Aryl-Substituted Ruthenium(II) Complexes: A Strategy for Enhanced Photocleavage and Efficient DNA Binding.

Ruthenium polypyridine complexes have shown promise as agents for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and tools for molecular biology (chromophore-assisted light inactivation). To accomplish these tasks, it is important to have at least target selectivity and great reactive oxygen species (ROS) photogeneration: two properties that are not easily found in the same molecule. To prepare such new agents, we synthesized two new ruthenium complexes that combine an efficient DNA binding moiety (dppz ligand) together with naphthyl-modified (1) and anthracenyl-modified (2) bipyridine as a strong ROS generator bound to a ruthenium complex. The compounds were fully characterized and their photophysical and photochemical properties investigated. Compound 2 showed one of the highest quantum yields for singlet oxygen production ever reported (ΦΔ= 0.96), along with very high DNA binding (log Kb = 6.78). Such photochemical behavior could be ascribed to the lower triplet state involving the anthracenyl-modified bipyridine, which is associated with easier oxygen quenching. In addition, the compounds exhibited moderate selectivity toward G-quadruplex DNA and binding to the minor groove of DNA, most likely driven by the pendant ligands. Interestingly, they also showed DNA photocleavage activity even upon exposure to a yellow light-emitting diode (LED). Regarding their biological activity, the compounds exhibited an exciting antibacterial action, particularly against Gram-positive bacteria, which was enhanced upon blue LED irradiation. Altogether, these results showed that our strategy succeeded in producing light-triggered DNA binding agents with pharmacological and biotechnological potential.

Electrochemistry, surface plasmon resonance, and quartz crystal microbalance: an associative study on cytochrome c adsorption on pyridine tail-group monolayers on gold.

Quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and electrochemistry techniques were used to study the electron-transfer (ET) reaction of cytochrome c (Cyt c) on gold surfaces modified with thionicotinamide, thioisonicotinamide, 4-mercaptopyridine, 5-(4-pyridyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol, 5-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol, 4,4'-bipyridine, and 4,4'-dithiopyridine. The electrochemical results showed that the ET process is complex, being chiefly diffusional with steps depending on the orientation of the pyridine or phenyl tail group of the modifiers. The correlation between the electrochemical results and those acquired by SPR and QCM indicated the presence of an adlayer of Cyt c adsorbed on the thiolate SAMs. This adlayer, although being not electroactive, is essential to assess the ET reaction of Cyt c in solution. The results presented in this work are consistent with the statement (Feng, Z. Q.; Imabayashi, S.; Kakiuchi, T.; Niki, K. J. Electroanal. Chem. 1995, 394, 149-154) that the ET reaction of Cyt c can be explained in terms of the through-bond tunneling mechanism.

Thermodynamic, kinetic, surface pKa, and structural aspects of self-assembled monolayers of thio compounds on gold.

The thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of the formation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thio compounds on gold have been studied via electrochemical and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) techniques. The data indicate that the adsorption process involves a significant free energy of adsorption (ΔG° = -36.43 kJ/mol) and that there are slight repulsive interactions between adjacent molecules on the surface. A method for the calculation of surface pK(a) values of molecules containing more than one protonation site is proposed and used for the determination of the pK(a) values of SAMs derived from thioisonicotinamide, thionicotinamide, 5-(4-pyridyl)-1,2,4-oxadiazole-2-thiol, and 4-mercaptopyridine (pyS) on gold. Structural aspects of the SAMs were studied by using impedance with [Fe(CN)(6)](4-/3-) as redox probe. Evidence of faster kinetics for an oxidative decomposition of pyS SAM in the presence of [Fe(CN)(6)](3-) is discussed based on electrochemical and impedance data.

Mixed-valence state of symmetric diruthenium complexes: synthesis, characterization, and electron transfer investigation.

Complexes of the type {[(pyS)Ru(NH(3))(4)](2)-µ-L}(n), where pyS = 4-mercaptopyridine, L = 4,4'-dithiodipyridine (pySSpy), pyrazine (pz) and 1,4-dicyanobenzene (DCB), and n = +4 and +5 for fully reduced and mixed-valence complexes, respectively, were synthesized and characterized. Electrochemical data showed that there is electron communication between the metal centers with comproportionation constants of 33.2, 1.30 × 10(8) and 5.56 × 10(5) for L = pySSpy, pz and DCB, respectively. It was also observed that the electronic coupling between the metal centers is affected by the π-back-bonding interaction toward the pyS ligand. Raman spectroscopy showed a dependence of the intensity of the vibrational modes on the exciting radiations giving support to the assignments of the electronic transitions. The degree of electron communication between the metal centers through the bridging ligands suggests that these systems can be molecular wire materials.

Direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of myoglobin immobilized on L-cysteine self-assembled gold electrode.

Myoglobin (Mb) has been successfully immobilized on a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of L-cysteine (Cys) on a gold electrode, Au/Cys. The presence of a pair of well-defined and nearly reversible waves centered at ca. 0.086 V vs Ag/AgCl (pH 6.5) suggests that the native character of Mb heme Fe(III/II) redox couple has been obtained. The formal potential of Mb on Cys SAM exhibited pH-dependent variation in the pH range of 5-9 with a slope of 55 mV/pH, indicating that the electron transfer is accompanied by a single proton exchange. Thermodynamic and kinetic aspects of Mb adsorption processes on Au/Cys were studied by using voltammetric and quartz-crystal microbalance methods. The Au/Cys electrode with immobilized Mb exhibited electrocatalytic activity toward ascorbic acid (AA) oxidation with an overpotential decrease of over 400 mV and a linear dependence of current on the AA concentration from 0.5 to 5.0 mmol L(-1).