Copper -cyclam complex synthesis

Scheme 5.2 Synthesis of tetra (hydroxy propyl) cyclam (5.21) via Michael addition followed by reduction, and X-ray crystal structure of its 1 1 copper(II) acetate complex.19...

Although the term dynamical combinatorial chemistry has only been coined at the end of the last century, the template effect has been used for a much longer time. Some of the best known macrocyclic ligands such as cyclam probably would not have been known so well if their synthesis had not implied the template effect. Probably the first example of a metal ion template for the formation of imino-macrocycles N. F. Curtis, D. A. House, Structure of some aliphatic Schiff-base complexes of nickel (II) and copper (II), Chem. and End., 1961, 42, 1708-1709. 

The synthesis of metal-complexing nanoparticles with an average size ranging from 15 to 25 nm was recently described (Larpent et al, 2003). It consists of a two-step procedure starting first with the microemulsion polymerization of a mixture of styrene and vinylbenzylchloride in the presence of a cationic surfactant, then followed by the postfunctionalization with a selective macrocyclic ligand, tetrazacyclotetradecane (cyclam). The authors showed the ability of these cyclam-functionalized nanoparticles to complex copper and in addition they observed that they exhibited a solution-hke complexation behavior, demonstrating the accessibility of the immobilized ligand. 

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