The unusual (syn-/anti-)2 conformation of a di-meth-oxy-pyrimidyl-based tennimide.

The tennimide macrocycle, (I) (C52H40N16O16.0.167H2O), was synthesized from 2-amino-4,6-di-meth-oxy-pyrimidine and pyridine-2,6-dicarbonyl dichloride. Compound (I) represents the first tennimide incorporating pyridine rings in the macrocycle scaffold. In the macrocycle ring, the carbonyl groups at each successive dicarbon-yl(pyridine) moiety adopt the (syn/anti)2 conformation. This contrasts with all previously reported tetra-imide macrocycles, which exhibit the (syn)4 conformation. The effect is to close any potential cavity or niche by having two of the central pyridine C5N rings aligned close to each other [with closest pyridine Cg⋯Cg ring centroid separations of 3.5775 (19) Å; closest C⋯C = 3.467 (5) Å]. A partial occupancy water mol-ecule (with s.o.f. = 0.167), resides with its oxygen atom on a twofold axis at hydrogen-bonding distances to the carbonyl O atom, in a mol-ecular niche between two pyridine rings. Macrocyles of (I) have all six C=O groups and all eight meth-oxy O atoms present on the macrocycle surface. However, all twelve N atoms are effectively shielded on steric grounds from any potential inter-molecular inter-actions. The remaining two C=O O atoms inter-act with the partial occupancy water mol-ecule via two O-H⋯O=C hydrogen bonds. Macrocycles of (I) stack as one-dimensional chains along the b-axis direction with primary inter-molecular inter-actions involving weak C-H⋯O=C/OCH3/H2O contacts. Chains inter-lock weakly via meth-oxy-meth-oxy C-H⋯O inter-actions into two-dimensional sheets.

Novel hydrophilic bistriazolyl-phenanthroline ligands with improved solubility and performance in An/Ln separations.

Two novel bistriazolyl-phenanthroline (BTrzPhen) ligands, bearing benzene-sulphonate (DS-BTrzPhen) and amino-acidic (DAA-BTrzPhen) hydrophilizing moieties were developed and found to be more soluble in aqueous acidic media with improved selectivity for Am(iii) over Eu(iii) in solvent extraction studies having SFEu/Am values reaching >300. The remarkable activities of both ligands suggest that BTrzPhen ligands are generally still worth exploring and improving.

Probing the Electronic Properties and Interaction Landscapes in a Series of N-(Chlorophenyl)pyridinecarboxamides.

A 3 × 3 isomer grid of nine N-(chlorophenyl)pyridinecarboxamides (NxxCl) is reported with physicochemical studies and single crystal structures (Nx = pyridinoyl moiety; xCl = aminochlorobenzene ring; x = para-/meta-/ortho-), as synthesized by the reaction of the substituted p-/m-/o-pyridinecarbonyl chlorides (Nx) with p-/m-/o-aminochlorobenzenes (xCl). Several of the nine NxxCl crystal structures display structural similarities with their halogenated NxxX and methylated NxxM relatives (x = p-/m-/o-substitutions; X = F, Br; M = methyl). Indeed, five of the nine NxxCl crystal structures are isomorphous with their NxxBr analogues as the NpmCl/Br, NpoCl/Br, NmoCl/NmoBr, NopCl/Br, and NooCl/Br pairs. In the NxxCl series, the favored hydrogen bonding mode is aggregation by N-H···Npyridine interactions, though amide···amide intermolecular interactions are noted in NpoCl and NmoCl. For the NoxCl triad, intramolecular N-H···Npyridine interactions influence molecular planarity, whereas NppCl·H2O (as a monohydrate) exhibits O-H···O, N-H···O1W, and O1W-H···N interactions as the primary hydrogen bonding. Analysis of chlorine-containing compounds on the CSD is noted for comparisons. The interaction environments are probed using Hirshfeld surface analysis and contact enrichment studies. The melting temperatures (T m) depend on both the lattice energy and molecular symmetry (Carnelley's rule), and the melting points can be well predicted from a linear regression of the two variables. The relationships of the T m values with the total energy, the electrostatic component, and the strongest hydrogen bond components have been analyzed.

Enhanced removal of radioactive iodine anions from wastewater using modified bentonite: Experimental and theoretical study.

Efficient and cost-effective removal of radioactive iodine anions from contaminated water has become a crucial task and a great challenge for waste treatment and environmental remediation. Herein, we present hexadecylpyridinium chloride monohydrate modified bentonite (HDPy-bent) for the efficient and selective removal of iodine anions (I- and IO3-) from contaminated water. Batch experiments showed that HDPy-bent could remove more than 95% of I- and IO3- within 10 min, and had maximum I- and IO3- adsorption capacities of 80.0 and 50.2 mg/g, respectively. Competitive experiments indicated that HDPy-bent exhibited excellent I- and IO3- selectivity in the excessive presence of common concomitant anions including PO43-, SO42-, HCO3-, NO3-, Cl- (maximum mole ratio of anions vs iodine anions was ∼50,000). An anion exchange mechanism was proposed for the selective adsorption of iodine anions. Optimal adsorption structure of HDPy+/I- (IO3-) at atomic level and driving forces of the I- (IO3-) adsorption were calculated by density functional theory (DFT) simulations. Moreover, the good durability and reusability of the HDPy-bent has been demonstrated with 5 adsorption-desorption cycles. Dynamic column experiment also demonstrated that HDPy-bent exhibited excellent removal and fractional recovery capabilities towards I- and IO3- from simulated groundwater and environmental water samples. In conclusion, this work presents a promising adsorbent material for the decontamination of radioactive iodine anions from wastewater on a large scale.

Transport of Nucleoside Triphosphates into Cells by Artificial Molecular Transporters.

Chemically modified nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs) are widely exploited as unnatural metabolites in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry. Because anionic NTPs do not permeate cell membranes, their corresponding neutral precursors are employed in cell-based assays. These precursors become active metabolites after enzymatic conversion, which often proceeds insufficiently. Here we show that metabolically-active NTPs can be directly transported into eukaryotic cells and bacteria by the action of designed synthetic nucleoside triphosphate transporters (SNTTs). The transporter is composed of a receptor, which forms a non-covalent complex with a triphosphate anion, and a cell-penetrating agent, which translocates the complex across the plasma membrane. NTP is then released from the complex in the intracellular milieu and accumulates in nuclei and nucleoli in high concentration. The transport of NTPs proceeds rapidly (seconds to minutes) and selectively even in the presence of other organic anions. We demonstrate that this operationally simple and efficient means of transport of fluorescently labelled NTPs into cells can be used for metabolic labeling of DNA in live cells.

Hydrophilic 2,9-bis-triazolyl-1,10-phenanthroline ligands enable selective Am(iii) separation: a step further towards sustainable nuclear energy.

The first hydrophilic, 1,10-phenanthroline derived ligands consisting of only C, H, O and N atoms for the selective extraction of Am(iii) from spent nuclear fuel are reported herein. One of these 2,9-bis-triazolyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BTrzPhen) ligands combined with a non-selective extracting agent, was found to exhibit process-suitable selectivity for Am(iii) over Eu(iii) and Cm(iii), providing a clear step forward.

Two isostructural carbamates: the o-tolyl N-(pyridin-3-yl)carbamate and 2-bromo-phenyl N-(pyridin-3-yl)carbamate monohydrates.

The title carbamate monohydrates, C13H12N2O2·H2O and C12H9BrN2O2·H2O, form isomorphous crystals that are isostructural in their primary hydrogen-bonding modes. In both carbamates, the primary hydrogen bonding and aggregation involves cyclic amide-water-pyridine moieties as (N-H⋯O-H⋯N)2 dimers about inversion centres [as R 4 (4)(14) rings], where the participation of strong hydrogen-bonding donors and acceptors is maximized. The remaining water-carbonyl O-H⋯O=C inter-action extends the aggregation into two-dimensional planar sheets that stack parallel to the (100) plane. The Br derivative does not participate in halogen bonding. A weak intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bond is observed in each compound.

Regioselective Synthesis of V-Shaped Bistriazinyl-phenanthrolines.

A new, regioselective synthesis of V-shaped 2,9-bis(6-(4-halophenyl)-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)-1,10-phenanthrolines (4XPhBTPhen) ligands was developed, creating access to a simple and reliable synthesis of precursors for future supramolecular actinide complexing systems. Described is a reactant-directed regioselective synthetic method, which was found to be high yielding and reliable and yields exclusively 6,6'-phenyl BTPhen derivatives (including 4-chloro and 4-bromo) in five simple steps. Molecular and crystal structures of PhBTP and PhBTPhen products are fully determined and both were found to be in space group C2/c. Additionally, molecular and crystal structures of Z and E isomers of 2-hydrazono-2-phenylacetaldehyde oxime, a reagent in the synthetic route, reveal existence of strong intramolecular N-H···O hydrogen bonding in the Z isomer explaining its lower solubility in water.

Trezimides and tennimides: new imide-based macrocycles.

The reaction of isophthaloyl dichloride with 2-aminopyridine or 2-aminopyrimidine provides a facile entry into a new class of imide-based "3 + 3" macrocyclic trimer (trezimide), together with the known tetramer scaffold (tennimide). The trezimides can adopt two distinct asymmetric conformations in the solid state, isolated as (P) in (IO)3 (from 2-aminopyridine) and (R) in (26IO)3 (from 2-aminopyrimidine). The tennimide crystal structure (26IO)4 (from 2-aminopyrimidine) exhibits three discrete conformational states, highlighting subtle geometric changes with the tennimide channel (pore) open (o) and/or closed (c), as noted by three macrocycle conformations with their channel pores observed as cc/oc/oo. Macrocycle formation (though in competition with oligomer/polymer formation) relies on the o-pyr(im)idine N functionality and preorganized imide hinge (the "CO···CO" twist) together with the inherent flexibility of the isophthaloyl groups.

Entry point into new trimeric and tetrameric imide-based macrocyclic esters derived from isophthaloyl dichloride and methyl 6-aminonicotinate.

The one-step reaction of isophthaloyl dichloride with the 2-aminopyridine derivative (methyl 6-aminonicotinate) yields (i) a trimer-based macrocycle (EsIO)(3) and (ii) a tetramer-based macrocycle (EsIO)(4) in modest isolated synthetic yields (total of 25%), together with (iii) longer open-chain oligomers. The macrocyclization relies on the semi-flexible imide hinge formed by reaction of the 2-amino(pyridine) functional group with two acyl chloride functional groups. The determining factors in macrocycle synthesis are: (a) imide formation using the heteroaromatic ortho-N functionality; (b) the inherent ability of the imide to twist by 85-115° from planarity (as measured by the CO···CO imide torsion angles), thereby providing a hinge for macrocyclic ring closure or potentially (non)helical assembly in oligomer/polymer formation; (c) the conformational flexibility of the isophthaloyl group with meta-related carbonyl groups to twist and adopt either syn or anti conformations, although the syn conformation is observed structurally for all isophthaloyl groups in both (EsIO)(3) (trezimide) and (EsIO)(4) (tennimide) macrocycles.

Structural systematics and conformational analyses of a 3 × 3 isomer grid of fluoro-N-(pyridyl)benzamides: physicochemical correlations, polymorphism and isomorphous relationships.

An isomer grid of nine fluoro-N-(pyridyl)benzamides (Fxx) (x = para-/meta-/ortho-) has been examined to correlate structural relationships between the experimental crystal structure and ab initio calculations, based on the effect of fluorine (Fx) and pyridine N-atom (x) substitution patterns on molecular conformation. Eight isomers form N-H⋅⋅⋅N hydrogen bonds, and only one (Fom) aggregates via intermolecular N-H⋅⋅⋅O=C interactions exclusively. The Fpm and Fom isomers both crystallize as two polymorphs with Fpm_O (N-H⋅⋅⋅O=C chains, P-syn) and Fpm_N (N-H⋅⋅⋅N chains, P-anti) both in P2(1)/n (Z' = 1) differing by their meta-N atom locations (P-syn, P-anti; N(pyridine) referenced to N-H), whereas the disordered Fom_O is mostly P-syn (Z' = 6) compared with Fom_F (P-anti) (Z' = 1). In the Fxo triad twisted dimers form cyclic R(2)(2)(8) rings via N-H⋅⋅⋅N interactions. Computational modelling and conformational preferences of the isomer grid demonstrate that the solid-state conformations generally conform with the most stable calculated conformations except for the Fxm triad, while calculations of the Fox triad predict the intramolecular N-H⋅⋅⋅F interaction established by spectroscopic and crystallographic data. Comparisons of Fxx with related isomer grids reveal a high degree of similarity in solid-state aggregation and physicochemical properties, while correlation of the melting point behaviour indicates the significance of the substituent position on melting point behaviour rather than the nature of the substituent.