3D-Shaped Binders of Unfolded Proteins Inducing Cancer Cell-Specific Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress In Vitro and In Vivo.

The amount of unfolded proteins is increased in cancer cells, leading to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Therefore, cancer cells are sensitive to drugs capable of further enhancing ER stress. Examples of such drugs include the clinically approved proteosome inhibitors bortezomib and carfilzomib. Unfortunately, the known ER stress inducers exhibit dose-limiting side effects that justify the search for better, more cancer-specific drugs of this type. Herein, we report on FeC 2, which binds to unfolded proteins prevents their further processing, thereby leading to ER stress and ROS increase in cancer cells, but not in normal cells. FeC 2 exhibits low micromolar toxicity toward human acute promyelocytic leukemia HL-60, Burkitt's lymphoma BL-2, T-cell leukemia Jurkat, ovarian carcinoma A2780, lung cancer SK-MES-1, and murine lung cancer LLC1 cells. Due to the cancer-specific mode of action, 2 is not toxic in vivo up to the dose of 147 mg/kg, does not affect normal blood and bone marrow cells at the therapeutically active dose, but strongly suppresses both primary tumor growth (confirmed in Nemeth-Kellner lymphoma and LLC1 lung cancer models of murine tumor) and spreading of metastases (LLC1).

Induced CD of iron(ii) clathrochelates: sensing of the structural and conformational alterations of serum albumins.

An ability of inherently achiral macrobicyclic metal complexes iron(ii) clathrochelates to acquire an induced CD (ICD) output in the visible spectral range upon interaction with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was recently discovered. In the present work, the CD-reporting properties of iron(ii) clathrochelates to proteins and the thermodynamic parameters of their binding to albumins are evaluated. It is shown that iron(ii) clathrochelates functionalized by six ribbed carboxyphenylsulfide groups are able to discriminate between serum albumins of relative structure (here human and bovine albumins) by giving distinct ICD spectra. Besides, by the variation of the shape and intensity of CD bands, these cage metal complexes reflect the pH-triggered alterations of the tertiary structure of albumins. The constitutional isomerism (ortho-, meta- or para-isomers) of terminal carboxyphenylsulfide groups of iron(ii) clathrochelates strongly affects both the character of their ICD output upon binding with proteins and the parameters of the formed guest-host associates. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, it was determined that cage metal complexes bearing meta- and ortho-isomers of carboxyphenylsulfide groups possess higher association constants (Ka ∼ 2 × 104 M-1) and clathrochelate-to-BSA binding ratios (n = 2) than the para-isomer (Ka ∼ 5 × 103 M-1, n = 1). The iron(ii) clathrochelates are suggested to be potential molecular three-dimensional scaffolds for the design of CD-sensitive reporters able to recognize specific elements of protein surfaces.

Dicarboxyl-terminated iron(ii) clathrochelates as ICD-reporters for globular proteins.

Cage metal complexes iron(ii) clathrochelates, which are inherently CD silent, were discovered to demonstrate intensive output in induced circular dichroism (ICD) spectra upon their assembly to albumins. With the aim to design clathrochelates as protein-sensitive CD reporters, the approach for the functionalization of one chelate α-dioximate fragment of the clathrochelate framework with two non-equivalent substituents was developed, and constitutional isomers of clathrochelate with two non-equivalent carboxyphenylsulfide groups were synthesized. The interaction of designed iron(ii) clathrochelates and their symmetric homologues with globular proteins (serum albumins, lysozyme, ß-lactoglobulin (BLG), trypsin, insulin) was studied by protein fluorescence quenching and CD techniques. A highly-intensive ICD output of the clathrochelates was observed upon their association with albumins and BLG. It was shown that in the presence of BLG, different clathrochelate isomers gave spectra of inverted signs, indicating the stabilization of opposite configurations (Λ or Δ) of the clathrochelate framework in the assembly with this protein. So, we suggest that the isomerism of the terminal carboxy group determined preferable configurations of the clathrochelate framework for the fixation in the protein binding site. MALDI TOF results show the formation of BLG-clathrochelate complex with ratio 1 : 1. Based on the docking simulations, the binding of the clathrochelate molecule (all isomers) to the main BLG binding site (calyx) in its open conformation is suggested. The above results point that the variation of the ribbed substituents at the clathrochelate framework is an effective tool to achieve the specificity of clathrochelate ICD reporting properties to the target protein.

Extension and functionalization of an encapsulating macrobicyclic ligand using palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura and Sonogashira reactions of iron(ii) dihalogenoclathrochelates with inherent halogen substituents.

A new approach for performing Suzuki-Miyaura and Sonogashira reactions of iron(ii) dihalogenoclathrochelates, optimizing their reaction conditions (such as temperature, solvent and a palladium-containing catalyst) and the nature of other reagents (such as arylboron components) is elaborated. These palladium-catalyzed reactions are very sensitive to the nature of the macrobicyclic substrates. The reactivity of the leaving halogen atoms correlates with their ability to undergo an oxidative addition, decreasing in the order: I > Br > Cl, and iron(ii) diiodoclathrochelate underwent these C-C cross-couplings under their "classical" conditions. Phenylboronic, 4-carboxyphenylboronic and 6-ethoxy-2-naphthylboronic acids, and the diethyl ether of 4-(ethoxycarbonyl)boronic acid were tested as components of Suzuki-Miyaura reactions in DMF and in THF. The highest yields of the target products were obtained in DMF, while the highest activation was observed with sodium and potassium carbonates. The Suzuki-Miyaura reaction of a diiodoclathrochelate with 6-ethoxy-2-naphthylboronic acid gave the mono- and difunctionalized clathrochelates resulting from the tandem hydrodeiodination - C-C cross-coupling and double C-C cross-coupling reactions, respectively. Its Sonogashira reactions with trimethylsilylacetylene and acetylenecarboxylic acid in THF and in DMF were tested. This palladium-catalyzed reaction with a (CH3)3Si-containing active component gave the target products in a high total yield. The complexes obtained were characterized using elemental analysis, MALDI-TOF, UV-Vis, 1H and 13C{1H} NMR spectroscopy, and by single crystal XRD. Despite the non-equivalence of the ribbed α-dioximate fragments of their molecules, the encapsulated iron(ii) ion is situated almost in the centre of its FeN6-coordination polyhedron, the geometry of which is almost intermediate between a trigonal prism and a trigonal antiprism.

Induced chirality of cage metal complexes switched by their supramolecular and covalent binding.

An ability of the ribbed-functionalized iron(ii) clathrochelates to induce a CD output in interactions with a protein, covalent bonding or supramolecular interactions with a low-molecular-weight chiral inductor, was discovered. The interactions of CD inactive, carboxyl-terminated iron(ii) clathrochelates with serum albumin induced their molecular asymmetry, causing an appearance of strong CD signals in the range of 350-600 nm, whereas methyl ester and amide clathrochelate derivatives remained almost CD inactive. The CD spectra of carboxyl-terminated clathrochelates on supramolecular interactions or covalent bonding with (R)-(+)-1-phenylethylamine gave a substantially lower CD output than with albumin, affected by both the solvent polarity and the isomerism of clathrochelate's ribbed substituents. In supramolecular assemblies, the bands were most intensive for ortho-substituted carboxyl-terminated clathrochelates. The ortho- and meta-phenylethylamide cage complexes in tetrachloromethane inverted the signs of their CD bands compared with those in acetonitrile. It was suggested that the tris-dioximate metal clathrochelates possess a Russian doll-like molecular system. Because of the distorted TP-TAP geometry, their coordination polyhedron had no inversion centre and possessed an inherent chirality together with the equiprobability of its left(Λ)- and right(Δ)-handle twists. The selective fixation of one of these C3-distorted conformations resulted in the appearance of the CD signal in the range of their visible metal-to-ligand charge transfer bands. Calculations by DFT methods were used to illustrate the possible conformations of the macrobicyclic molecules, as well as the intramolecular interactions between the cage framework and optically active distal substituents responsible for the chirality induction of the metal-centred coordination polyhedra.

[1,10]Phenanthroline based cyanine dyes as fluorescent probes for ribonucleic acids in live cells.

A series of monomethine, trimethine- and styrylcyanine dyes based on a [1,10]phenanthroline moiety was synthesized, characterized and investigated as potential fluorescent probes for nucleic acids in cell free settings and in cells. The dyes were found to be weakly fluorescent in the unbound state, whereas upon the binding to dsDNA or RNA their emission intensity raised up to 50 times (for monomethine benzothiazole derivative FT1 complexed with RNA). The strongest fluorescence intensity in assemblies with dsDNA and RNA was observed for the trimethine benzothiazole derivative FT4. The quantum yield of FT4 fluorescence in its complex with dsDNA was found to be 1.5% and the binding constant (K b) was estimated to be 7.9 × 104 M-1 that is a typical value for intercalating molecules. The FT4 dye was found to be cell membrane permeable. It stains RNA rich components-the nucleoli and most probably the cytoplasmic RNA. FT4 bound to RNAs delivers a very strong fluorescence signal, which makes this easily accessible dye a potentially useful alternative to known RNA stains, e.g. expensive SYTO® 83. The advantage of FT4 is its easy synthetic access including no chromatographic purification steps, which will be reflected in its substantially lower price.

The impact of binding of macrocyclic metal complexes on amyloid fibrillization of insulin and lysozyme.

Amyloid fibrils are insoluble protein aggregates whose accumulation in cells and tissues is connected with a range of pathological diseases. We studied the impact of 2 metal complexes (axially coordinated Hf phthalocyanine and iron (II) clathrochelate) on aggregation of insulin and lysozyme. For both proteins, the host-guest interaction with these compounds changes the kinetics of fibrillization and affects the morphology of final aggregates. The Hf phthalocyanine is a very efficient inhibitor of insulin fibrillization; in its presence, only very low amounts of fibrils with the diameters of 0.8 to 5 nm and spherical aggregates were found. Effective concentration of fibrillization inhibition (IC50 ) was estimated to be 0.11 ± 0.04 µM. The clathrochelate induced the formation of thin fibrils with the diameters of 0.8 to 2.5 nm; IC50 was estimated as 20 ± 9 µM. The lysozyme fibrillization remained quite intensive in the presence of the studied compounds; they induced the formation of long filaments (the length up to 2.5 µm, the diameters of 1.5-3.5 nm). These fibrils noticeably differed from those of free lysozyme short linear species (the diameters of 3-5 nm, the length up to 0.6 µm). Thinning and elongation of fibrils suggest that the metal complexes bind mainly to the grooves of protofilaments; this hinders the stacking of early aggregates or protofilaments together but does not hinder their growth. The image of the fibril separated into 2 protofilaments allows suggesting that the fibril formation occurs via the growth of the parallel protofilaments with their subsequent twisting in the fibril. The changes of the lysozyme intrinsic fluorescence indicate that both metal complexes interact with the protein during the stage of the fibrillar seeds formation.

A Trigonal Prismatic Mononuclear Cobalt(II) Complex Showing Single-Molecule Magnet Behavior.

Single-molecule magnets (SMMs) with one transition-metal ion often rely on unusual geometry as a source of magnetically anisotropic ground state. Here we report a cobalt(II) cage complex with a trigonal prism geometry showing single ion magnet behavior with very high Orbach relaxation barrier of 152 cm(-1). This, to our knowledge, is the largest reported relaxation barrier for a cobalt-based mononuclear SMM. The trigonal prismatic coordination provided by the macrocyclic ligand gives intrinsically more stable molecular species than previously reported SMMs, thus making this type of cage complexes more amendable to possible functionalization that will boost their magnetic anisotropy even further.

Molecular design of cage iron(II) and cobalt(II,III) complexes with a second fluorine-enriched superhydrophobic shell.

Pentafluorophenylboron-capped iron and cobalt(II) hexachloroclathrochelate precursors were obtained by the one-pot template condensation of dichloroglyoxime with pentafluorophenylboronic acid on iron and cobalt(II) ions under vigorous reaction conditions in trifluoroacetic acid media. These reactive precursors easily undergo nucleophilic substitution with (per)fluoroarylthiolate anions, giving (per)fluoroarylsulfide macrobicyclic complexes with encapsulated iron and cobalt(II) ions; nucleophilic substitution of the cobalt(II) hexachloroclathrochelate precursor with a pentafluorophenylsulfide anion gave the target hexasulfide monoclathrochelate and the mixed-valence Co(III)Co(II)Co(III) bis-clathrochelate as a side product. The complexes obtained were characterized using elemental analysis, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, IR, UV-Vis, (57)Fe Mössbauer (for the X-rayed iron complexes), (1)H, (11)B, (13)C and (19)F NMR spectroscopies and by X-ray diffraction; their redox and electrocatalytic behaviors were studied using cyclic voltammetry and gas chromatography. As can be seen from the single-crystal X-ray diffraction data, the second superhydrophobic shell of such caged metal ions is formed by fluorine atoms of both the apical and ribbed (per)fluoroaryl peripheral groups. The main bond distances and chelate N=C-C=N angles in their molecules are similar, but rotational elongation (contraction) along the molecular C3-pseudoaxes, accompanied by changes in the geometry of the corresponding MN6-coordination polyhedra from a trigonal prism to a trigonal antiprism, allowed encapsulating Fe(2+), Co(2+) and Co(3+) ions. The nature of an encapsulated metal ion and its oxidation state affect the M-N bond lengths, and, for cobalt(ii) clathrochelate with an electronic configuration d(7) the Jahn-Teller structural effect is observed as an alternation of the Co-N distances. Pentafluorophenylboron-capped hexachloroclathrochelate precursors, giving stable catalytically active metal(I)-containing intermediates due to the electron-withdrawing effect of their six ribbed chlorine substituents, were found to show moderate electrocatalytic activity in a 2H(+)/H2 hydrogen-forming reaction. In the case of their ribbed-functionalized sulfide derivatives, the strong electron-withdrawing (per)fluoroaryl groups do not stabilize the reduced electrocatalytically active metal(i)-containing species as their mesomeric effect is absent or substantially decreased by steric hindrances between them.

Copper(I)- and copper(0)-promoted homocoupling and homocoupling-hydrodehalogenation reactions of dihalogenoclathrochelate precursors for C-C conjugated iron(II) bis-cage complexes.

Iron(II) dibromo- and diiodoclathrochelates undergo copper(I)-promoted reductive homocoupling in HMPA at 70-80 °C leading to C-C conjugated dibromo- and diiodo-bis-clathrochelates in high yields. Under the same conditions, their dichloroclathrochelate analog does not undergo the same homocoupling reaction, so the target dichloro-bis-cage product was obtained in high yield via dimerization of its heterodihalogenide iodochloromonomacrobicyclic precursor. The use of NMP as a solvent at 120-140 °C gave the mixture of bis-clathrochelates resulting from a tandem homocoupling-hydrodehalogenation reaction: the initial acetonitrile copper(I) solvato-complex at a high temperature underwent re-solvatation and disproportionation leading to Cu(II) ions and nano-copper, which promoted the hydrodehalogenation process even at room temperature. The most probable pathway of this reaction in situ includes hydrodehalogenation of the already formed dihalogeno-bis-clathrochelate via the formation of reduced anion radical intermediates. As a result, chemical transformations of the iron(II) dihalogenoclathrochelates in the presence of an acetonitrile copper(I) solvato-complex were found to depend both on the nature of halogen atoms in their ribbed chelate fragments and on reaction conditions (i.e. solvent and temperature). The C-C conjugated iron(II) dihalogeno-bis-clathrochelates easily undergo nucleophilic substitution with various N,S-nucleophiles giving ribbed-functionalized bis-cage species. These iron(II) complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, IR, UV-Vis, (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, and by X-ray diffraction; their electrochemical properties were studied by cyclic voltammetry. The isomeric shift values in (57)Fe Mössbauer spectra of such cage compounds allowed identifying them as low-spin iron(II) complexes, while those of the quadrupole splitting are the evidence for a significant TP distortion of their FeN6-coordination polyhedra. As follows from CV data, the C-C conjugated iron(II) bis-clathrochelates undergo stepwise electrochemical reduction and oxidation giving mixed-valence Fe(II)Fe(I) and Fe(II)Fe(III) bis-cage intermediates.

Clathrochelates meet phosphorus: thiophosphorylation of Fe(II) dichloroclathrochelate precursor, synthesis of N,S-donor macrobicyclic ligands and their Pd(II) complexes as potent catalysts of Suzuki cross-coupling reaction.

Nucleophilic substitution of an iron(ii) dichloroclathrochelate with diphenylphosphine sulfide under PTC afforded a monophosphorylated cage complex. This precursor undergoes further nucleophilic substitution with mono- and diamines giving P,N-substituted mono- and bis-clathrochelates; those with thiophosphoryl and pyridyl groups were used as N,S-donor macrobicyclic ligands toward the palladium(ii) ion. In the resulting Pd,Fe-binuclear 1 : 1 complexes, the clathrochelate moieties retain the geometry, characteristic of low-spin iron(ii) complexes, with a minor distortion caused by intramolecular interactions. The Pd(2+) ion has a twisted square-planar N2SCl-environment. The complexes thus obtained proved to be efficient catalysts of the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction.

Chloride ion-aided self-assembly of pseudoclathrochelate metal tris-pyrazoloximates.

Chloride ion-aided one-pot template self-assembly of a mixed pyrazoloxime ligand with phenylboronic acid on a corresponding metal(II) ion as a matrix afforded the first boron-capped zinc, cobalt, iron, and manganese pseudoclathrochelate tris-pyrazoloximates. The presence of a pseudocross-linking hydrogen-bonded chloride ion is critical for their formation, as the same chloride-capped complexes were isolated even in the presence of large excesses of bromide and iodide ions. As revealed by X-ray diffraction, all complexes are capped with a chloride ion via three N-H···Cl hydrogen bonds that stabilize their pseudomacrobicyclic frameworks. The MN6 coordination polyhedra possess a distorted trigonal prismatic geometry, with the distortion angles φ between their nonequivalent N3 bases of approximately 0°. Temperature dependences of the effective magnetic moment for the paramagnetic complexes showed the encapsulated metal(II) ions to be in a high-spin state in the temperature range of 2-300 K. In the case of the iron(II) pseudoclathrochelate, density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations were used to assess its spin state as well as the (57)Fe Mössbauer and UV-vis-NIR parameters. Cyclic voltammetry studies performed for these pseudomacrobicyclic complexes showed them to undergo irreversible or quasi-reversible metal-localized oxidations and reductions. As no changes are observed in the presence of a substantial excess of bromide ion, no anion-exchange reaction occurs, and thus the pseudoclathrochelates have a high affinity toward chloride anions in solution.

Study of anti-fibrillogenic activity of iron(II) clathrochelates.

The macrocyclic compounds mono- and bis-iron(II) clathrochelates were firstly studied as potential anti-fibrillogenic agents using fluorescent inhibitory assay, atomic force microscopy and flow cytometry. It is shown that presence of the clathrochelates leads to the change in kinetics of insulin fibrillization reaction and reduces the amount of formed fibrils (up to 70%). The nature of ribbed substituent could determine the activity of clathrochelates-the higher inhibitory effect is observed for compounds containing carboxybenzenesulfide groups, while the inhibitory properties only slightly depend on the size of complex species. The mono- and bis-clathrochelate derivatives of meta-mercaptobenzoic acid have close values of IC50 namely 16 ± 2 and 24 ± 5 µM, respectively. The presence of clathrochelates decreases the fibril diameter from 5-12 nm for free insulin fibrils to 3-8 nm for these formed in the clathrochelate presence, it also prevents the lateral aggregation of mature fibrils and formation of superfibrillar clusters. However the addition of clathrochelate results in more heterogeneous (both by size and structure) insulin aggregates population as compared to the free insulin. This way, cage complexes-iron(II) clathrochelates are proposed as efficient agents able to suppress the protein aggregation processes.

A Mononuclear Mn(II) Pseudoclathrochelate Complex Studied by Multi-Frequency Electron-Paramagnetic-Resonance Spectroscopy.

Knowledge of the correlation between structural and spectroscopic properties of transition-metal complexes is essential to deepen the understanding of their role in catalysis, molecular magnetism, and biological inorganic chemistry. It provides topological and, sometimes, functional insight with respect to the active site properties of metalloproteins. The electronic structure of a high-spin mononuclear Mn(II) pseudoclathrochelate complex has been investigated by electron-paramagnetic-resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at 9.5 and 275.7 GHz. A substantial, virtually axial zero-field splitting with D = -9.7 GHz (-0.32 cm(-1)) is found, which is the largest one reported to date for a Mn(II) complex with six nitrogen atoms in the first coordination sphere.

Apically linked iron(II) α-dioximate and α-oximehydrazonate bis-clathrochelates: synthesis, structure and electrocatalytic properties.

Iron(II) α-oximehydrazonate and α-dioximate bis-clathrochelates with apical hydrocarbon linkers were obtained by template condensation on an iron(II) ion followed by H(+)-catalyzed macrobicyclization of the bis-semiclathrochelate precursor with formaldehyde and triethyl orthoformate, and by transmetallation of the triethylantimony-containing clathrochelate precursor with diboron-containing bifunctional Lewis acids, respectively. The geometry of the para-phenylenediboron-capped iron(II) bis-clathrochelate studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction is intermediate between a trigonal prism and a trigonal antiprism with a distortion angle of 20.4°; the rigidity of its C6H4 linker results in the presence of the expected three-fold pseudo-rotational B···Fe···B···B···Fe···B axis and a staggered conformation of the cyclohexane-containing chelate moieties. The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) for the oximehydrazonate bis-clathrochelates contain single one-electron (for each metallocentre, and therefore, two electrons per molecule) quasi-reversible reduction waves assigned to the redox-processes of Fe(2+/+), and no interaction is observed between the two encapsulated iron(I)-containing metallocenters; six strong electron-withdrawing ethoxy substituents in the 1,3,5-triazacyclohexane capping fragments substantially affect the potential of this reduction. The corresponding waves for the dioximate complexes are irreversible: due to the structural rigidity of the caging tris-dioximate ligands, their reduced dianionic forms are unstable on the CV time scale. The CV for the hexaethoxy bis-clathrochelate complex contains one two-electron reversible oxidation wave assigned to the metal-centered oxidation of Fe(2+/3+), whereas those for its dioximate analogs are quasi-reversible. The relative lability of the ligand cavity in binuclear oximehydrazonates causes a stabilization of both the oxidized and the reduced forms; the reduced iron(I)-containing species are highly electrocatalytically active in the hydrogen-producing 2H(+)/H2 reaction. Their higher activity as compared with that for dioximate bis-clathrochelates was explained by the higher availability of the catalytically active metallocentres for H(+) ions.

Size matters, so does shape: Inhibition of transcription of T7 RNA polymerase by iron(II) clathrochelates.

Coordination and organoelement compounds are rarely proposed as the drug candidates despite their vast potential in the area owing to their strictly controlled geometry and rather extensive surface. This is the first example of the inhibition of transcription in the system of T7 RNA polymerase by cage metal complexes. Their IC50 values reach as low as the nanomolar range, placing them among the most potent metal-based transcription inhibitors.

Interaction of the iron(II) cage complexes with proteins: protein fluorescence quenching study.

Interaction of the iron(II) mono- and bis-clathrochelates with bovine serum albumin (BSA), ß-lactoglobulin, lysozyme and insulin was studied by the steady-state and time-resolved fluorescent spectroscopies. These cage complexes do not make significant impact on fluorescent properties of ß-lactoglobulin, lysozyme and insulin. At the same time, the monoclathrochelates strongly quench a fluorescence intensity of BSA and substantially decrease its excited state lifetime due to their binding to this protein. This occurs due to the excitation energy transfer from a tryptophan residue to a cage molecule or/and to the change of the tryptophan nearest environment caused by either clathrochelate binding or an alteration of the BSA conformation. The effect of the iron(II) bis-clathrochelate on BSA fluorescence is much weaker as compared to its monomacrobicyclic analogs as a result of an increase in its size.

Insight into the electronic structure, optical properties, and redox behavior of the hybrid phthalocyaninoclathrochelates from experimental and density functional theory approaches.

An insight into the electronic structure of several hafnium(IV), zirconium(IV), and lutetium(III) phthalocyaninoclathrochelates has been discussed on the basis of experimental UV-vis, MCD, electro- and spectroelectrochemical data as well as density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations. On the basis of UV-vis and MCD spectroscopy as well as theoretical predictions, it was concluded that the electronic structure of the phthalocyninoclathrochelates can be described in the first approximation as a superposition of the weakly interacting phthalocyanine and clathrochelate substituents. Spectroelectrochemical data and DFT calculations clearly confirm that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) in all tested complexes is localized on the phthalocyanine ligand. X-ray crystallography on zirconium(IV) and earlier reported hafnium(IV) phthalocyaninoclathrochelate complexes revealed a slightly distorted phthalocyanine conformation with seven-coordinated metal center positioned ∼1 Šabove macrocyclic cavity. The geometry of the encapsulated iron(II) ion in the clathrochelate fragment was found to be between trigonal-prismatic and trigonal-antiprismatic.

Synthesis and structure of the first clathrochelate iron(II) tris-dioximates with inherent nitrile substituent(s) and new dehalogenation--reduction reaction at a quasi-aromatic macrobicyclic framework.

Monoribbed-substituted mono- and dicyano-functionalized iron(II) macrobicycles were obtained for the first time by the reaction of iron(II) diiodoclathrochelate precursor with copper(I) cyanide-triphenylphosphine complex under mild conditions. The target dinitrile clathrochelate is a minor product of this reaction, whereas the major product contains only one cyano group. The clathrochelates obtained were characterized using elemental analysis, (1)H and (13)C{(1)H} NMR, IR and UV-vis spectroscopy, MALDI-TOF spectrometry and X-ray diffraction crystallography. The geometry of their FeN(6)-coordination polyhedra is intermediate between a trigonal prism (TP) and a trigonal antiprism (TAP); the distortion angles, φ, are 22.6-24.7°. In the molecule of the precursor, the Fe-N distances are close, whereas in the mononitrile macrobicycles those for their functionalized chelate fragments are substantially smaller than the corresponding distances in the α-benzyldioximate moieties. The heights, h, of the TP-TAP coordination polyhedra and the average bite angles, α, (2.33 Å and 39°, respectively) are the same for the X-rayed clathrochelates. The UV-vis spectra indicate a dramatic redistribution of the electron density in the π-conjugated clathrochelate framework caused by functionalization with inherent nitrile substituents. The proposed mechanism of the dehalogenation-reduction reaction of iron(II) diiodoclathrochelate resulting in substitution of their iodine atoms by a cyano group and hydrogen atom includes the anion-radical hydrodehalogenation of this precursor with acetonitrile as a source of hydrogen atom. Then, the monomethinemonoiodine macrobicyclic product underwent a substitution with a cyano group only. The copper(I) cyanide-triphenylphosphine-acetonitrile system is proposed as a tool for the synthesis of nitrile derivatives of electron-withdrawing heterocycles starting from their halogen-containing precursors.

Efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen production from H+ ions using specially designed boron-capped cobalt clathrochelates.

Specially designed hexachlorine-containing cobalt(II) tris-dioximate clathrochelates were found to efficiently electrocatalyze the production of molecular hydrogen from H(+) ions without the overpotential of this process.