Thiourea Organocatalysts as Emerging Chiral Pollutants: En Route to Porphyrin-Based (Chir)Optical Sensing

Environmental pollution with chiral organic compounds is an emerging problem requiring innovative sensing methods. Amino-functionalized thioureas, such as 2-(dimethylamino)cyclohexyl-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)thiourea (Takemoto’s catalyst), are widely used organocatalysts with virtually unknown environmental safety data. Ecotoxicity studies based on the Vibrio fischeri luminescence inhibition test reveal significant toxicity of Takemoto’s catalyst (EC50 = 7.9 mg/L) and its NH2-substituted analog (EC50 = 7.2–7.4 mg/L). The observed toxic effect was pronounced by the influence of the trifluoromethyl moiety. En route to the porphyrin-based chemosensing of Takemoto-type thioureas, their supramolecular binding to a series of zinc porphyrins was studied with UV-Vis and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, computational analysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The association constant values generally increased with the increasing electron-withdrawing properties of the porphyrins and electron-donating ability of the thioureas, a result of the predominant Zn⋯N cation–dipole (Lewis acid–base) interaction. The binding event induced a CD signal in the Soret band region of the porphyrin hosts—a crucial property for chirality sensing of Takemoto-type thioureas.

Supramolecular Chirogenesis in Bis-Porphyrin: Crystallographic Structure and CD Spectra for a Complex with a Chiral Guanidine Derivative

The complexation of (3aR,7aR)-N-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)octahydro-2H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-imine (BTI), as a guest, to ethane-bridged bis(zinc octaethylporphyrin), bis(ZnOEP), as a host, has been studied by means of ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and circular dichroism (CD) absorption spectroscopies, single crystal X-ray diffraction, and computational simulation. The formation of 1:2 host-guest complex was established by X-ray diffraction and UV-Vis titration studies. Two guest BTI molecules are located at the opposite sides of two porphyrin subunits of bis(ZnOEP) host, which is resting in the anti-conformation. The complexation of BTI molecules proceed via coordination of the imine nitrogens to the zinc ions of each porphyrin subunit of the host. Such supramolecular organization of the complex results in a screw arrangement of the two porphyrin subunits, inducing a strong CD signal in the Soret (B) band region. The corresponding DFT computational studies are in a good agreement with the experimental results and prove the presence of 1:2 host-guest complex as the major component in the solution (97.7%), but its optimized geometry differs from that observed in the solid-state. The UV-Vis and CD spectra simulated by using the solution-state geometry and the TD-DFT/ωB97X-D/cc-pVDZ + SMD (CH2Cl2) level of theory reproduced the experimentally obtained UV-Vis and CD spectra and confirmed the difference between the solid-state and solution structures. Moreover, it was shown that CD spectrum is very sensitive to the spatial arrangement of porphyrin subunits.

Development of synthetic protocols for porphyrins and their analogs based on distorted structures — a SPP/JPP Young Investigator Award paper

Creation of novel [Formula: see text]-conjugated molecules is an important research topic. I describe in this account an approach to this aim that is based on the use of the distorted conformation of porphyrins. Planarization of distorted molecules enables the synthesis of heteroatom-containing porphyrin derivatives. Furthermore, dearomatization reaction proves effective to construct distorted conformations from planar [Formula: see text]-conjugated molecules under mild reaction conditions. According to this protocol, we have succeeded in the synthesis of heteroatom-containing curved-[Formula: see text] conjugated molecules that had never been achieved by conventional protocols. In particular, a nitrogen-embedded buckybowl is the first example of a buckybowl having a heteroatom in its central position, which exhibits unique properties due to the incorporation of the heteroatom in its curved [Formula: see text]-surface.

Benchmarking computational methods and influence of guest conformation on chirogenesis in zinc porphyrin complexes

Different computational methods and influence of the guest conformation and solvent effect to analyze chirogenesis in zinc porphyrins by several chiral compounds have been investigated.

Embedding heteroatoms: an effective approach to create porphyrin-based functional materials

Incorporation of planarized heteroatom(s) onto the porphyrin periphery is an effective approach to create porphyrin-based functional materials. In the last three decades, such an "embedding heteroatom" strategy has been actively explored in order to realize attractive electronic, optical, and electrochemical properties. This review aims to cover a variety of synthetic methodologies that have been developed for the construction of heteroatom-embedded porphyrins. Moreover, we also summarize their structure-property relationships as well as possible applications in various research fields including artificial photosynthesis, molecular engineering, organic electronics, and bioimaging.

Synthesis and Functionalization of Porphyrins through Organometallic Methodologies

This review focuses on the postfunctionalization of porphyrins and related compounds through catalytic and stoichiometric organometallic methodologies. The employment of organometallic reactions has become common in porphyrin synthesis. Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are now standard techniques for constructing carbon-carbon bonds in porphyrin synthesis. In addition, iridium- or palladium-catalyzed direct C-H functionalization of porphyrins is emerging as an efficient way to install various substituents onto porphyrins. Furthermore, the copper-mediated Huisgen cycloaddition reaction has become a frequent strategy to incorporate porphyrin units into functional molecules. The use of these organometallic techniques, along with the traditional porphyrin synthesis, now allows chemists to construct a wide range of highly elaborated and complex porphyrin architectures.

Azaacenes as active elements for sensing and bio applications

Recent progress in the application of azaacenes in sensing and bio-fields has been summarized.