The effect of pressure on the crystal structure of bianthrone.

Bianthrone [10(10-oxoanthracen-9-ylidene)anthracen-9-one] consists of two tricyclic anthraceneone units connected by a carbon-carbon double bond. Crystals of the form obtained under ambient conditions are yellow and contain folded centrosymmetric conformers in which the central ring of the anthraceneone unit is non-planar. When hydrostatic pressure is applied the crystals assume a red colouration which gradually deepens as pressures increases. The colour change is limited in extent to the surface of the crystals, the bulk remaining yellow. Comparison of high-pressure, single-crystal UV-vis spectra and powder diffraction data demonstrate that the colour change is associated with the formation of a polymorph containing a conformer in which the tricyclic fragments are planar and the molecule is twisted about the central C-C bond. Single-crystal diffraction data collected as a function of pressure up to 6.5 GPa reveal the effect of compression on the yellow form, which consists of layers of molecules which stack along the [010] direction. The structure remains in a compressed form of the ambient-pressure phase when subjected to hydrostatic pressure up to 6.5 GPa, and the most prominent effect of pressure is to push the layers closer together. PIXEL calculations show that considerable strain builds up in the crystal as pressure is increased with a number of intermolecular contacts being pushed into destabilizing regions of their potentials.

Structures and aggregation of the methylamine-borane molecules, Me(n)H(3-n)N.BH(3) (n = 1-3), studied by X-ray diffraction, gas-phase electron diffraction, and quantum chemical calculations.

The structures of the molecules methylamine-borane, MeH(2)N.BH(3), and dimethylamine-borane, Me(2)HN.BH(3), have been investigated by gas-phase electron diffraction (GED) and quantum chemical calculations. The crystal structures have also been determined for methylamine-, dimethylamine-, and trimethylamine-borane, Me(n)H(3-n)N.BH(3) (n = 1-3); these are noteworthy for what they reveal about the intermolecular interactions and, particularly, the N-H...H-B dihydrogen bonding in the cases where n = 1 or 2. Hence, structures are now known for all the members of the ammonia- and amine-borane series Me(n)H(3-n)N.BH(3) (n = 0-3) in both the gas and solid phases. The structural variations and energetics of formation of the gaseous adducts are discussed in relation to the basicity of the Me(n)H(3-n)N fragment. The relative importance of secondary interactions in the solid adducts with n = 0-3 has been assessed by the semi-classical density sums (SCDS-PIXEL) approach.

Organometallic osmium(II) arene anticancer complexes containing picolinate derivatives.

Chlorido osmium(II) arene [(eta(6)-biphenyl)Os(II)(X-pico)Cl] complexes containing X = Br (1), OH (2), and Me (3) as ortho, or X = Cl (4), CO(2)H (5), and Me (6) as para substituents on the picolinate (pico) ring have been synthesized and characterized. The X-ray crystal structures of 1 and 6 show typical "piano-stool" geometry with intermolecular pi-pi stacking of the biphenyl outer rings of 6. At 288 K the hydrolysis rates follow the order 2 >> 6 > 4 > 3 > 5 >> 1 with half-lives ranging from minutes to 4.4 h illustrating the influence of both electronic and steric effects of the substituents. The pK(a) values of the aqua adducts 3A, 4A, 5A, and 6A were all in the range of 6.3-6.6. The para-substituted pico complexes 4-6 readily formed adducts with both 9-ethyl guanine (9EtG) and 9-ethyl adenine (9EtA), but these were less favored for the ortho-substituted complexes 1 and 3 showing little reaction with 9EtG and 9EtA, respectively. Density-functional theory calculations confirmed the observed preferences for nucleobase binding for complex 1. In cytotoxicity assays with A2780, cisplatin-resistant A2780cis human ovarian, A549 human lung, and HCT116 colon cancer cells, only complexes 4 (p-Cl) and 6 (p-Me) exhibited significant activity (IC(50) values < 25 microM). Both of these complexes were as active as cisplatin in A2780 (ovarian) and HCT116 (colon) cell lines, and even overcome cisplatin resistance in the A2780cis (ovarian) cell line. The inactivity of 5 is attributed to the negative charge on its para carboxylate substituent. These data illustrate how the chemical reactivity and cancer cell cytotoxicity of osmium arene complexes can be controlled and "fine-tuned" by the use of steric and electronic effects of substituents on a chelating ligand to give osmium(II) arene complexes which are as active as cisplatin but have a different mechanism of action.

Comparison of the effects of pressure on three layered hydrates: a partially successful attempt to predict a high-pressure phase transition.

We report the effect of pressure on the crystal structures of betaine monohydrate (BTM), L-cysteic acid monohydrate (CAM) and S-4-sulfo-L-phenylalanine monohydrate (SPM). All three structures are composed of layers of zwitterionic molecules separated by layers of water molecules. In BTM the water molecules make donor interactions with the same layer of betaine molecules, and the structure remains in a compressed form of its ambient-pressure phase up to 7.8 GPa. CAM contains bi-layers of L-cysteic acid molecules separated by water molecules which form donor interactions to the bi-layers above and below. This phase is stable up to 6.8 GPa. SPM also contains layers of zwitterionic molecules with the waters acting as hydrogen-bond donors to the layers above and below. SPM undergoes a single-crystal to single-crystal phase transition above 1 GPa in which half the water molecules reorient so as to form one donor interaction with another water molecule within the same layer. In addition, half of the S-4-sulfo-L-phenylalanine molecules change their conformation. The high-pressure phase is stable up to 6.9 GPa, although modest rearrangements in hydrogen bonding and molecular conformation occur at 6.4 GPa. The three hydrates had been selected on the basis of their topological similarity (CAM and SPM) or dissimilarity (BTM) with serine hydrate, which undergoes a phase transition at 5 GPa in which the water molecules change orientation. The phase transition in SPM shows some common features with that in serine hydrate. The principal directions of compression in all three structures were found to correlate with directions of hydrogen bonds and distributions of interstitial voids.

The contrasting chemistry and cancer cell cytotoxicity of bipyridine and bipyridinediol ruthenium(II) arene complexes.

The synthesis and characterization of ruthenium(II) arene complexes [(eta(6)-arene)Ru(N,N)Cl](0/+), where N,N = 2,2'-bipyridine (bipy), 2,2'-bipyridine-3,3'-diol (bipy(OH)(2)) or deprotonated 2,2'-bipyridine-3,3'-diol (bipy(OH)O) as N,N-chelating ligand, arene = benzene (bz), indan (ind), biphenyl (bip), p-terphenyl (p-terp), tetrahydronaphthalene (thn), tetrahydroanthracene (tha) or dihydroanthracene (dha), are reported, including the X-ray crystal structures of [(eta(6)-tha)Ru(bipy)Cl][PF(6)] (1), [(eta(6)-tha)Ru(bipy(OH)O)Cl] (2) and [(eta(6)-ind)Ru(bipy(OH)(2))Cl][PF(6)] (8). Complexes 1 and 2 exibit CH (arene)/pi (bipy or bipy(OH)O) interactions. In the X-ray structure of protonated complex 8, the pyridine rings are twisted (by 17.31 degrees). In aqueous solution (pH = 2-10), only deprotonated (bipy(OH)O) forms are present. Hydrolysis of the complexes was relatively fast in aqueous solution (t(1/2) = 4-15 min, 310 K). When the arene is biphenyl, initial aquation of the complexes is followed by partial arene loss. Complexes with arene = tha, thn, dha, ind and p-terp, and deprotonated bipyridinediol (bipy(OH)O) as chelating ligands, exhibited significant cytotoxicity toward A2780 human ovarian and A549 human lung cancer cells. Complexes [(eta(6)-bip)Ru(bipy(OH)O)Cl] (7) and [(eta(6)-bz)Ru(bipy(OH)O)Cl] (5) exhibited moderate cytotoxicity toward A2780 cells, but were inactive toward A549 cells. These activity data can be contrasted with those of the parent bipyridine complex [(eta(6)-tha)Ru(bipy)Cl][PF(6)] (1) which is inactive toward both A2780 ovarian and A549 lung cell lines. DFT calculations suggested that hydroxylation and methylation of the bipy ligand have little effect on the charge on Ru. The active complex [(eta(6)-tha)Ru(bipy(OH)O)Cl] (2) binds strongly to 9-ethyl-guanine (9-EtG). The X-ray crystal structure of the adduct [(eta(6)-tha)Ru(bipy(OH)O)(9-EtG-N7)][PF(6)] shows intramolecular CH (arene)/pi (bipy(OH)O) interactions and DFT calculations suggested that these are more stable than arene/9-EtG pi-pi interactions. However [(eta(6)-ind)Ru(bipy(OH)(2))Cl][PF(6)] (8) and [(eta(6)-ind)Ru(bipy)Cl][PF(6)] (16) bind only weakly to DNA. DNA may therefore not be the major target for complexes studied here.

Binuclear and trinuclear complexes of exoO(2)-cyclam.

Complexes of the ligand 2,3-dioxo-1,4,8,11-tetraaza-cyclotetradecane (exoO(2)-cyclam) have been prepared of formula [M(1){M(2)(exoO(2)-cyclam)}(2)][BPh(4)](2) where M(1)M(2) = CoCo (3), ZnZn (4), MnCu (5), FeCu (6), CoCu (7), NiCu (8), ZnCu (9), and [(bipy)(2)Ru{Cu(exoO(2)-cyclam)}][NO(3)](2) (10). Complex 10 crystallised in the space group C2/c and shows Jahn-Teller distorted Cu(II) with axial nitrate ligands. The {Cu(exoO(2)-cyclam)} moiety chelates to the Ru with Ru-O distances of 2.082(5) A. Complexes 5-10 show a Cu(II)/Cu(III) redox process and additional metal-centred (6, 8, 10) processes and ligand-centred (10) processes. The electrochemical and UV-Vis spectroelectrochemical study of suggested two closely-spaced oxidations based on the Cu and Ru centres which suggests that substituted derivatives of will be of interest for enhanced charge separation in dye-sensitised solar cells. Magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed dominant antiferromagnetic coupling within the trinuclear species 3, 5-8. Complex 10 showed Curie-Weiss behaviour with weak intermolecular interactions.