH)(THF)]2 with PhNCO followed by reaction with the corresponding Cp3Ln. However, attempts to prepare the corresponding heterobimetallic complex by reacting stoichiometric amounts of [Cp2Y(mu-OH)(THF)]2 with PhNCO followed by treating it with Cp3Yb are unsuccessful. Instead, only rearrangement products 8 and 9 are obtained. Furthermore, the reaction of 3 with [Cp2Yb(mu-CH3)]2 or Cp3Yb forms oxo-bridged compound [Cp2Yb(THF)]2(mu-O) (11), whereas the reaction of [Cp2ErCl]2 with Li(n)Bu followed by treatment with 2 affords unexpected mu-oxo lanthanocene cluster (Cp2Er)3(mu-OH)(mu3-O)(mu-Cl)Li(THF)4 (12). In contrast to 1 and 2, 3 shows a strong tendency to undergo the intermolecular elimination of CpH at room temperature, giving trinuclear species [Cp2Yb(mu-OH)]2[CpYb(THF)](mu3-O) (4). The single-crystal X-ray diffraction structures of 1, 2, and 4-12 are described. All the results offer an interesting contrast to transition- and main-metal hydroxide complexes.