Synthesis and biological evaluation of nectriatide derivatives, potentiators of amphotericin B activity.

Nectriatide 1a, a naturally occurring cyclic tetrapeptide, has been reported to a potentiator of amphotericin B (AmB) activity. In order to elucidate its structure-activity relationships, we synthesized nectriatide derivatives with different amino acids in solution-phase synthesis and evaluated AmB-potentiating activity against Candida albicans. Among them, C-and N-terminal protected linear peptides were found to show the most potent AmB-potentiating activity.

Quantum Chemical Calculations of Flexible Tripeptide-Ni(II) Ion-Mediated Supramolecular Fragments and Comparative Analysis of Tripeptide Complexes with Various Metal(II) Ions.

An automated conformational search method was employed to efficiently determine the stable conformers and weak hydrogen bonds of a flexible tripeptide coordinated with a solitary metal(II) ion in an aqueous environment. Quantum chemical calculations were performed to investigate the tendency of octahedral coordination formation between different metal(II) ions and various coordination models (ammonia molecule, chelate molecule, and flexible tripeptide). The octahedral coordination was analyzed by decomposing it into tridentate, bidentate, and monodentate coordination model complexes to assess their formation propensities and conformational properties. Additionally, population analysis, including electrostatic potential mapping and natural population analysis, was performed to identify the unique properties of the Ni(II) ion in forming octahedral coordination in crystals and to explore the potential of other metal(II) ions for self-assembling novel coordination configurations in peptide-metal compounds. Two common hydrogen bonding interactions were examined by using artificial forces to facilitate dissociation or reinforcement.

Cysteine-based protein folding modulators for trapping intermediates and misfolded forms.

Folding is a key process to form functional conformations of proteins. Folding via on-pathway intermediates leads to the formation of native structures, while folding through off-pathways affords non-native and disease-causing forms. Trapping folding intermediates and misfolded forms is important for investigating folding mechanisms and disease-related biological properties of the misfolded proteins. We developed cysteine-containing dipeptides conjugated with amino acids possessing mono- and diamino-groups. In oxidative protein folding involving disulfide-bond formation, the addition of cysteine and oxidized glutathione readily promoted the folding to afford native forms. In contrast, despite the acceleration of disulfide-bond formation, non-native isomers formed in significantly increased yields upon the addition of the dipeptides. This study provides a molecular design of cysteine-based protein-folding modulators that afford proteins adopting non-native conformations through intermolecular disulfide-bond formation. Because of the intrinsic reversibility of the disulfide bonds upon redox reactions, the disulfide bond-based approach demonstrated here is expected to lead to the development of reversible methodologies for trapping transient and misfolded forms by intermolecular disulfide bond formation and restarting the folding processes of the trapped forms by subsequent cleavage of the intermolecular disulfide bonds.

Constructing multicomponent cooperative functional systems using metal complexes of short flexible peptides.

The construction of cooperative systems comprising several units is an essential challenge for artificial systems toward the development of sophisticated functions comparable to those found in biological systems. Flexible frameworks possessing various functional groups that can form weak intra/intermolecular interactions similar to those observed in biological systems have promising design features for artificial systems used to control cooperative systems. However, it is difficult to construct multiple component systems >1 nm using these flexible units by controlling the arrangement of functional units, beginning with the precise control of the cooperative switching of multiple units. In general, it is difficult for oligopeptides to form stable conformations by themselves, although they have designability and structural features suitable for the development of cooperative systems. Increasing the number of coordination bonds in peptides, which are stronger than hydrogen bonds, can be used to control the assembled peptide structures and stabilize their structures owing to the variety of coordination bonds and selective binding affinity. Thus, metal complexes of artificial short peptides have great potential for the development of multicomponent cooperative systems. Based on this concept, we have developed a series of novel metal complexes of flexible peptides and have achieved, to date, cooperative systems, the formation of giant structures, and precise control over the functional units that are the essential bases for designable multifunctional systems that can be regarded as artificial enzymes. In this feature article, we summarize these results and discuss the principal/essential design of artificial systems.

Cyclic Heterometallic Interactions formed from a Flexible Tripeptide Complex Showing Effective Antiferromagnetic Spin Coupling.

Developing tunable motifs for heterometallic interactions should be beneficial for fabricating functional materials based on cooperative electronic communications between metal centers. Reported here is the efficient formation of cyclic heterometallic interactions from a complex containing an artificial tripeptide with metal binding sites on its main chain and side chains. X-ray structural analysis and X-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed that the cyclic metal-metal arrangements arise from the amide groups connecting four square-planar CuII centers and four octahedral NiII centers in a cyclic manner. UV/Vis spectral studies suggested that this efficient formation was achieved by the selective formation of the square-planar CuII centers and a crystallization process. Magnetic measurements using SQUID clarified that the cyclic complex represented the S=2 spin state at low temperatures due to effective antiferromagnetic interactions between the NiII and CuII centers.

Formation of Giant and Small Cyclic Complexes from a Flexible Tripeptide Ligand Controlled by Metal Coordination and Hydrogen Bonds.

Formation of giant cyclic complexes by the assembly of small, flexible units is demonstrated by connecting 14 artificial tripeptides (1) with 14 Ni(II) ions. Although tripeptide 1 is very flexible because of the presence of three CH2 groups in the main chain, it formed a tetradecanuclear cyclic complex ([114Ni14]28+) with a large cavity (diameter: ca. 2 nm). In this structure, three tripeptides are coordinated to each Ni(II) center by three different coordination sites in 1, forming a mesh-like structure. Crystal structure analysis and theoretical calculations indicate that the conformation of 1 was controlled by the formation of metal coordination bonds and intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Because of the structural flexibility, the cyclic framework formed both circular and ellipsoidal structures in the crystalline state, depending on the packing structure. In addition, by the conditions of the assembly process, the size of the cavities could be tuned either with a small decrement (dodecanuclear complex [112Ni12]24+) or a large decrement (octanuclear complexes [(1-3H+)4Ni8]4+), in which "shrunk" cavities with a 10-fold difference in diameter (<0.2 nm) were formed by tuning the tripeptide conformation through additional metal coordination to the tripeptide framework. Dynamic light scattering and mass spectrometry studies indicated that the giant cyclic complexes were also present in the solution state.

Preparation of Hierarchically Assembled Silver Nanostructures based on the Morphologies of Crystalline Peptide-Silver(I) Complexes.

The preparation of a hierarchically assembled Ag nanostructures based on a nanocrystalline assembly was demonstrated using an Ag(I) complex of a dipeptide (AspDap). By heating under N2 gas, a spherical assembly of a nanocrystalline dipeptide-Ag(I) complex (diameter 4-5 µm), which has a morphology similar to the assembled structure of the dipeptide, was transformed to an assembly of Ag nanostructures, where the micrometre-order crystalline morphology was maintained. In addition, detailed scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that Ag nanoparticles (diameter ca. 10 nm) were formed on the surface of the Ag nanostructure. When the Ag(I) ions were reduced to Ag(0), this phenomenon exhibited surface dependence due to the anisotropic two-dimensional Ag(I) arrangement in the crystals. Thermogravimetric measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the reduction proceeds in a stepwise manner around 200-250 °C, together with the removal of primary and secondary carboxylic groups in the dipeptide. Comparison with the heating process of the crystalline Ag(I) complex of ß-alanine indicated that stepwise reduction is key for maintaining the original micrometre-order morphology.

Humidity-Responsive ON/OFF Switching of Gas Inclusion by Using Cooperative Opening/Closing of Heterogeneous Crystalline Cavities in a Peptide NiII Macrocycle.

Humidity-responsive ON/OFF switching of CO2 inclusion, associated with cooperative structural changes of heterogeneous cavities in crystalline peptide NiII macrocycles, 1⋅NO3 , is demonstrated. The structural transformation between an "open form" and a "closed form" was caused by reversible water uptake into one of the cavities. The adsorption behavior of CO2 was studied with and without water vapor, combined with gas-composition analysis by using gas chromatography. The studies revealed that the open form of 1⋅NO3 adsorbs CO2 gas up to 34 g mol-1 , whereas the closed form adsorbs only a negligible amount of CO2 gas. Also, structural studies (X-ray and IR spectroscopies) and investigation of water-content dependence of CO2 adsorption revealed that the switching of gas inclusion occurred abruptly over a narrow range of water-vapor pressure and was caused by the cooperative opening of vacant space to give the open form due to the structural transformation by water uptake.

N,N-Diethyl-diaminopropane-copper(ii) oxalate self-reducible complex for the solution-based synthesis of copper nanocrystals.

Metal oxalates (C2O42-, ox) have been explored as promising precursors for the direct transformation of their oxalate moieties into metallic or metal oxide crystals via thermal decomposition without the formation of any byproducts due to releasing CO2 gas. The copper(ii) oxalate (Cu(ox)) crystal is a coordination polymer composed of an infinite coordination network with a thermal decomposition temperature around 300 °C; however, their insoluble nature in any solvents and relatively high decomposition temperature do not allow the solution-based syntheses of surface-modified metallic Cu nanocrystals (NCs) in the presence of various surfactants such as long-chain alkylamines and alkylcarboxylates which have been used for increasing the dispersibility of NCs in organic solvents. In this study, the insoluble nature of Cu(ox) is overcome by mixing Cu(ox) crystals and N,N-diethyl-1,3-diaminopropane (dedap) to form a discrete complex, [Cu(ox)(dedap)2], whose structure is determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The obtained complex is well soluble in polar solvents and miscible with surfactants. Furthermore, it is decomposed at a moderate temperature of <170 °C with the evolution of CO2 gas; as a result, Cu NCs dispersible in organic solvents have been synthesized in suitable surfactants, such as the mixture of oleic acid, dodecylamine, and octylamine utilized as a reaction solvent. In addition, their potential application of the surface-modified Cu NCs as a conductive-ink has been preliminarily tested. The Cu film sintered at 280 °C exhibits a resistivity of 40 µΩ cm.

Potential Tuning of Nanoarchitectures Based on Phthalocyanine Nanopillars: Construction of Effective Photocurrent Generation Systems.

Nanopillars composed of a photoresponsive phthalocyanine derivative have been conveniently fabricated using a continuous silane coupling reaction on a substrate. The chemical potentials of phthalocyanine nanopillars (PNs) are precisely controlled by changing the number of phthalocyanine derivatives on the substrate. In addition, photocurrent generation efficiencies have been strongly influenced by the number of phthalocyanine derivatives. High photocurrent conversion cells in a solid state have been obtained by the combination of PNs and a fullerene derivative.

Selective CO2 gas adsorption in the narrow crystalline cavities of flexible peptide metallo-macrocycles.

Crystalline peptide Ni(ii)-macrocycles (BF4(-) salt) exhibited moderate CO2 gas adsorption (ca. 6-7 CO2 molecules per macrocycle) into very narrow cavities (narrowest part <2 Å), accompanied by the expansion of the cavities. The BF4(-) salt demonstrated selective uptake of CO2 gas in preference to CH4 and N2 gases.

Selective ortho-hydroxylation-defluorination of 2-fluorophenolates with a bis(µ-oxo)dicopper(III) species.

The bis(µ-oxo)dicopper(III) species [Cu(III) 2 (µ-O)2 (m-XYL(MeAN) )](2+) (1) promotes the electrophilic ortho-hydroxylation-defluorination of 2-fluorophenolates to give the corresponding catechols, a reaction that is not accomplishable with a (η(2) :η(2) -O2 )dicopper(II) complex. Isotopic labeling studies show that the incoming oxygen atom originates from the bis(µ-oxo) unit. Ortho-hydroxylation-defluorination occurs selectively in intramolecular competition with other ortho-substituents such as chlorine or bromine.

Concerted ligand exchange and the roles of counter anions in the reversible structural switching of crystalline peptide metallo-macrocycles.

To understand reversible structural switching in crystalline materials, we studied the mechanism of reversible crystal-to-crystal transformation of a tetranuclear Ni(II) macrocycle consisting of artificial ß-dipeptides. On the basis of detailed structural analyses and thermodynamic measurements made in a comparison of pseudo-isostructural crystals (NO3 and BF4 salts), we herein discuss how ligand-exchange reactions take place in the crystal due to changes in water content and temperature. Observations of the structural transformation of NO3 salt indicated that a pseudo crystalline phase transformation takes place through concerted ligand-exchange reactions at the four Ni(II) centers of the macrocycle with hydrogen bond switching. A mechanism for this ligand exchange was supported by IR spectroscopy. Thermodynamic measurements suggested that the favorable compensation relationship of the enthalpy changes due to water uptake and structural changes are keys to the reversible structural transformation. On the basis of a comparison with the pseudo-isostructural crystals, it is apparent that the crystal packing structure and the types of counter anions are important factors for facilitating reversible ligand exchange with single crystallinity.

Plasmon-assisted photocurrent generation from silver nanoparticle monolayers combined with porphyrins via their different chain-length alkylcarboxylates.

Three-typed porphyrin derivatives with a different chain-length alkylcarboxylic acid as their peripheral anchor group have been prepared. Anodic photocurrents were observed in a simple system where the porphyrin derivatives were directly anchored on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. Cathodic photocurrents and their plasmon-assisted enhancement appeared from an Ag nanoparticle (Ag NP) composite monolayer combined with the porphyrin derivatives on the ITO electrode. In the photocurrent generation mechanism, Ag NPs played both the roles as photon- and energy-transfer to the porphyrin derivatives. The plasmon-assisted enhancement was affected by the chain-lengths of the peripheral anchor groups.

A C60-templated tetrameric porphyrin barrel complex via zinc-mediated self-assembly utilizing labile capping ligands.

Coordination-driven self-assembly utilizing labile capping ligands has been exploited as a novel strategy for metallo-cage containers. Herein, we report a tetrameric porphyrin barrel complex [C60⊂Zn814(H2O)4(OTs)12](OTs)4 (2) (OTs = p-CH3C6H4SO3) formed from a tetrakis(bipyridyl)porphyrin ligand 1, Zn(OTs)2, and a template guest, C60 fullerene. The tetrameric-barrel 2 contains two kinds of bis(bpy) Zn(II) centers coordinated by TsO(-) anions which serve as labile capping ligands in the formation of the finite structure of 2.

Molecular nanostamp based on one-dimensional porphyrin polymers.

Surface design with unique functional molecules by a convenient one-pot treatment is an attractive project for the creation of smart molecular devices. We have employed a silane coupling reaction of porphyrin derivatives that form one-dimensional polymer wires on substrates. Our simple one-pot treatment of a substrate with porphyrin has successfully achieved the construction of nanoscale bamboo shoot structures. The nanoscale bamboo shoots on the substrates were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-vis spectra, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The uneven and rigid nanoscale structure has been used as a stamp for constructing bamboo shoot structures of fullerene.

A cyclopalladated complex of corannulene with a pyridine pendant and its columnar self-assembly.

Bowl-shaped corannulene provides various metal binding modes with its curved π-surfaces and rim. Herein, we report the syntheses of 2-pyridylcorannulene and its cyclopalladated complex. Its expanded π-system and columnar self-assembly in the crystal state were revealed by NMR and UV-vis spectroscopies, ESI-TOF mass spectrometry and single-crystal X-ray analysis.

Reversible structural switch in the nano-cavity of crystalline metallo-macrocycles with smooth ligand exchange by non-coordinating guest stimuli.

A tetranuclear Ni(II)-macrocycle consisting of ß-dipeptides demonstrates effects of water vapor on the structural switching of the nano-cavity by ligand exchange in the single-crystal state. The content of non-coordinating water molecules regulates the opening and closing of the cavity through cooperation of smooth ligand exchange and internal hydrogen-bond switching.

Single-crystal membrane for anisotropic and efficient gas permeation.

Development of gas separation materials has been one of the basic requirements of industry. Microporous materials have adequate pores for gas separation and have contributed to the advancement of gas purification techniques. Because the simplest and most economical method would be membrane separation, various microporous membranes have been prepared and explored for their separation properties. However, a key issue remains as to how to generate defect-free membranes with practical gas permeance. Here we report the preparation of a well-oriented single-crystal membrane with high permeance by using a flexible single crystal of [Cu(2)(bza)(4)(pyz)](n) possessing one-dimensional (1D) penetration channels; this membrane exhibits anisotropic gas permeation through the 1D channels with high permselectivity for H(2) and CO(2). Although the diameter of the neck of the narrow channels is smaller than the kinetic diameters of the sample gases, various gases pass through the 1D channels. This report provides a new way of developing gas permeation membranes as sophisticated crystal devices for gas purification techniques.