Reexamination of lead(II) coordination preferences in sulfur-rich sites: implications for a critical mechanism of lead poisoning.

Recent studies suggest that the developmental toxicity associated with childhood lead poisoning may be attributable to interactions of Pb(II) with proteins containing thiol-rich structural zinc-binding sites. Here, we report detailed structural studies of Pb(II) in such sites, providing critical insights into the mechanism by which lead alters the activity of these proteins. X-ray absorption spectroscopy of Pb(II) bound to structural zinc-binding peptides reveals that Pb(II) binds in a three-coordinate Pb(II)-S(3) mode, while Zn(II) is known to bind in a four-coordinate mode in these proteins. This Pb(II)-S(3) coordination in peptides is consistent with a trigonal pyramidal Pb(II)-S(3) model compound previously reported by Bridgewater and Parkin, but it differs from many other reports in the small molecule literature which have suggested Pb(II)-S(4) as a preferred coordination mode for lead. Reexamination of the published structures of these "Pb(II)-S(4)" compounds reveals that, in almost all cases, the coordination number of Pb is actually 5, 6, or 8. The results reported herein combined with this new review of published structures suggest that lead prefers to avoid four-coordination in sulfur-rich sites, binding instead as trigonal pyramidal Pb(II)-S(3) or as Pb(II)-S(5-8). In the case of structural zinc-binding protein sites, the observation that lead binds in a three-coordinate mode, and in a geometry that is fundamentally different from the natural coordination of zinc in these sites, explains why lead disrupts the structure of these peptides and thus provides the first detailed molecular understanding of the developmental toxicity of lead.

The electronic influence of ring substituents and ansa bridges in zirconocene complexes as probed by infrared spectroscopic, electrochemical, and computational studies.

The electronic influence of unbridged and ansa-bridged ring substituents on a zirconocene center has been studied by means of IR spectroscopic, electrochemical, and computational methods. With respect to IR spectroscopy, the average of the symmetric and asymmetric stretches (nu(CO(av))) of a large series of dicarbonyl complexes (Cp(R))(2)Zr(CO)(2) has been used as a probe of the electronic influence of a cyclopentadienyl ring substituent. For unbridged substituents (Me, Et, Pr(i), Bu(t), SiMe(3)), nu(CO(av)) on a per substituent basis correlates well with Hammett sigma(meta) parameters, thereby indicating that the influence of these substituents is via a simple inductive effect. In contrast, the reduction potentials (E degrees ) of the corresponding dichloride complexes (Cp(R))(2)ZrCl(2) do not correlate well with Hammett sigma(meta) parameters, thereby suggesting that factors other than the substituent inductive effect also influence E degrees. Ansa bridges with single-atom linkers, for example [Me(2)C] and [Me(2)Si], exert a net electron-withdrawing effect, but the effect is diminished upon increasing the length of the bridge. Indeed, with a linker comprising a three-carbon chain, the [CH(2)CH(2)CH(2)] ansa bridge becomes electron-donating. In contrast to the electron-withdrawing effect observed for a single [Me(2)Si] ansa bridge, a pair of vicinal [Me(2)Si] ansa bridges exerts an electron-donating effect relative to that from the single bridge. DFT calculations demonstrate that the electron-withdrawing effect of the [Me(2)C] and [Me(2)Si] ansa-bridges is due to stabilization of the cyclopentadienyl ligand acceptor orbital, which subsequently enhances back-donation from the metal. The calculations also indicate that the electron-donating effect of two vicinal [Me(2)Si] ansa bridges, relative to that of a single bridge, is a result of it enforcing a ligand conformation that reduces back-donation from the metal.

Antimony ethylene glycolate and catecholate compounds: structural characterization of polyesterification catalysts.

Antimony compounds are widely used as catalysts for the synthesis of the commercially important polymer poly(ethyleneterephthalate) by polycondensation of bis(hydroxyethyl)terephthalate. The precise nature of the antimony catalysts is, however, unknown. The present study has been conducted with a view to determining the nature of the catalytic species by structurally characterizing antimony ethylene glycolate compounds and related catecholate derivatives, namely [Sb(2)(OCH(2)CH(2)O)(3)](n), [Sb(OCH(2)CH(2)O)(OAc)](n), [pySb(1,2-O(2)C(6)H(4))](2)O, and [pyH][Sb(1,2-O(2)C(6)H(4))(2)].

A non-classical hydrogen bond in the molybdenum arene complex [eta 6-C6H5C6H3(Ph)OH]Mo(PMe3)3: evidence that hydrogen bonding facilitates oxidative addition of the O-H bond.

Mo(PMe3)6 reacts with 2,6-Ph2C6H3OH to give the eta 6-arene complex [eta 6-C6H5C6H3(Ph)OH]Mo(PMe3)3 which exhibits a non-classical Mo...H-OAr hydrogen bond; DFT calculations indicate that the hydrogen bonding interaction facilitates oxidative addition of the O-H bond to give [eta 6,eta 1-C6H5C6H3(Ph)O]Mo(PMe3)2H.