Fluorenonophane chloro-benzene solvate: mol-ecular and crystal structures.

The title compound, 19 H,79 H-3,5,9,11-tetra-oxa-1,7(2,7)-difluorena-4,10(1,3)-dibenzena-cyclo-dodeca-phane-19,79-dione (fluorenonophane), exists as a solvate with chloro-benzene, C42H28O6·C6H5Cl. The fluorenonophane contains two fluorenone fragments linked by two m-substituted benzene fragments. Some decrease in its macrocyclic cavity leads to a stacking inter-action between the tricyclic fluorenone fragments. In the crystal, the fluorenonophane and chloro-benzene mol-ecules are linked by weak C-H⋯π(ring) inter-actions and C-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds. The Cl atom of chloro-benzene does not form a halogen bond. A Hirshfeld surface analysis and two-dimensional fingerprint plots were used to analyse the inter-molecular contacts found in the crystal structure.

Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Molecular Modeling of Aza-Crown Ethers.

Synthetic and natural ionophores have been developed to catalyze ion transport and have been shown to exhibit a variety of biological effects. We synthesized 24 aza- and diaza-crown ethers containing adamantyl, adamantylalkyl, aminomethylbenzoyl, and ε-aminocaproyl substituents and analyzed their biological effects in vitro. Ten of the compounds (8, 10-17, and 21) increased intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) in human neutrophils, with the most potent being compound 15 (N,N'-bis[2-(1-adamantyl)acetyl]-4,10-diaza-15-crown-5), suggesting that these compounds could alter normal neutrophil [Ca2+]i flux. Indeed, a number of these compounds (i.e., 8, 10-17, and 21) inhibited [Ca2+]i flux in human neutrophils activated by N-formyl peptide (fMLF). Some of these compounds also inhibited chemotactic peptide-induced [Ca2+]i flux in HL60 cells transfected with N-formyl peptide receptor 1 or 2 (FPR1 or FPR2). In addition, several of the active compounds inhibited neutrophil reactive oxygen species production induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and neutrophil chemotaxis toward fMLF, as both of these processes are highly dependent on regulated [Ca2+]i flux. Quantum chemical calculations were performed on five structure-related diaza-crown ethers and their complexes with Ca2+, Na+, and K+ to obtain a set of molecular electronic properties and to correlate these properties with biological activity. According to density-functional theory (DFT) modeling, Ca2+ ions were more effectively bound by these compounds versus Na+ and K+. The DFT-optimized structures of the ligand-Ca2+ complexes and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) analysis showed that the carbonyl oxygen atoms of the N,N'-diacylated diaza-crown ethers participated in cation binding and could play an important role in Ca2+ transfer. Thus, our modeling experiments provide a molecular basis to explain at least part of the ionophore mechanism of biological action of aza-crown ethers.

Complexation of molecular clips containing fragments of diphenylglycoluril and benzocrown ethers with paraquat and its derivatives.

The complexation of molecular clips containing fragments of diphenylglycoluril and benzocrown ethers with paraquat and its derivatives has been studied both in solution and in the solid state. In this paper we studied the influence of the crown ether ring size and the nature of the substituents at the nitrogen atoms of the paraquat derivatives on the composition and stability of these complexes.

Bis(oxofluorenediyl)oxacyclophanes: synthesis, crystal structure and complexation with paraquat in the gas phase.

The first three representatives of the new family of oxacyclophanes incorporating two 2,7-dioxyfluorenone fragments, connected by [-CH(2)CH(2)O-](m) spacers (m=2-4), have been synthesized. The yield of the smallest oxacyclophane (m=2) is considerably higher with respect to the larger ones (m=3 and m=4), which are formed in comparable yields. Molecular modeling and NMR spectra analysis of the model compounds suggest that an essential difference in oxacyclophanes yields is caused by formation of quasi-cyclic intermediates, which are preorganized for macrocyclization owing to intramolecular pi-pi stacking interactions between the fluorenone units. The solid-state structures of these oxacyclophanes exhibit intra- and intermolecular pi-pi stacking interactions that dictate their rectangular shape in the fluorenone backbone and crystal packing of the molecules with the parallel or T-shape arrangement. The crystal packing in all cases is also sustained by weak C--HO hydrogen bonds. FAB mass spectral analysis of mixtures of the larger oxacyclophanes (m=3 and m=4) and a paraquat moiety revealed peaks corresponding to the loss of one and two PF(6) (-) counterions from the 1:1 complexes formed. However, no signals were observed for complexes of the paraquat moiety with the smaller oxacyclophane (m=2). Computer molecular modeling of complexes revealed a pseudorotaxane-like incorporation of the paraquat unit, sandwiched within a macrocyclic cavity between the almost parallel-aligned fluorenone rings of the larger oxacyclophanes (m=3 and m=4). In contrast to this, only external complexes of the smallest oxacyclophane (m=2) with a paraquat unit have been found in the energy window of 10 kcal mol(-1).