Macrocycle flexibility

This synthetic method has been successfully applied to other systems, such as [1.1]- (<10% yield) and [3.3]cyclic Troger base (13% yield). In order to make these macrocycles flexible, further studies on the synthesis of several derivatives of 2 are in progress. 

The ion in the hole model has limited usefulness for predicting relative binding capacities of metal cations with large macrocyclic polyether hosts. As the number of ring atoms increases, the macrocyclic flexibility increases and it... 

Oxacalixarenes containing axially chiral elements have been synthesized using BINOL and the electrophiles 1,5-difluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene 7 or cyanuric chloride 10. Likely due to increased macrocycle flexibility, the ( )-BINOL-derived oxacalixarenes 41 (mixture of stereoisomers) are formed kinetically, but equilibration experiments reveal that they are not the thermodynamically favored products (Fig. 15.6) [85]. The analogous macrocycles derived from enantiopure BINOL and cyanuric chloride 10 demonstrated high enantioselective fluorescence responses to a-amino acids [86]. 

Calixarenes, which are macrocyclic compounds, are one of the best building blocks to design molecular hosts in supramolecular chemistry [158]. Synthesis of calix[4]arenes, which have been adamantylated, has been reported [105, 109]. In calix[4]arenes, adamantane or its ester/carboxylic acid derivatives were introduced as substituents (Fig. 29). The purpose of this synthesis was to learn how to employ the flexible chemistry of adamantane in order to construct different kinds of molecular hosts. The X-ray structure analysis of p-(l-adamantyl)thiacalix[4]arene [109] demonstrated that it contained four CHCI3 molecules, one of which was located inside the host molecule cavity, and the host molecule assumed the cone-like conformational shape (Fig. 30). 

A number of bis(tacn) ligands, composed of pairs of covalently linked tacn macrocycles, can form similar structures, provided the linker group between the sandwiching macrocycles is sufficiently flexible (e.g., (556)).1411-1413 In particular, several Ni11 complexes of poly(tacn) derivatives with a central benzene have been studied, where the Ni is sandwiched between pairs of tacn macrocycles when these are attached to the ortho positions of the aromatic spacer group (e.g., (557)).1412,1413... 

Silver(I) complexes with macrocyclic nitrogen ligands are also very numerous. Mono- or homodi-nuclear silver-containing molecular clefts can be synthesized from the cyclocondensation of functionalized alkanediamines or triamines with 2,6-diacetylpyridine, pyridine-2,6-dicarbalde-hyde, thiophene-2,5-dicarbaldehyde, furan-2,5-dicarbaldehyde, or pyrrole-2,5-dicarbaldehyde in the presence of silver(I).486 97 The clefts are derived from bibracchial tetraimine Schiff base macrocycles and have been used, via transmetallation reactions, to complex other metal centers. The incorporation of a range of functionalized triamines has provided the conformational flexibility to vary the homodinuclear intermetallic separation from ca. 3 A to an excess of 6 A, and also to incorporate anions as intermetallic spacers. Some examples of the silver(I) complexes obtained are shown in Figure 5. 

Complexation of Cd with a series of polyamine macrocycles, but also related open-chain polyamines, comprising or attached to the 2,2 -bipyridine (bipy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) moieties, has been studied by combined UV/vis spectrometry and potentiometry.24 Formation constants and distribution diagrams of the species present have been evaluated. As a result the thermodynamic stabilities, i.e., the formation constants, are lower for the bipy- and phen-contain-ing ligands than those for Cd complexes with aliphatic oligoaza macrocycles containing the same number of N donors. The probable reason is loss of flexibility of the ligands caused by the size and stiffness of the inserted heteroaromatic moieties. 

Metal macrocycles encapsulated in zeolites can be synthesized in different ways.50-53 The flexible ligand51 or intrazeolite complexation53 method involves the diffusion of a ligand into the pores of a metal-exchanged zeolite, where upon complexation with the metal ion, it becomes too large to exit. This... 

Owing to flexibility in the substrate, the TycATE was also used to synthesize a variety of novel cyclic structures. Inclusion of a propargylated amino acid into the linear substrate allowed the synthesis of over 247 macrocyclic glycopeptides, where azido-sugars were coupled onto the cyclized alkyne via copper-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition [44] (Figure 13.12). 

Consequences of unsaturation. Unsaturation in the macrocyclic ring may have major steric and electronic consequences for the nature of the ring. Extensive unsaturation will result in loss of flexibility with a corresponding restriction of the number of possible modes of coordination. Further, loss of flexibility tends to be reflected in an enhanced macrocyclic effect . For example, if the metal ion is contained in the macrocyclic cavity, the loss of flexibility reduces the possible pathways for ligand dissociation and this tends to increase the kinetic stability of the system. As explained in later chapters, enhanced thermodynamic stabilities will usually also result. 

Because of its flexibility, macrocycle (44) (Black McLean, 1968) has the choice of three possible coordination modes (46)-(48) around an octahedral metal ion nevertheless, for a given metal, all isomers will not be of equal energy and hence all three may not be observed experimentally. In contrast, the macrocycle (45) is partially constrained since each set of three donor atoms (S-N-S) is incorporated in a fully conjugated section of the ligand s backbone (Lindoy Busch, 1969). These two conjugated sections will tend to remain planar such that only a configuration corresponding to (46) can occur around an octahedral metal ion if all donor atoms remain coordinated. 

The coordinated macrocycle readily reacts with alkoxide ions to yield products of type (71) (Taylor, Urbach Busch, 1969). In so doing additional flexibility is imparted to the ring which may reduce ring strain and, in part, provide a driving force for the reaction. Thus the coordinated imine carbons appear predisposed to attack by such nucleophiles. Based on this knowledge, elegant template syntheses of three-dimensional derivatives have been performed. The syntheses involved the reaction of [M(taab)]2+ (M = Ni, Cu) with the dialkoxide ions derived from bis(2-hydroxyethyl)sulphide or bis(2-hydroxyethyl)methylamine (Katovic, Taylor Busch, 1969). The products were demonstrated to be monomeric square-pyramidal complexes of type (72). The condensation... 

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