Elena V. Grachova

Solid-State and Solution Metallophilic Aggregation of a Cationic [Pt(NCN)L]+ Cyclometalated Complex

The noncovalent intermolecular interactions (π-π stacking, metallophilic bonding) of the cyclometalated complexes [Pt(NCN)L](+)X(-) (NCN = dipyridylbenzene, L = pyridine (1), acetonitrile (2)) are determined by the steric properties of the ancillary ligands L in the solid state and in solution, while the nature of the counterion X(-) (X(-) = PF6(-), ClO4(-), CF3SO3(-)) affects the molecular arrangement of 2·X in the crystal medium. According to the variable-temperature X-ray diffraction measurements, the extensive Pt···Pt interactions and π-stacking in 2·X are significantly temperature-dependent. The variable concentration (1)H and diffusion coefficients NMR measurements reveal that 2·X exists in the monomeric form in dilute solutions at 298 K, while upon increase in concentration [Pt(NCN)(NCMe)](+) cations undergo the formation of the ground-state oligomeric aggregates with an average aggregation number of ∼3. The photoluminescent characteristics of 1 and 2·X are largely determined by the intermolecular aggregation. For the discrete molecules the emission properties are assigned to metal perturbed IL charge transfer mixed with some MLCT contribution. In the case of oligomers 2·X the luminescence is significantly red-shifted with respect to 1 and originates mainly from the (3)MMLCT excited states. The emission energies depend on the structural arrangement in the crystal and on the complex concentration in solution, variation of which allows for the modulation of the emission color from greenish to deep red. In the solid state the lability of the ligands L leads to vapor-induced reversible transformation 1 ↔ 2 that is accompanied by the molecular reorganization and, consequently, dramatic change of the photophysical properties. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations adequately support the models proposed for the rationalization of the experimental observations.

Aurophilicity in Action: Fine-Tuning the Gold(I)-Gold(I) Distance in the Excited State To Modulate the Emission in a Series of Dinuclear Homoleptic Gold(I)-NHC Complexes.

The solution-state emission profiles of a series of dinuclear Au(I) complexes 4-6 of the general formula Au2(NHC-(CH2)n-NHC)2Br2, where NHC = N-benzylbenzimidazol-2-ylidene and n = 1-3, were found to be markedly different from each other and dependent on the presence of excess bromide. The addition of excess bromide to the solutions of 4 and 6 leads to red shifts of ca. 60 nm, and in the case of 5, which is nonemissive when neat, green luminescence emerges. A detailed computational study undertaken to rationalize the observed behavior revealed the determining role aurophilicity plays in the photophysics of these compounds, and the formation of exciplexes between the complex cations and solvent molecules or counterions was demonstrated to significantly decrease the Au-Au distance in the triplet excited state. A direct dependence of the emission wavelength on the strength of the intracationic aurophilic contact allows for a controlled manipulation of the emission energy by varying the linker length of a diNHC ligand and by judicial choice of counterions or solvent. Such unique stimuli-responsive solution-state behavior is of interest to prospective applications in medical diagnostics, bioimaging, and sensing. In the solid, the investigated complexes are intensely phosphorescent and, notably, 5 and 6 exhibit reversible luminescent mechanochromism arising from amorphization accompanied by the loss of co-crystallized methanol molecules. The mechano-responsive properties are also likely to be related to changes in bromide coordination and the ensuing alterations of intramolecular aurophilic interactions. Somewhat surprisingly, the photophysics of NHC ligand precursors 2 and 3 is related to the formation of ground-state associates with bromide counterions through hydrogen bonding, whereas 1 does not appear to bind its counterions.

Coinage metal complexes supported by the tri- and tetraphosphine ligands.

A series of tri- and tetranuclear phosphine complexes of d(10) metal ions supported by the polydentate ligands, bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)phenylphosphine (PPP) and tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)phosphine (PPPP), were synthesized. All the compounds under study, [AuM2(PPP)2](3+) (M = Au (1), Cu (2), Ag (3)), [M4(PPPP)2](4+) (M = Ag (4), Au (5)), [AuAg3(PPPP)2](4+) (6), and [Au2Cu2(PPPP)2(NCMe)4](4+) (7), were characterized crystallographically. The trinuclear clusters 1-3 contain a linear metal core, while in the isostructural tetranuclear complexes 4-6 the metal framework has a plane star-shaped arrangement. Cluster 7 adopts a structural motif that involves a digold unit bridged by two arms of the PPPP phosphines and decorated two spatially separated Cu(I) ions chelated by the remaining P donors. The NMR spectroscopic investigation in DMSO solution revealed the heterometallic clusters 2, 3, and 6 are stereochemically nonrigid and undergo reversible metal ions redistribution between several species, accompanied by their solvation-desolvation. The complexes 1-3 and 5-7 exhibit room temperature luminescence in the solid state (Φem = 6-64%) in the spectral region from 450 to 563 nm. The phosphorescence observed originates from the triplet excited states, determined by the metal cluster-centered dσ* → pσ transitions.

Laser-induced transformation of supramolecular complexes: approach to controlled formation of hybrid multi-yolk-shell Au-Ag@a-C:H nanostructures.

In the present work an efficient approach of the controlled formation of hybrid Au–Ag–C nanostructures based on laser-induced transformation of organometallic supramolecular cluster compound is suggested. Herein the one-step process of the laser-induced synthesis of hybrid multi-yolk-shell Au-Ag@a-C:H nanoparticles which are bimetallic gold-silver subnanoclusters dispersed in nanospheres of amorphous hydrogenated a-C:H carbon is reported in details. It has been demonstrated that variation of the experimental parameters such as type of the organometallic precursor, solvent, deposition geometry and duration of laser irradiation allows directed control of nanoparticles’ dimension and morphology. The mechanism of Au-Ag@a-C:H nanoparticles formation is suggested: the photo-excitation of the precursor molecule through metal-to-ligand charge transfer followed by rupture of metallophilic bonds, transformation of the cluster core including red-ox intramolecular reaction and aggregation of heterometallic species that results in the hybrid metal/carbon nanoparticles with multi-yolk-shell architecture formation. It has been found that the nanoparticles obtained can be efficiently used for the Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy label-free detection of human serum albumin in low concentration solution.

New supramolecular Au(I)-Cu(I) complex as potential luminescent label for proteins.

A novel supramolecular [Au6Cu2(C2C6H4-4-COONC4H4O2)6(Ph2PC6H4PPh2)3](PF6)2 complex functionalized with a succinimide ester alkynyl substituent has been synthesized and characterized using X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy. Like the other complexes of this class, it demonstrates bright emission in acetone and dichloromethane solutions with the excited state lifetime in a microsecond domain. This complex readily reacts with a surface amine group of proteins/enzymes (human serum albumin (HSA), rabbit anti-HSA antibodies, soybean trypsin inhibitor, and α-chymotrypsin) to give covalent conjugates, which contain up to five molecules of the luminescent label bound to the biomolecule. The conjugates keep a high level of the phosphorescent label emission, but in contrast to the parent complex molecule, display excellent solubility and high stability in physiological media. Investigation of the biological activity of the conjugates also showed that the specific structure of the biomolecules remained nearly unchanged upon bonding with the label, which is indicative of a very prospective of the conjugates application in biomolecular detection.

The structure and dynamic behaviour of disubstituted derivatives of [Rh6(CO)16] containing bidentate phosphorus ligands ☆

The solution structure and dynamic behaviour of [Rh6(CO)14(m,h 2 -dppm)] (1), [Rh6(CO)14(m,h 2 -dppe)] (2) and [Rh6(CO)14(m,h 2 dppe f )] (3) containing bridging diphosphine ligands have been examined using 1D 13 C, 31 P and 2D 13 C/{ 103 Rh}, 31 P/{ 103 Rh} HMQC and 13 C EXSY NMR techniques. It has been shown that the solid state structure of these clusters remains unchanged in solution, including the close non-bonding intramolecular interactions of the perfluorinated phenyl rings with adjacent terminal carbonyls. In solution, two different dynamic processes have been found: for 2 and 3, the P/CH2/CH2/P chain of the coordinated dppe and dppe f is non-rigid and this leads to the interchange of the two enantiomeric forms of the clusters through a ‘rocking’ motion of the bridging diphosphine; the rate of this exchange depends strongly on the non-bonding van der Waal’s interactions between the phosphorus substituents and adjacent carbonyl ligands which results in substantially slower dynamics for 3 because the steric requirements of the fluorinated phenyl rings considerably hinder this racemization. The second type of dynamics found in 1/3 involves exchange of terminal/face-bridging CO’s associated with the unsubstituted rhodium atoms. Regioselectivity of these exchanges is essentially similar for all three clusters, whereas the rates of these CO-exchanges are substantially higher in 3, which may be due to the lower net donicity of the per-fluorinated diphosphine. # 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Insight into bio-metal interface formation in vacuo: interplay of S-layer protein with copper and iron.

The mechanisms of interaction between inorganic matter and biomolecules, as well as properties of resulting hybrids, are receiving growing interest due to the rapidly developing field of bionanotechnology. The majority of potential applications for metal-biohybrid structures require stability of these systems under vacuum conditions, where their chemistry is elusive, and may differ dramatically from the interaction between biomolecules and metal ions in vivo. Here we report for the first time a photoemission and X-ray absorption study of the formation of a hybrid metal-protein system, tracing step-by-step the chemical interactions between the protein and metals (Cu and Fe) in vacuo. Our experiments reveal stabilization of the enol form of peptide bonds as the result of protein-metal interactions for both metals. The resulting complex with copper appears to be rather stable. In contrast, the system with iron decomposes to form inorganic species like oxide, carbide, nitride, and cyanide.

A stimuli-responsive Au(I) complex based on an aminomethylphosphine template: synthesis, crystalline phases and luminescence properties

Herein we report the synthesis of a stimuli-responsive binuclear Au(I) complex based on the 1,5-bis(p-tolyl)-3,7-bis(pyridine-2-yl)-1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctane ligand, which is a novel template for the design of luminescent metal complexes. In the solid state, the complex obtained gives three different crystalline phases, which were characterized by XRD analysis. It was also found that the crystalline phases can be reversibly interconverted by recrystallization or solvent vapour treatment. The emission of these phases varies in the 500–535 nm range. Quite unexpectedly, the emission energy of these phases is mostly determined by the non-covalent interactions of the solvent molecules with the ligand environment, which have nearly no effect on the Au–Au interactions in the chromophoric centre. The complex obtained demonstrates thermo/solvatochromism to display greenish emission in a DCM matrix and blue emission in an acetone matrix at 77 K, in contrast to the blue emission of the phase containing a DCM molecule and greenish-yellow emission of the acetone solvate in a crystal cell at room temperature. The potentially important role of co-crystallized solvent molecules in the ligand-based emission of the complex obtained is supported by DFT calculations.

Supramolecular Au(I)-Cu(I) Complexes as New Luminescent Labels for Covalent Bioconjugation.

Two new supramolecular organometallic complexes, namely, [Au6Cu2(C2C6H4CHO)6(PPh2C6H4PPh2)3](PF6)2 and [Au6Cu2(C2C6H4NCS)6(PPh2C6H4PPh2)3](PF6)2, with highly reactive aldehyde and isothiocyanate groups have been synthesized and characterized using X-ray crystallography, ESI mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy. The compounds obtained demonstrated bright emission in solution with the excited-state lifetime in microsecond domain both under single- and two-photon excitation. The luminescent complexes were found to be suitable for bioconjugation in aqueous media. In particular, they are able to form the covalent conjugates with proteins of different molecular size (soybean trypsin inhibitor, human serum albumin, rabbit anti-HSA antibodies). The conjugates demonstrated a high level of the phosphorescent emission from the covalently bound label, excellent solubility, and high stability in physiological media. The highest quantum yield, storage stability, and luminance were detected for bioconjugates formed by covalent attachment of the aldehyde-bearing supramolecular Au(I)-Cu(I) complex. The measured biological activity of one of the labeled model proteins clearly showed that introduced label did not prevent the biorecognition and specific protein-protein complex formation that was extremely important for the application of the conjugates in biomolecular detection and imaging.

Self-assemble nanoparticles based on polypeptides containing C-terminal luminescent Pt-cysteine complex

The growing attention to the luminescent nanocarriers is strongly stimulated by their potential application as drug delivery systems and by the necessity to monitor their distribution in cells and tissues. In this communication we report on the synthesis of amphiphilic polypeptides bearing C-terminal phosphorescent label together with preparation of nanoparticles using the polypeptides obtained. The approach suggested is based on a unique and highly technological process where the new phosphorescent Pt-cysteine complex serves as initiator of the ring-opening polymerization of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides to obtain the polypeptides bearing intact the platinum chromophore covalently bound to the polymer chain. It was established that the luminescent label retains unchanged its emission characteristics not only in the polypeptides but also in more complicated nanoaggregates such as the polymer derived amphiphilic block-copolymers and self-assembled nanoparticles. The phosphorescent nanoparticles display no cytotoxicity and hemolytic activity in the tested range of concentrations and easily internalize into living cells that makes possible in vivo cell visualization, including prospective application in time resolved imaging and drug delivery monitoring.