An organometallic derivative of a BAPTA ligand: towards electrochemically controlled cation release in biocompatible media

Photoreversible stretching of a BAPTA chelator marshalling Ca2+-binding in aqueous media

Free calcium ion concentration is known to govern numerous biological processes and indeed calcium acts as an important biological secondary messenger for muscle contraction, neurotransmitter release, ion-channel gating, and exocytosis. As such, the development of molecules with the ability to instantaneously increase or diminish free calcium concentrations potentially allows greater control over certain biological functions. In order to permit remote regulation of Ca²⁺, a selective BAPTA-type synthetic receptor / host was integrated with a photoswitchable azobenzene motif, which upon photoirradiation would enhance (or diminish) the capacity to bind calcium upon acting on the conformation of the adjacent binding site, rendering it a stronger or weaker binder. Photoswitching was studied in pseudo-physiological conditions (pH 7.2, [KCl] = 100 mM) and dissociation constants for azobenzene cis- and trans-isomers have been determined (0.230 μM and 0.102 μM, respectively). Reversible photoliberation/uptake leading to a variation of free calcium concentration in solution was detected using a fluorescent Ca²⁺ chemosensor.

Solvent Effects on the Electrochemical Behavior of TAPD-Based Redox-Responsive Probes for Cadmium(II)

Two tetralkylated phenylenediamines (TAPD)1and2have been prepared by reductive alkylation ofpara-dimethylaminoaniline with furfural or thiophene 2-carboxaldehyde, respectively. Their chelation ability has been evaluated as electrochemical guest-responsive chemosensors for Cd(II) in acetonitrile (ACN), dimethylformamide (DMF), propylene carbonate (PC), and nitromethane (NM). The voltamperometric studies showed that these compounds are able to bind the Cd(II) cation with strong affinities except in DMF. The redox features of the chemosensors changed drastically when they are bounded to Cd(II) to undergo important anodic potential peak shifts comprised between ca. 500 and ca. 900 mV depending on the solvent. The addition of ∼4–10% molar triflic acid (TfOH) was found to be necessary to achieve rapidly the cation chelation which is slow without the acid. The electrochemical investigations suggested the formation of 1 : 2 stoichiometry complexes [Cd(L)2]2+. The results are discussed in terms of solvent effects as a competitive electron donating ligand to the cation. The reaction coupling efficiency (RCE) values were determined and were also found to be solvent-dependent.

Water-soluble, redox-active organometallic calcium chelators

This paper describes a new series of organometallic water-soluble chelators combining a redox moiety (ferrocene) and a selective Ca2+ chelator (BAPTA) separated by an ethynyl bridge. We report the synthesis and characterization of organometallic derivatives of the BAPTA chelator featuring one (2a) and two ferrocenyl (2b) moieties. Single crystal X-ray structural analysis on these chelators revealed unexpected conformations for the ferrocenyl substituent with respect to the phenyl ring of the BAPTA unit. DFT calculations on a model system of the ferrocenyl-ethynyl-BAPTA molecule were carried out to evaluate the energy separation between the two limiting conformations observed experimentally in the solid state, and to check the effective electronic communication between the binding pocket and the redox probe. The binding affinity of 2a–b for Ca2+, as probed by UV-Vis and cyclic voltammetry, revealed distinct behaviors in the presence of a metal ion depending on whether BAPTA is substituted by one or two ferrocenyl groups.

Redox-responsive probes for selective chelation of bivalent cations

N,N-disubstituted bis(furanyl-2-methyl)aminoanilines are new electrochemically-active probes for cations relying on the phenylenediamine moiety as an electroactive transducer and the difuranylamino group as an ionophore site. The electrochemical investigations, by means of cyclic and Osteryoung square wave voltammetries (CV and SWV, respectively), showed that these compounds are able to bind Mg2+, Ca2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ cations with strong affinities. The addition of catalytic amounts of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH) was found necessary to achieve rapid cation complexation. The electroactive redox features of the probes were drastically modified when the ionophore site was bonded to the cations. The anodic potential shifts of the oxidation peaks were between 905 and 1030 mV depending on the cations. The electrochemical investigations suggested the formation of a 1:2 stoichiometric complex: [M(L) 2]2+, M=Mg, Ca, Ni and Zn. These probes were found to be selective of Ca2+ and chelates, with strong preference for Ca2+ even in presence of others cations (Ca2+> Mg2+, Ca2+> Ni2+ and Ni2+> Zn2+). UV-visible spectrophotometric studies also showed blue shifts of the absorption bands comprising between 5 and 29 nm ligands when the metal ions were added to the solution, which confirmed the complexes formation.