Charge-compensated nido-carborane derivatives in the synthesis of iron(II) bis(dicarbollide) complexes.

A series of stable iron(II) bis(dicarbollide) derivatives [8,8'-(RNHC(Et)HN)2-3,3'-Fe(1,2-C2B9H10)2] (R = Pr, R = Ph, (CH2)2OH, (CH2)3OH, (CH2)2NMe2) was prepared starting from FeCl2 or [FeCl2(dppe)] and the corresponding nido-carboranyl amidines [10-RNHC(Et)HN-7,8-C2B9H11]. In a similar way, the reactions of the oxonium derivatives of nido-carborane with FeCl2 in tetrahydrofuran in the presence of t-BuOK lead to the corresponding stable oxonium derivatives iron(II) bis(dicarbollide) [8,8'-(RR'O)2-3,3'-Fe(1,2-C2B9H10)2] (RR' = (CH2)4, (CH2)2O(CH2)2, (CH2)5; R = R' = Et), which can be alternatively prepared by the reaction of the parent iron(II) bis(dicarbollide) with tetrahydrofuran or 1,4-dioxane in the presence of Me2SO4. The cyclic voltammetry studies of the synthesized iron(II) bis(dicarbollide) derivatives revealed that the introduction of amidinium and oxonium substituents leads to a significant increase in the Fe2+/Fe3+ redox potential relative to the parent iron(II) bis(dicarbollide). The redox potentials of the oxonium derivatives are close to the redox potential of ferrocene and somewhat lower than redox potentials of sulfonium and phosphonium derivatives of iron(II) bis(dicarbollide).

One-Pot Lewis Acid Mediated Water-Promoted Transformation of Styrenes to α-Substituted Conjugated Enals.

We report herein an unusual one-pot preparation of α-benzyl-substituted conjugated enals via ZnCl2/LiCl/H2O-mediated transformation of styrenes. On the basis of experimental and computational studies, an underlying mechanism including electrophilic addition and hydride transfer with iminium cations has been proposed. The effect of the LiCl/ZnCl2/H2O combination on the reaction yield has been studied, demonstrating their participation in the activation and the key isomerization of an iminium electrophile.

Synthesis, Molecular Docking, In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of Novel Dimorpholinoquinazoline-Based Potential Inhibitors of PI3K/Akt/mTOR Pathway.

A (series) range of potential dimorpholinoquinazoline-based inhibitors of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR cascade was synthesized. Several compounds exhibited cytotoxicity towards a panel of cancer cell lines in the low and sub-micromolar range. Compound 7c with the highest activity and moderate selectivity towards MCF7 cells which express the mutant type of PI3K was also tested for the ability to inhibit PI3K-(signaling pathway) downstream effectors and associated proteins. Compound 7c inhibited the phosphorylation of Akt, mTOR, and S6K at 125-250 nM. It also triggered PARP1 cleavage, ROS production, and cell death via several mechanisms. Inhibition of PI3Kα was observed at a concentration of 7b 50 µM and of 7c 500 µM and higher, that can indicate minority PI3Kα as a target among other kinases in the titled cascade for 7c. In vivo studies demonstrated an inhibition of tumor growth in the colorectal tumor model. According to the docking studies, the replacement of the triazine core in gedatolisib (8) by a quinazoline fragment, and incorporation of a (hetero)aromatic unit connected with the carbamide group via a flexible spacer, can result in more selective inhibition of the PI3Kα isoform.

Novel dioxolene nickel complexes with sterically hindered diazabutadienes. Coupling of aza-ligands coordinated to nickel.

A square-planar bis-o-semiquinonato nickel complex interacts with N,N'-disubstituted 1,4-diazabutadienes-1,3 forming six-coordinate compounds. The X-ray structural study indicates complex geometry to be close to the octahedral. Magnetic properties are determined by metal-ligand ferromagnetic exchange interactions which are promoted by complex geometry. In polar solvents (THF, CH2Cl2, and CHCl3) complexes are partly dissociated into corresponding diazabutadiene-nickel catecholate and free o-quinone. In the case of the most sterically hindered 1,4-bis-(2,6-di-iso-propylphenyl)-2,3-dimethyl-1,4-diazabutadiene-1,3 in n-hexane or toluene the above-mentioned reaction is accompanied by the coupling through the back-bonded methyl groups of diazabutadiene. The organic product of the coupling was eliminated from the complex, isolated and structurally characterized. Taking into account the quantitative yield the coupling reaction is the actual procedure for the synthesis of new potential nitrogen ligands.

Cerium(iii) complexes with azolyl-substituted thiophenolate ligands: synthesis, structure and red luminescence.

In order to obtain molecular Ce(iii) complexes which emit red light by f-d transitions the azolyl-substituted thiophenolates were used as the ligands. The thiophenolate Ce(iii) complexes were synthesized by the reaction of Ce[N(SiMe3)2]3 with respective thiophenols 2-(2'-mercaptophenyl)benzimidazole (H(NSN)), 2-(2'-mercaptophenyl)benzoxazole (H(OSN)) and 2-(2'-mercaptophenyl)benzothiazole (H(SSN)) in DME media. The structures of the benzimidazolate (Ce(NSN)3(DME)) and benzothiazolate (Ce(SSN)3(DME)) derivatives were determined by X-ray analysis which revealed that the cerium ion in the molecules is coordinated by one DME and three anionic thiophenolate ligands. The lanthanum complex La(OSN)3(DME) has been synthesized similarly and structurally characterized. It was found that the solids of Ce(SSN)3(DME) and Ce(OSN)3(DME) exhibit a broad band photoluminescence peaking at 620 nm which disappears upon solvatation. With an example of OSN derivatives it was proposed that this behaviour is caused by the blue shift of the f-d transition of Ce3+ ions.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of new water-soluble photoactive chlorin conjugate for targeted delivery.

A new water-soluble conjugate, consisting of a chlorin-based photosensitizing part, and a 4-arylaminoquinazoline moiety with high potential affinity to an epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR), suitable for photodynamic therapy (PDT), was synthesized starting from methylpheophorbide-a in seven steps. An increased accumulation of this compound in A431 cells with high level of EGFR expression, in comparison with CHO and HeLa cells with low EGFR expression was observed. The prepared conjugate exhibits dark and photoinduced cytotoxicity at micromolar concentrations with IC50dark/IC50light ratio of 11-18. In tumor-bearing mice, the conjugate preferentially accumulates in the tumor tissue.

LMCT facilitated room temperature phosphorescence and energy transfer in substituted thiophenolates of Gd and Yb.

To obtain luminescent lanthanide complexes with a low energy LMCT state the 2-(2'-mercaptophenyl)benzothiazolates, Ln(SSN)3, and 2-(2'-mercaptophenyl)benzoxazolates, Ln2(OSN)6 (Ln = Gd, Yb), were synthesized by the reaction of amides Ln[N(SiMe3)2]3 with respective thiophenols. Ytterbium complexes were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. Cyclic voltammetry revealed that the deprotonated mercaptophenyl ligands have significantly lower oxidation potentials than their phenoxy analogues and some ß-diketones. The photophysical properties of Gd and Yb compounds were studied both in solution and in the solid state. The fluorescence spectra of the compounds in solution display the bands of the keto and enol forms of the ligands. No energy transfer from the organic part to Yb3+ has been detected in solutions of both Yb complexes, whereas in solids an intense metal-centered emission in the near infrared region was observed. The solid Gd compounds exhibited room temperature phosphorescence caused by unusually efficient intersystem crossing facilitated by the essentially reducing properties of OSN and SSN ligands. To explain the sensitization process occurring in solids Yb2(OSN)6 and Yb(SSN)3 a specific non-resonant energy transfer mechanism via a ligand to metal charge transfer state has been proposed. Based on the Yb derivatives, NIR-emitting OLEDs with 860 µW cm-2 maximal irradiance were obtained. Their Gd counterparts showed bright electrophosphorescence (up to 1350 cd m-2) in the devices containing doped emission layers.

8-Quinolinolate complexes of yttrium and ytterbium: molecular arrangement and fragmentation under laser impact.

New 8-quinolinolate (Q) complexes of yttrium (1) and ytterbium (2) were synthesized by the reactions of Cp3Y and Yb[N(SiMe3)2]3 with 3 equiv. of 8-hydroxyquinoline in a DME solution. Single crystal X-ray analysis revealed the trinuclear molecular structure of the compounds Ln3Q9. The LDI-TOFMS investigation displayed that under the laser impact the compounds split off Q(-) anions to give Ln3Q8(+), Ln2Q5(+) and LnQ3(+) moieties. In the negative mode spectra the anions Q(-) and LnQ4(-) were observed. The DFT calculations showed the decreased stability of cationic Ln-quinolinolate as compared with their anionic counterparts. Complex 2 which is used as an emitter in a three-layer OLED displayed a metal-centered emission at 979 nm and an intensity of 50 µW cm(-2) at 15.5 V.

Carborane complexes of ruthenium(III): studies on thermal reaction chemistry and the catalyst design for atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate.

The heating of the 18-electron complex [3,3-(dppb)-3-H-3-Cl-closo-3,1,2-RuC(2)B(9)H(11)] (3) in benzene at 80 °C in the presence of a small amount of CCl(4) as initiator afforded paramagnetic 17-electron species [3,3-(dppb)-3-Cl-closo-3,1,2-RuC(2)B(9)H(11)] (4) along with minor amounts of two P-phenylene ortho-cycloboronated derivatives [3-Cl-3,3,8-{Ph(2)P(CH(2))(4)PPh-µ-(C(6)H(4)-ortho)}-closo-3,1,2-RuC(2)B(9)H(10)] (5) and [3,7-Cl(2)-3,3,8-{Ph(2)P(CH(2))(4)PPh-µ-(C(6)H(4)-ortho)}-closo-3,1,2-RuC(2)B(9)H(10)] (6) in total yield of ca. 80%. The heating of either 3 or 4 in toluene at 95 °C in the absence of CCl(4) led to the selective formation of 5, which was isolated in 64% and 46% yield, respectively. Thermolysis of 3 at higher temperatures (boiling toluene, 110 °C) gives novel paramagnetic species [3-Cl-3,3,7,8-{Ph(2)P(CH(2))(4)P-µ-(C(6)H(4)-ortho)(2)}-closo-3,1,2-RuC(2)B(9)H(9)] (7) featuring bis(ortho-cycloboronation) of both P-phenyl groups at the same phosphorus atom of the ruthenium-bound dppb ligand. All new paramagnetic complexes 4-7, as well as starting diamagnetic species 3, were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and, in addition, by EPR spectroscopic studies of odd-electron complexes. Ruthenacarboranes 3-5 and 7 all display high efficiency as catalysts for the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA). Complex 5 gave the best catalyst performance in terms of polydispersity; the PDI (M(w)/M(n)) of the polymer samples is as low as 1.15.