Pyridinecarbaldehyde metal complexes

Metal complexes of the 1,4-diaza-1,3-butadiene ligands [RN=C(R )C(R")=NR = R-DAB R, R" ] have recently been surveyed by van Koten and Vrieze.111,112 Therefore we will refer extensively to these reviews and to some key references and we will discuss here the main points and new results. The discussion will be restricted to the above ligands, with passing mention of complexes of 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde-JV-imines, which are discussed in Chapter 13.2. 

In 1965, Breslow and Chipman discovered that zinc or nickel ion complexes of (E)-2-pyridinecarbaldehyde oxime (5) are remarkably active catalyst for the hydrolysis of 8-acetoxyquinoline 5-sulfonate l2). Some years later, Sigman and Jorgensen showed that the zinc ion complex of N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine (3) is very active in the transesterification from p-nitrophenyl picolinate (7)13). In the latter case, noteworthy is a change of the reaction mode at the aminolysis in the absence of zinc ion to the alcoholysis in the presence of zinc ion. Thus, the zinc ion in the complex greatly enhances the nucleophilic activity of the hydroxy group of 3. In search for more powerful complexes for the release of p-nitrophenol from 7, we examined the activities of the metal ion complexes of ligand 2-72 14,15). 

Carbonic anhydrase is a zinc(II) metalloenzyme which catalyzes the hydration and dehydration of carbon dioxide, C02+H20 H+ + HC03. 25 As a result there has been considerable interest in the metal ion-promoted hydration of carbonyl substrates as potential model systems for the enzyme. For example, Pocker and Meany519 studied the reversible hydration of 2- and 4-pyridinecarbaldehyde by carbonic anhydrase, zinc(II), cobalt(II), H20 and OH. The catalytic efficiency of bovine carbonic anhydrase is ca. 108 times greater than that of water for hydration of both 2- and 4-pyridinecarbaldehydes. Zinc(II) and cobalt(II) are ca. 107 times more effective than water for the hydration of 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde, but are much less effective with 4-pyridinecarbaldehyde. Presumably in the case of 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde complexes of type (166) are formed in solution. Polarization of the carbonyl group by the metal ion assists nucleophilic attack by water or hydroxide ion. Further studies of this reaction have been made,520,521 but the mechanistic details of the catalysis are unclear. Metal-bound nucleophiles (M—OH or M—OH2) could, for example, be involved in the catalysis. 

The NAD+-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase from horse liver contains one catalytically essential zinc ion at each of its two active sites. An essential feature of the enzymic catalysis appears to involve direct coordination of the enzyme-bound zinc by the carbonyl and hydroxyl groups of the aldehyde and alcohol substrates. Polarization of the carbonyl group by the metal ion should assist nucleophilic attack by hydride ion. A number of studies have confirmed this view. Zinc(II) catalyzes the reduction of l,10-phenanthroline-2-carbaldehyde by lV-propyl-l,4-dihy-dronicotinamide in acetonitrile,526 and provides an interesting model reaction for alcohol dehydrogenase (Scheme 45). The model reaction proceeds by direct hydrogen transfer and is absolutely dependent on the presence of zinc(II). The zinc(II) ion also catalyzes the reduction of 2- and 4-pyridinecarbaldehyde by Et4N BH4-.526 The zinc complex of the 2-aldehyde is reduced at least 7 x 105 times faster than the free aldehyde, whereas the zinc complex of the 4-aldehyde is reduced only 102 times faster than the free aldehyde. A direct interaction of zinc(II) with the carbonyl function is clearly required for marked catalytic effects to be observed. 

A direct metal involvement in the hydration of an aldehyde is seen in the ruthenium(n) complex of the hydrated form of 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde (3.10). 

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