Quantum Chemical and Biological Insights into Redox Activity of Metallacarborane Complexes in Cancer Cells

A relationship between the electronic properties of metal ions in metallacarboranes and their ability to modulate mitochondrial oxidase activity and membrane hyperpolarization in cancer cells was demonstrated. Quantum chemistry methods, including DFT and molecular dynamics simulations, were used to understand the oxidized and reduced forms of metallacarboranes and their intramolecular rotatory behavior. According to the low-spin assumption for metal ions, the intramolecular oscillations of cluster ligands in metallacarboranes are significantly influenced by the type of metal and correspond to the cellular uptake of these complexes in vitro. In particular, the low-spin iron compound may be a new xenogeneic booster of redox homeostasis in cancer cells resistant to cisplatin, which induces metabolic 'exhaustion' of cancer cells and their death.

Two Shared Icosahedral Metallacarboranes through Iron: A Joint Experimental and Theoretical Refinement of Mössbauer Spectrum in [Fe(1,2-C2B9H11)2]Cs

Mössbauer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies (XPS) are complemented with high-level quantum-chemical computations in the study of the geometric and electronic structure of the paramagnetic salt of the metallacarborane sandwich complex [Fe(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]Cs = FeSanCs. Experimental ⁵⁷Fe isomer shifts and quadrupole splitting parameters are compared with the theoretical prediction, with good agreement. The appearance of two sets of Cs(3d) doublets in the XPS spectrum, separated by 2 eV, indicates that Cs has two different chemical environments due to ease of the Cs⁽⁺⁾ cation moving around the sandwich complex with low-energy barriers, as confirmed by quantum-chemical computations. Several minimum-energy geometries of the FeSanCs structure with the corresponding energies and Mössbauer parameters are discussed, in particular the atomic charges and spin population and the surroundings of the Fe atom in the complex. The Mössbauer spectra were taken at different temperatures showing the presence of a low-spin Fe atom with S = 1/2 and thus confirming a paramagnetic Fe^III species.

Intramolecular rotations and electronic states of iron in the iron bis(dicarbollide) complex Fe[(C2B9H11)2] studied by a 57Fe nuclear probe and computational methods

Mössbauer spectroscopy of iron(III) bis(dicarbollide) (1) and its adduct (2) revealed low spin Fe^III in 1 and surprisingly Fe^II in 2. In 1, the (C₂B₉H₁₁) groups rotate at room temperature with a frequency of 10⁷ Hz, getting across the energy barrier of 24 meV. Numerical simulations showed a gradient of electric charge in 2, which may explain the Fe^II-like character in 2.

Synthesis and Structure of Methylsulfanyl Derivatives of Nickel Bis(Dicarbollide)

Symmetrically and unsymmetrically substituted methylsulfanyl derivatives of nickel(III) bis(dicarbollide) (Bu₄N)[8,8'-(MeS)₂-3,3'-Ni(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₀)₂], (Bu₄N)[4,4'-(MeS)₂-3,3'-Ni(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₀)₂], and (Bu₄N)[4,7'-(MeS)₂-3,3'-Ni(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₀)₂] were synthesized, starting from [Ni(acac)₂]₃ and the corresponding methylsulfanyl derivatives of nido-carborane (Bu₄N)[10-MeS-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁] and (Bu₄N)[10-MeS-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁]. Structures of the synthesized metallacarboranes were studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and quantum chemical calculations. The symmetrically substituted 8,8'-isomer adopts transoid conformation stabilized by two pairs of intramolecular C-H···S hydrogen bonds between the dicarbollide ligands. The unsymmetrically substituted 4,7'-isomer adopts gauche conformation, which is stabilized by two nonequivalent C-H···S hydrogen bonds and one short chalcogen B-H···S bond (2.53 Å, -1.4 kcal/mol). The gauche conformation was found to be also preferred for the 4,7'-isomer.

Capturing a dynamically interacting inhibitor by paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy

Transient and fuzzy intermolecular interactions are fundamental to many biological processes. Despite their importance, they are notoriously challenging to characterize. Effects induced by paramagnetic ligands in the NMR spectra of interacting biomolecules provide an opportunity to amplify subtle manifestations of weak intermolecular interactions observed for diamagnetic ligands. Here, we present an approach to characterizing dynamic interactions between a partially flexible dimeric protein, HIV-1 protease, and a metallacarborane-based ligand, a system for which data obtained by standard NMR approaches do not enable detailed structural interpretation. We show that for the case where the experimental data are significantly averaged to values close to zero the standard fitting of pseudocontact shifts cannot provide reliable structural information. We based our approach on generating a large ensemble of full atomic models, for which the experimental data can be predicted, ensemble averaged and finally compared to the experiment. We demonstrate that a combination of paramagnetic NMR experiments, quantum chemical calculations, and molecular dynamics simulations offers a route towards structural characterization of dynamic protein-ligand complexes.

The behavior of a paramagnetic system in electric and magnetic fields as exemplified by revisiting Li@B10H14

The electric and magnetic properties of the Li@B₁₀H₁₄ complex, considered as a novel inorganic electride-type system with potential for second-order non-linear optical (NLO) applications, have already been studied. However, the reported C_2v structure is not the global energy minimum and therefore its electronic and magnetic properties need to be revisited. Moreover, by applying more accurate computational protocols (ROHF-CCSD/CCSD(T) and larger basis sets) we show that the model chemistry used earlier (UMP2/6-31+G(d)) is not sufficient for reliable description of the NLO responses of this open-shell doublet complex. The global minimum based on the C_s symmetry is significantly (by ca. 25 kcal mol^-1) more stable than the C_2v structure and it should be viewed as a system with moderate NLO responses. An excess of unpaired electron density is also responsible for the contact and pseudo-contact contributions to the magnetic properties, which was not considered in the earlier work.

The effect of a paramagnetic metal ion within a molecule: comparison of the structurally identical paramagnetic [3,3-Fe(1,2-C2B9H11)2]− with the diamagnetic [3,3-Co(1,2-C2B9H11)2]− sandwich complexes

Effects on the NMR spectra of a paramagnetic metal ion are clearly observed by comparing identical sandwich molecular structures of diamagnetic [3,3′-Co(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]⁻ with paramagnetic [3,3′-Fe(1,2-C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]⁻.

How to get the desired reduction voltage in a single framework! Metallacarborane as an optimal probe for sequential voltage tuning

A single platform, [M(C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]⁻ (M = Co, Fe) offers the possibility to choose the desired potential in a 1.4 V range without changing shape or volume of the platform. Methyl viologen was used as benchmark for E_1/2 tuning.

Tetrathiafulvalene-based radical cation salts with transition metal bis(dicarbollide) anions

Radical cation salts based on derivatives of tetrathiafulvalene and sandwiched transition metal bis(dicarbollide) anions are of great interest in the development of new molecular conducting materials.

Relaxed but highly compact diansa metallacyclophanes

A series of monoansa [μ-1,1'-PR-3,3'-Co(1,2-C(2)B(9)H(10))(2)](-) and diansa [8,8'-μ-(1'',2''-benzene)-μ-1,1'-PR-3,3'-Co(1,2-C(2)B(9)H(9))(2)](-) (R = Ph, (t)Bu) cobaltabisdicarbollidephanes have been synthesized, characterized and studied by NMR, MALDI-TOF-MS, UV-visible spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and DFT calculations. Single crystal X-ray diffraction revealed a highly relaxed structure characterized by the title angle α of 3.8° ([7](-)), this being the smallest angle α for a metallacyclophane. In such compounds, the metal-to-phosphorus distance is less than the sum of their van der Waals radii. The availability of a phosphorus lone pair causes an electron delocalization through the metal, as shown by the abnormal (31)P NMR chemical shift. Remarkably, the combination of a phosphine donor and a phenyl acceptor moieties causes a synergistic effect that is observed through the different techniques used in this study. The importance of having an available lone pair is demonstrated by the oxidation of phosphorus with hydrogen peroxide, sulfur, and elemental black selenium to produce the corresponding P(V) compounds. When the electron lone pair is used to form the bond with the corresponding chalcogen atom, the communication between the donor and acceptor moieties on the diansa metallacyclophane is shut down.

Calculation of spin-current densities using gauge-including atomic orbitals

The gauge-including magnetically induced current method for calculating the components of the current-density tensor using gauge-including atomic orbitals has been extended to treating open-shell molecules. The applicability of the method is demonstrated by calculations of first-order induced current densities on cyclobutadiene, Al(3), and B(3) at correlated ab initio levels of theory. For comparison, current-density calculations were also performed on the lowest closed-shell singlet state of cyclobutadiene as well on the closed-shell Al(3)(-) and B(3)(-) anions. The ring-current susceptibilities of the open-shell species are computed at the Hartree-Fock self-consistent-field, second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory, and coupled-cluster singles and doubles levels, whereas for the closed-shell systems also density functional theory calculations were employed. Explicit values for the current strengths caused by α and β electrons as well as the difference, representing the spin current, were obtained by numerical integration of the current-density contributions passing a plane perpendicular to the molecular ring. Comparisons of the present results to those recently obtained for the lowest triplet state of biphenyl emphasize that electron correlation effects must be considered for obtaining an accurate description of spin-current densities.