Metal-directed assembly of large dinuclear copper(II) dithiocarbamate macrocyclic complexes

A self-assembled metallo-macrocycle two-qubit spin system

A self-assembled, charge-neutral dicopper(II) metallo-macrocycle with a near degenerate singlet-triplet ground state is a prototype molecular two-qubit system. The weakly-coupled spin centres delivered a long phase memory time of 5.4 μs, and each spin can be selectively switched using an applied potential providing a convenient means to modulate the quantum levels.

Antiproliferative activity of Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) complexes of dithiocarbamate: synthesis, structural characterization, and thermal studies

Five new metal complexes of Fe(II) (1), Co(II) (2), Ni(II) (3), Cu(II) (4), and Zn(II) (5), derived from an N-cyclohexyl N-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl) dithiocarbamate ligand, have been successfully synthesized and fully characterized by different analytical techniques i.e. elemental analyses, FT-IR, UV-Vis, 1H & 13C NMR, and HRMS. Furthermore, complexes 4 and 5 have been characterized by the SC-XRD technique. Complex 4 adopts a distorted square planar geometry around the Cu(II) center while complex 5 adopts a distorted tetrahedral geometry around the Zn(II) center. In addition, an eight-membered symmetric chair-like metallacycle ring containing two Zn(II) centers has also been found in complex 5. XRD data also show that complexes 4 and 5 are stabilized by various weak intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions. The course of the thermal degradation of metal complexes 1-5 has been examined by TG-DTA data which revealed that metal sulphide formed as the final residue. Complexes 1-5 demonstrated concentration-dependent cytotoxicity and growth inhibition of DL tumor cells. Among the compounds, complexes 1, 4, and 5 showed significant cytotoxicity and induced a loss in the viability of DL cells. Therapy with complexes 1, 4, and 5 protects DL tumor-bearing animals from exacerbation of the disease, increases lifespan, and significantly improves the histopathological parameters of the vascularized organ, including preventing metastasis. Overall cytotoxicity assay results indicate that all complexes have remarkable cytotoxic potential in comparison with the free ligand.

A Catalogue of Orthogonal Complementary Ligand Pairings for Palladium(II) Complexes

Molecular recognition is a form of information transfer, seen in the base pairing in DNA which is derived from the identity (acceptor or donor) and number of hydrogen bond sites within each base. Here we report bis-ligand palladium(II) complexes that exhibit similar complementarity. Pd(II) has square planar four-coordinate geometry, giving control over ligand orientation and denticity. Pairings were developed using ligand denticity (3 : 1 or 2 : 2), and hydrogen bond capability (AA:DD or AD:DA) or lack thereof. Five pairings were investigated, with two sets of four being found fully orthogonal. The two 3 : 1 pairings exhibited limited ligand exchange. The extent of this exchange varied dependant on solvent from 2 : 1 (desired to undesired) to 6 : 1. A reliable and varied set of ligand pairs have therefore been developed for bis-ligand coordination sphere engineering in pursuit of sorting for complex molecular architectures and molecular-level information storage and transfer events.

Copper Dithiocarbamates: Coordination Chemistry and Applications in Materials Science, Biosciences and Beyond

Copper dithiocarbamate complexes have been known for ca. 120 years and find relevance in biology and medicine, especially as anticancer agents and applications in materials science as a single-source precursor (SSPs) to nanoscale copper sulfides. Dithiocarbamates support Cu(I), Cu(II) and Cu(III) and show a rich and diverse coordination chemistry. Homoleptic [Cu(S2CNR2)2] are most common, being known for hundreds of substituents. All contain a Cu(II) centre, being either monomeric (distorted square planar) or dimeric (distorted trigonal bipyramidal) in the solid state, the latter being held together by intermolecular C···S interactions. Their d9 electronic configuration renders them paramagnetic and thus readily detected by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Reaction with a range of oxidants affords d8 Cu(III) complexes, [Cu(S2CNR2)2][X], in which copper remains in a square-planar geometry, but Cu–S bonds shorten by ca. 0.1 Å. These show a wide range of different structural motifs in the solid-state, varying with changes in anion and dithiocarbamate substituents. Cu(I) complexes, [Cu(S2CNR2)2]−, are (briefly) accessible in an electrochemical cell, and the only stable example is recently reported [Cu(S2CNH2)2][NH4]·H2O. Others readily lose a dithiocarbamate and the d10 centres can either be trapped with other coordinating ligands, especially phosphines, or form clusters with tetrahedral [Cu(μ3-S2CNR2)]4 being most common. Over the past decade, a wide range of Cu(I) dithiocarbamate clusters have been prepared and structurally characterised with nuclearities of 3–28, especially exciting being those with interstitial hydride and/or acetylide co-ligands. A range of mixed-valence Cu(I)–Cu(II) and Cu(II)–Cu(III) complexes are known, many of which show novel physical properties, and one Cu(I)–Cu(II)–Cu(III) species has been reported. Copper dithiocarbamates have been widely used as SSPs to nanoscale copper sulfides, allowing control over the phase, particle size and morphology of nanomaterials, and thus giving access to materials with tuneable physical properties. The identification of copper in a range of neurological diseases and the use of disulfiram as a drug for over 50 years makes understanding of the biological formation and action of [Cu(S2CNEt2)2] especially important. Furthermore, the finding that it and related Cu(II) dithiocarbamates are active anticancer agents has pushed them to the fore in studies of metal-based biomedicines.

A Structural Survey of Poly-Functional Dithiocarbamate Ligands and the Aggregation Patterns They Sustain

An overview is presented of the crystal structures of transition metal, main group element, and lanthanide compounds containing poly-functional dithiocarbamate ligands, namely species containing two or more connected NCS2− residues. In all, there are 40 different ligands of this type that have been characterised crystallographically in their heavy-element compounds with up to six NCS2− residues; all are bridging. In most cases, the resulting aggregates are zero-dimensional, often di-nuclear, but aggregates of up to 36 metal (gold) atoms are noted. There are smaller numbers of one-, two-, and three-dimensional architectures sustained by poly-functional dithiocarbamate ligands in their respective crystals. The survey highlights the opportunities afforded by this generally under-studied class of ligand.

Variation of the Molecular Conformation, Shape, and Cavity Size in Dinuclear Metalla-Macrocycles Containing Hetero-Ditopic Dithiocarbamate-Carboxylate Ligands from a Homologous Series of N-Substituted Amino Acids

A homologous series of dithiocarbamate ligands derived from N-substituted amino acids was reacted with different diorganotin dichlorides to give 18 diorganotin complexes. Spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analysis evidenced the formation of assemblies with six-coordinate tin atoms embedded in skewed-trapezoidal bipyramidal coordination environments of composition C₂SnS₂O₂. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis for three of the compounds revealed a one-dimensional polymeric structure for the complex with the ligand derived from 5-aminopentanoic acid, which through further intermolecular Sn···O interactions generated an overall two-dimensional coordination polymer containing 40-membered hexanuclear tin macrocycles. On the contrary, the ligands derived from 6-aminohexanoic and 8-aminooctanoic acid provided the expected 22- and 26-membered dinuclear macrocyclic structures. Density functional theory calculations for a representative series of macrocyclic complexes of composition [Me₂SnLx]₂ with Lx = ¯S₂CN(Me)-(CH₂)_x-COO¯ (x = 3-12) enabled a detailed analysis of the variations in the molecular conformation, shape, and cavity size of the macrocycles in dependence of the aliphatic spacer. Because of odd-even effects, the difunctional ligands can adopt either a curved or a twisted-pincer shape, while the SnS_xO_4-x (x = 0-4) moieties can act either as linear or angular tectons with varying connectivity angles.

Crystal structure and carrier transport properties of a new 3D mixed-valence Cu(I)-Cu(II) coordination polymer including pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate ligand

A novel mixed-valence Cu(i)-Cu(ii) coordination polymer having an infinite three-dimensional (3D) structure, {[Cu(I)(4)Cu(II)(2)Br(4)(Pyr-dtc)(4)]·CHCl(3)}(n) (1) (Pyr-dtc(-) = pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate), has been prepared and structurally characterized via X-ray diffraction. This complex consists of 1D Cu(i)-Br chains and bridging mononuclear copper(ii) units of Cu(II)(Pyr-dtc)(2), which form an infinite 3D network. A magnetic study indicates that this complex includes copper(ii) ions exhibiting a weak antiferromagnetic interaction (θ = -0.086 K) between the unpaired electrons of the copper(ii) ions present in the diamagnetic Cu(i)-Br chains. The carrier transport properties of 1 are investigated using an impedance spectroscopy technique and flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave conductivity measurement (FP-TRMC). The impedance spectroscopy reveals that this complex exhibits intriguing semiconducting properties at a small activation energy (E(a) = 0.29 eV (bulk)). The sum of the mobilities of the negative and positive carriers estimated via FP-TRMC is Σμ∼ 0.4 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1).