Allyl Amination of Phosphinoquinoline Allyl Complexes of Palladium. Influence of the Allyl Hapticity on the Reaction Rate and Regiochemistry

Cationic palladium(II)-indenyl complexes bearing phosphines as ancillary ligands: synthesis, and study of indenyl amination and anticancer activity

The reactivity of palladium(II) indenyl derivatives and their applications are topics relatively less studied, though in recent times these compounds have been used as pre-catalysts able to promote challenging cross-coupling processes. Herein, we propose the first systematic study concerning the nucleophilic attack on the palladium(II) coordinated indenyl fragment and, for this purpose, we have prepared a library of new Pd-indenyl complexes bearing mono- or bidentate phosphines as spectator ligands, developing specific synthetic strategies. All novel compounds are thoroughly characterized, highlighting that the indenyl ligand presents always a hapticity intermediate between η³ and η⁵. Secondary amines have been chosen as nucleophiles for the present study and indenyl amination has been monitored by UV-Vis and NMR spectroscopies, deriving a second order rate law, with dependence on both complex and amine concentrations. The rate-determining step of the process is the initial attack of the amine to the coordinated indenyl fragment, and this conclusion has been supported also by DFT calculations. The determination of second order rate constants has allowed us to assess the impact of the phosphine ligands on the kinetics of the process and identify the steric and electronic descriptors most suitable for predicting the reactivity of these systems. Finally, in vitro tests have proven that these organometallic compounds promote antiproliferative activity towards ovarian cancer cells better than cisplatin and possibly by adopting a different mechanism of action.

Sterically Demanding 8-(Diphenylphosphino)quinoline Complexes of Group 10 Metal(II): Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Properties in Solution

Several series of platinum(II), palladium(II), and nickel(II) complexes bearing 8-(diphenylphosphino)quinoline (PQ^H) or its 2-methyl or 2-phenyl derivatives (PQ^Me or PQ^Ph) were synthesized, and their crystal structures and behaviors in solution were investigated. Most of the complexes [M(PQ^R)₂]X₂ (M^II = Pt^II, Pd^II, or Ni^II; R = H, Me or Ph; X = monoanionic ions) characterized in this study have an approximately square-planar coordination geometry with two bidentate P,N-chelating or monodentate P-donating quinolylphosphine ligands in the cis(P,P) configuration. A large steric requirement from the Me or Ph substituent introduced at the 2-position of the quinoline ring gives the resulting complexes severe distortion. The Pt^II and Pd^II complex cations maintained the square-planar coordination geometry, but the M^II center was displaced from the chelating ligand plane. This bending of the chelate coordination makes the M-N(quinoline) bond weaker, as demonstrated by the longer M-N bonds. In accord with the bond weakening, the partial dissociation of the PQ^H or PQ^Me chelates by substitution with halide anions were observed using UV-vis spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. In contrast, the PQ^Ph complexes were stable in solution toward the addition of halide anions; the intramolecular π-π stacking interaction between the coordinating quinolyl and the 2-substituted phenyl rings protects the M^II center from nucleophilic attack. In the corresponding Ni^II complexes, the steric congestion arising from the mutually cis-positioned PQ^R ligands resulted in a large tetrahedral distortion around the Ni^II center. However, the intramolecular π-π stacking interaction was still effective in the PQ^Ph complex, and this interaction can explain some unusual robustness and electrochemical properties of the Ni^II-PQ^Ph complex.

Palladium(II)-η3 -Allyl Complexes Bearing N-Trifluoromethyl N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: A New Generation of Anticancer Agents that Restrain the Growth of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Tumoroids

The first palladium organometallic compounds bearing N-trifluoromethyl N-heterocyclic carbenes have been synthesized. These η³ -allyl complexes are potent antiproliferative agents against different cancer lines (for the most part, IC₅₀ values fall in the range 0.02-0.5 μm). By choosing 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) as co-ligand, we can improve the selectivity toward tumor cells, whereas the introduction of 2-methyl substituents generally reduces the antitumor activity slightly. A series of biochemical assays, aimed at defining the cellular targets of these palladium complexes, has shown that mitochondria are damaged before DNA, thus revealing a behavior substantially different from that of cisplatin and its derivatives. We assume that the specific mechanism of action of these organometallic compounds involves nucleophilic attack on the η³ -allyl fragment. The effectiveness of a representative complex, 4 c, was verified on ovarian cancer tumoroids derived from patients. The results are promising: unlike carboplatin, our compound turned out to be very active and showed a low toxicity toward normal liver organoids.

Synthesis of new allyl palladium complexes bearing purine-based NHC ligands with antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities on human ovarian cancer cell lines

A series of new palladium allyl complexes bearing purine-based carbenes derived from caffeine, theophylline and theobromine have been prepared and characterized by NMR spectroscopy, and elemental analysis and in two cases by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The cytotoxic and proapoptotic activities of compounds have been determined in vitro on human ovarian cancer A2780 and SKOV-3 cell lines. These experiments have shown that the palladium-allyl fragment induces a general cytotoxicity, but the choice of the supporting ligands is of paramount importance for achieving the best results. In particular complexes 4c, 4d and 5d exhibit a higher antiproliferative effect (IC50: 0.09, 0.81 and 0.85 μM respectively) than cisplatin (IC50: 1.5 μM) on A2780 cells, and 4d (IC50: 1.7 μM vs. 5.94 μM) on SKOV-3 cell line. Moreover in many cases it has been proved that the cytotoxicity of our complexes is associated with the induction of apoptosis.

Isocyanide insertion across the Pd–C bond of allenyl and propargyl palladium complexes bearing phosphoquinoline as a spectator ligand. Synthesis of a palladium complex bearing a coordinated cyclobutenyl fragment

A palladium complex bearing a cyclobutenyl group directly coordinated to metal has been obtained as a result of the insertion of an isocyanide across the Pd–C bond.

Crystal structures of di-chlorido-palladium(II), -platinum(II) and -rhodium(III) complexes containing 8-(di-phenyl-phosphan-yl)quinoline

The crystal structures of di-chlorido-palladium(II), -platinum(II) and -rhodium(III) complexes containing 8-(di-phenyl-phosphan-yl)quinoline, (SP-4)-[PdCl2(C21H16NP)], (1) [systematic name: di-chlor-ido-(8-di-phenyl-phosphanyl-quinoline)-palladium(II)], (SP-4)-[PtCl2(C21H16NP)]·CH2Cl2, (2) [systematic name: di-chlorido-(8-di-phenyl-phos-phanyl-quinoline)-platinum(II) dichlorometh-ane monosolvate], and (OC-6-32)-[RhCl2(C21H16NP)2]PF6·0.5CH2Cl2·0.5CH3OH, (3) [systematic name: cis-di-chlor-ido-bis-(8-di-phenyl-phosphanyl-quinoline)-rhodium(III) hexa-fluorido-phos-phate di-chloro-methane/-methanol hemisolvate] are reported. In these complexes, the phosphanyl-quinoline acts as a bidentate ligand, forming a planar asymmetrical five-membered chelate ring. The palladium(II) and platinum(II) complex mol-ecules in (1) and (2), respectively, show a typical square-planar coordination geometry and form a dimeric structure through an inter-molecular π-π stacking inter-action between the quinolyl rings. The centroid-centroid distances between the stacked six-membered rings in (1) and (2) are 3.633 (2) and 3.644 (2) Å, respectively. The cationic rhodium(III) complex in (3) has a cis(Cl),cis(P),cis(N) (OC-6-32) configuration of the ligands, in which two kinds of intra-molecular π-π stacking inter-actions are observed: between the quinolyl and phenyl rings and between two phenyl rings, the centroid-centroid distances being 3.458 (2) and 3.717 (2) Å, respectively. The PF6 (-) anion in (3) is rotationally disordered, the site occupancies of each F atom being 0.613 (14) and 0.387 (14). The CH2Cl2 and CH3OH solvent mol-ecules are also disordered and equal site occupancies of 0.5 are assumed.

The addition of bromine and iodine to palladacyclopentadienyl complexes bearing bidentate heteroditopic P−N spectator ligands derived from differently substituted quinolinic frames. The unexpected evolution of the reaction

The palladacyclopentadienyl complexes with substituted phosphoquinolines react with halogens giving σ-butadienyl or a zwitterionic derivative depending on the ligand structure.

One-step entry to olefin-tethered N,S-heterocyclic carbene complexes of ruthenium with mixed ligands

A series of Ru(II) mixed-ligand complexes RuBr(2)(PPh(3))(2)(N-AyBzTh) (Ay = prop-2-enyl; BzTh = benzothiazol-2-ylidene) (4), RuBr(OAc)(PPh(3))(N-MeAyBzTh) (5), RuBr(OAc)(PPh(3))(N-MeBnBzTh)(2) (MeBn = 3-methylbut-2-enyl) (6) and RuCl(OAc)(PPh(3))(N-MeBnBzTh) (7) have been synthesized from Ru(OAc)(2)(PPh(3))(2) in one-pot condensation and ligand exchange reactions. X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis revealed that they are neutral octahedral Ru(II) complexes with one or two N,S-heterocyclic carbene (NSHC) ligands and a coordinated (4, 5 and 7) or dangling (6) olefin arm. The system displays a range of self-selecting structural variations. Entry of the hybrid olefin-NSHC and halide ligands ejects either one (5, 6 and 7) phosphine ligand or keeps both phosphines (4) by replacing the acetate. It is also possible to accommodate two NSHC ligands by keeping the olefin pendant (6). Complexes 5 and 7 are isostructural with all different ligands on the coordination sphere. Complexes 4-6 are active towards transfer hydrosilylation showing good β(Z) selectivity, with the Ru(II) bearing acetate giving higher yields.

Facile preparation of homo- and hetero-dimetallic complexes with a 4-phosphino-substituted NHC ligand. Toward the design of multifunctional catalysts

A series of bimetallic complexes have been synthesized that are supported by a 4-phosphino-substituted NHC ligand. The use of this stable ligand reduces the number of synthetic steps and allows for a wide range of metal combinations to be introduced into the complexes.