More Like this

1. Near quantitative synthesis of urea macrocycles enabled by bulky N-substituent

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21678-3  

   Yang, Yingfeng ; Ying, Hanze ; Li, Zhixia ; Wang, Jiang ; Chen, Yingying ; Luo, Binbin ; Gray, Danielle L. ; Ferguson, Andrew ; Chen, Qian ; Z, Y. ; et al ( March 2021 , Nature Communications)

   Macrocycles are unique molecular structures extensively used in the design of catalysts, therapeutics and supramolecular assemblies. Among all reactions reported to date, systems that can produce macrocycles in high yield under high reaction concentrations are rare. Here we report the use of dynamic hindered urea bond (HUB) for the construction of urea macrocycles with very high efficiency. Mixing of equal molar diisocyanate and hindered diamine leads to formation of macrocycles with discrete structures in nearly quantitative yields under high concentration of reactants. The bulkyN-tert-butyl plays key roles to facilitate the formation of macrocycles, providing not only the kinetic control due to the formation of the cyclization-promotingcisC = O/tert-butyl conformation, but also possibly the thermodynamic stabilization of macrocycles with weak association interactions. The bulkyN-tert-butyl can be readily removed by acid to eliminate the dynamicity of HUB and stabilize the macrocycle structures.
2. Crystal structure of cis -7,8-dihydroxy-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylchlorin and its zinc(II)–ethylenediamine complex

   https://doi.org/10.1107/S2056989022002729  

   Chaudhri, Nivedita ; Brückner, Christian ; Zeller, Matthias ( April 2022 , Acta Crystallographica Section E Crystallographic Communications)

   The title chlorin, 2 Ph H 2 , hydrogen-bonded to dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), C 44 H 32 N 4 O 2 ·C 7 H 10 N 2 , and its corresponding zinc(II) complex, 2 Ph Zn , axially coordinated to ethylenediamine (EDA), [Zn(C 44 H 30 N 4 O 2 )]·C 2 H 8 N 2 , were isolated and crystallized by adventitious reduction of the corresponding osmate esters by DMAP and EDA, respectively. Known since 1996 and, inter alia , used for the preparation of a wide range of (planar and non-planar) chlorin analogues (so-called pyrrole-modified porphyrins), their conformational analyses in the solid state are important benchmarks. Both macrocycles are only modestly distorted from planarity and both are slightly more non-planar than the corresponding dimethoxy-derivative, but less planar than a free-base meso -pentafluorophenyl-based osmate ester. NSD analyses provide quantitative and qualitative analyses of the distortion modes. One origin of the non-planarity is presumably the avoidance of the eclipsed configuration of the two vic–cis diols on the pyrroline moiety; the resulting deformation of the pyrroline translates in some cases into the macrocycle. The structure of 2 Ph H 2 features voids making up ca 26% of the unit-cell volume filled withmore »highly disordered solvate molecules (chloroform and hexanes). 2 Ph Zn crystallized with a 13.6 (4)% occupied solvate methanol molecule.« less
3. Folding-controlled assembly of ortho -phenylene-based macrocycles

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d1sc01270c  

   Kirinda, Viraj C. ; Hartley, C. Scott ( May 2021 , Chemical Science)

   The self-assembly of foldamers into macrocycles is a simple approach to non-biological higher-order structure. Previous work on the co-assembly of ortho -phenylene foldamers with rod-shaped linkers has shown that folding and self-assembly affect each other; that is, the combination leads to new emergent behavior, such as access to otherwise unfavorable folding states. To this point this relationship has been passive. Here, we demonstrate control of self-assembly by manipulating the foldamers' conformational energy surfaces. A series of o -phenylene decamers and octamers have been assembled into macrocycles using imine condensation. Product distributions were analyzed by gel-permeation chromatography and molecular geometries extracted from a combination of NMR spectroscopy and computational chemistry. The assembly of o -phenylene decamers functionalized with alkoxy groups or hydrogens gives both [2 + 2] and [3 + 3] macrocycles. The mixture results from a subtle balance of entropic and enthalpic effects in these systems: the smaller [2 + 2] macrocycles are entropically favored but require the oligomer to misfold, whereas a perfectly folded decamer fits well within the larger [3 + 3] macrocycle that is entropically disfavored. Changing the substituents to fluoro groups, however, shifts assembly quantitatively to the [3 + 3] macrocycle products, even though the structuralmore »changes are well-removed from the functional groups directly participating in bond formation. The electron-withdrawing groups favor folding in these systems by strengthening arene–arene stacking interactions, increasing the enthalpic penalty to misfolding. The architectural changes are substantial even though the chemical perturbation is small: analogous o -phenylene octamers do not fit within macrocycles when perfectly folded, and quantitatively misfold to give small macrocycles regardless of substitution. Taken together, these results represent both a high level of structural control in structurally complex foldamer systems and the demonstration of large-amplitude structural changes as a consequence of a small structural effects.« less
4. Pt(II)-Coordinated Tricomponent Self-Assemblies of Tetrapyridyl Porphyrin and Dicarboxylate Ligands: Are They 3D Prisms or 2D Bow-Ties?

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1SC06533E  

   Benavides, Paola A. ; Gordillo, Monica A. ; Yadav, Ashok ; Joaqui-Joaqui, M. Andrey ; Saha, Sourav ( March 2022 , Chemical Science)

   Goldup, S (Ed.)

   Thermodynamically favored simultaneous coordination of Pt(II) corners with aza- and carboxylate ligands yields tricomponent coordination complexes with sophisticated structures and functions, which require careful structural characterization to paint accurate depiction of their structure–function relationships. Previous reports had claimed that heteroleptic coordination of cis-(Et3P)2PtII with tetrapyridyl porphyrins (M'TPP, M' = Zn or H2) and dicarboxylate ligands (XDC) yielded 3D tetragonal prisms containing two horizontal M'TPP faces and four vertical XDC pillars connected by eight Pt(II) corners, even though such structures were not supported by their 1H NMR data. Through extensive X-ray crystallographic and NMR studies, herein, we demonstrate that self-assembly of cis-(Et3P)2PtII, M'TPP, and four different XDC linkers having varied lengths and rigidity actually yields bow-tie (⋈)-shaped 2D [{cis-(Et3P)2Pt}4(M'TPP)(XDC)2]4+ complexes featuring a M'TPP core and two parallel XDC linkers connected by four heteroleptic PtII corners instead of 3D prisms. This happened because (i) irrespective of their length (~7–11 Å) and rigidity, the XDC linkers intramolecularly bridged two adjacent pyridyl-N atoms of a M'TPP core via PtII corners instead of connecting two cofacial M'TPP ligands and (ii) the bow-tie complexes are entropically more favored over prisms. The electron-rich ZnTPP core of a bow-tie complex selectively formed a charge-transfer complex with highly π-acidicmore »1,4,5,8,9,12-hexaazatriphenylene-2,3,6,7,10,11-heaxacarbonitrile but not with a π-donor like pyrene. Thus, this work not only produced novel M'TPP-based bow-tie complexes and demonstrated their selective π-acid recognition capability, but also underscored the importance of proper structural characterization of supramolecular assemblies to ensure accurate depiction of their structure–property relationships.« less
5. Investigation of GTP-dependent dimerization of G12X K-Ras variants using ultraviolet photodissociation mass spectrometry

   https://doi.org/10.1039/c9sc01032g  

   Mehaffey, M. Rachel ; Schardon, Christopher L. ; Novelli, Elisa T. ; Cammarata, Michael B. ; Webb, Lauren J. ; Fast, Walter ; Brodbelt, Jennifer S. ( August 2019 , Chemical Science)

   Mutations in the GTPase enzyme K-Ras, specifically at codon G12, remain the most common genetic alterations in human cancers. The mechanisms governing activation of downstream signaling pathways and how they relate back to the identity of the mutation have yet to be completely defined. Here we use native mass spectrometry (MS) combined with ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) to investigate the impact of three G12X mutations (G12C, G12V, G12S) on the homodimerization of K-Ras as well as heterodimerization with a downstream effector protein, Raf. Electrospray ionization (ESI) was used to transfer complexes of WT or G12X K-Ras bound to guanosine 5′-diphosphate (GDP) or GppNHp (non-hydrolyzable analogue of GTP) into the gas phase. Relative abundances of homo- or hetero-dimer complexes were estimated from ESI-MS spectra. K-Ras + Raf heterocomplexes were activated with UVPD to probe structural changes responsible for observed differences in the amount of heterocomplex formed for each variant. Holo (ligand-bound) fragment ions resulting from photodissociation suggest the G12X mutants bind Raf along the expected effector binding region (β-interface) but may interact with Raf via an alternative α-interface as well. Variations in backbone cleavage efficiencies during UV photoactivation of each variant were used to relate mutation identity to structural changes that mightmore »impact downstream signaling. Specifically, oncogenic upregulation for hydrogen-bonding amino acid substitutions (G12C, G12S) is achieved by stabilizing β-interface interactions with Raf, while a bulkier, hydrophobic G12V substitution leads to destabilization of this interface and instead increases the proximity of residues along the α-helical bundles. This study deciphers new pieces of the complex puzzle of how different K-Ras mutations exert influence in downstream signaling.« less