Recognition and Sensing of Chiral Organic Molecules by Chiral Porphyrinoids: A Review

Chirality Sensing of Chiral Carboxylic Acids by a Ureido-Linked Zinc Bisporphyrinate

We designed and synthesized a ureido-linked zinc bisporphyrinate [Zn2(UBis)]. CD spectra show that this zinc bisporphyrinate has the ability to sense the chirality of chiral carboxylic acids without derivatization. Our studies suggest that the phenyl ring in the linker forms π-π interactions with porphyrin planes and that the carboxylic acid is coordinated to the zinc in the host-guest complex. DFT calculations show that the bisporphyrin adopts a "Z"-shaped configuration, and that the ureido group forms hydrogen bonds with carboxylic acids. The combination of π-π interactions, coordination interactions and hydrogen bonding interactions leads to the chirality sensing ability of [Zn2(UBis)].

Construction of a pillar[5]arene-based supramolecular chiral polymer linked to aminophosphine salt for chiral recognition of enantiomers of mandelic acid

In recent years, supramolecular chirality has been greatly developed in asymmetric synthesis, chiral sensing and other research fields, but its application in molecular chiral recognition has not been extensively studied. In this paper, L-Boc-tyrosine methoxyester and phosphorus chloride salts were introduced into the framework of pillar[n]arene, and a pillar[5]arene-based supramolecular chiral polymer L-TPP-P was constructed. The supramolecular polymer had stable supramolecular chiral properties and could be used as a chiral solvation reagent for chiral recognition of mandelic acid MA. The molar ratio method and Scatchard plot showed that the complexation ratio of L-TPP-P (pillar[5]arene monomer as the reference object) and MA was 1 : 1, and the complexation constants of L-TPP-P with R-MA and S-MA were 4.51 × 105 M-1 and 6.5 × 104 M-1, respectively. The significant affinity difference of L-TPP-P for different enantiomers of MA showed the excellent chiral recognition and stereoselectivity of pillar[5]arene-based supramolecular polymers for MA. This study provides a new idea for a novel supramolecular polymer chiral recognition reagent or chiral recognition method.

Water-Soluble Star Polymer as a Potential Photoactivated Nanotool for Lysozyme Degradation

The development of nanotools for chemical sensing and macromolecular modifications is a new challenge in the biomedical field, with emphasis on artificial peptidases designed to cleave peptide bonds at specific sites. In this landscape, metal porphyrins are attractive due to their ability to form stable complexes with amino acids and to generate reactive oxygen species when irradiated by light of appropriate wavelengths. The issues of hydrophobic behavior and aggregation in aqueous environments of porphyrins can be solved by using its PEGylated derivatives. This work proposes the design of an artificial photo-protease agent based on a PEGylated mercury porphyrin, able to form a stable complex with l-Tryptophan, an amino acid present also in the lysozyme structure (a well-known protein model). The sensing and photodegradation features of PEGylated mercury porphyrin were exploited to detect and degrade both l-Trp and lysozyme using ROS, generated under green (532 nm) and red (650 nm) light lasers. The obtained system (Star3600_Hg) and its behavior as a photo-protease agent were studied by means of several spectroscopies (UV-Vis, fluorescence and circular dichroism), and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, showing the cleavage of lysozyme and the appearance of several short-chain residues. The approach of this study paves the way for potential applications in theranostics and targeted bio-medical therapies.

Interaction of Aggregated Cationic Porphyrins with Human Serum Albumin

The interaction of an equilibrium mixture of monomeric and aggregated cationic trans-5,15-bis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)-10,15-bis-diphenylporphine (t-H₂Pagg) chloride salt with human serum albumin (HSA) has been investigated through UV/Vis absorption, fluorescence emission, circular dichroism and resonant light scattering techniques. The spectroscopic evidence reveals that both the monomeric t-H₂Pagg and its aggregates bind instantaneously to HSA, leading to the formation of a tight adduct in which the porphyrin is encapsulated within the protein scaffold (S₄₃₀) and to clusters of aggregated porphyrins in electrostatic interaction with the charged biomolecules. These latter species eventually interconvert into the final S₄₃₀ species following pseudo-first-order kinetics. Molecular docking simulations have been performed to get some insights into the nature of the final adduct. Analogously to hemin bound to HSA, the obtained model supports favorable interactions of the porphyrin in the same 1B subdomain of the protein. Hydrophobic and van der Waals energy terms are the main contributions to the calculated ΔG_bind value of -117.24 kcal/mol.

Stereospecific Self-Assembly Processes of Porphyrin-Proline Conjugates: From the Effect of Structural Features and Bulk Solvent Properties to the Application in Stereoselective Sensor Systems

Conjugating the porphyrin ring with an amino acid via amide linkage represents a straightforward way for conferring both amphiphilicity and chirality to the macrocycle. Proline residue is a good choice in this context since its conformational rigidity allows for porphyrin assembling where molecular chirality is efficiently transferred and amplified using properly honed aqueous environments. Herein, we describe the evolution of the studies carried out by our group to achieve chiral systems from some porphyrin-proline derivatives, both in solution and in the solid state. The discussion focuses on some fundamental aspects reflecting on the final molecular architectures obtained, which are related to the nature of the appended group (stereochemistry and charge), the presence of a metal ion coordinated to the porphyrin core and the bulk solvent properties. Indeed, fine-tuning the mentioned parameters enables the achievement of stereospecific structures with distinctive chiroptical and morphological features. Solid films based on these chiral systems were also obtained and their recognition abilities in gaseous and liquid phase are here described.

Induction and rationalization of supramolecular chirality in a highly flexible Zn(II)porphyrin dimer: structural, spectroscopic and theoretical investigations

A highly flexible pyrrole-bridged Zn(II)porphyrin dimer has been successfully utilized as an efficient host which enables an accurate determination of the absolute configuration directly for a large number of chiral amino alcohols and 1,2-diols. The addition of substrates resulted in the formation of 1 : 1 sandwich complexes which, after the addition of excess substrates, produced 1 : 2 host-guest complexes. In principle, the 1 : 2 host-guest complexes can be stabilized in three possible conformations, viz. exo-exo, exo-endo, and endo-endo based on how a substrate binds to the metal. The endo-endo conformation is stabilized by two strong interligand H-bonds [O-H⋯O(H)] between encapsulated diols which thereby interlock the stereochemistry. In the absence of such interligand H-bonding interactions, exo-endo binding is preferred as it is indeed observed for amino alcohols which show weaker CD couplets due to the free movement of substrates. The sandwich complexes with amino alcohols show a more intense CD couplet compared to the diols due to the stronger binding of the amine functionality (-NH₂) towards a Zn-atom over an alcoholic moiety (-OH). The CD amplitude showed linear dependence with a binding constant for the 1 : 1 sandwich complex upon varying the substrates. Spectroscopic investigations, single crystal X-ray structure determination of four such host-guest complexes and DFT studies have enabled us to rationalize systematically the origin of optical activity unambiguously in the 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 host-guest complexes, which lead to an absolute stereochemical determination of a large number of chiral substrates. The larger vertical and horizontal flexibility of a diethyl pyrrole spacer induces stronger binding of the substrates to form the 1 : 1 complex with a much larger torsional angle along with intense CD couplets. In contrast, a rigid dibenzothiophene-bridged tweezer, due to its limited horizontal and vertical flexibility, facilitates 1 : 2 complexation more as compared to the highly flexible pyrrole-bridged host which results in stronger binding of the substrate with the intense CD couplet for the former.

Hydrogen-Bonding Interactions Trigger Induction of Chirality via Formation of a Cyclic Dimer

A rationalization for the chirality transfer mechanism in the supramolecular host-guest assemblies of an achiral Zn(II) porphyrin dimer (host) and a series of chiral diamines and diamino esters (substrates) via cyclic dimer formation has been reported for the first time. Stepwise formations of 2:2 host-guest cyclic dimers and 1:2 host-guest monomeric complexes have been observed via intermolecular assembling and disassembling processes. A large bisignate CD couplet was observed for the cyclic dimer, whereas the monomeric complexes exhibited negligible CD intensity. Crystallographic characterizations demonstrate that the strong intermolecular H bonding in cyclic dimers is responsible for their stability over the linear chain, which thereby display high-intensity bisignate CD couplets. In order to minimize the steric crowding within the host-guest assembly, the cyclic dimer switches its helicity toward the conformer having less steric hindrance. The cyclic scaffold is oriented according to the pre-existing chirality of the substrate in both the solid and solution phases: the substrates having R chirality display a negative CD couplet, whereas the substrates with S chirality display a positive couplet. Opposite signs for the CD couplets between R and S substrates suggest that the stereographic projection at the chiral centers solely dictates the overall helicity of the cyclic dimer. DFT studies further support the experimental observations.