Organometallic chalcone complexes functionalized with a macrocyclic fragment [( 5 -C 5 H 4 C(O)CH=CH-4-benzo-15-crown-5)MLn] (ferrocenyl, cyrhetrenyl, and cymantrenyl) have been synthesized. The complexes are characterized by IR spectroscopy, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopies, elemental analyses, and HR-MS. The stereochemistry for the chalcone compounds was determined using the 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy data, which indicated that they are isolated as a single isomer (E). In addition, the syntheses of the chalcone-imine derivatives are described, and they adopt an anti-(E,E) conformation in solution, confirmed by the X-ray crystal structures in the solid state. The UV-Visible and electrochemical behavior of the organometallic complexes are reported. Keywords: Organometallic chalcone and imine complexes, crown ether, crystal structures. examples of their application as chemosensors. Delavaux-Nicot et al. have investigated a series of ferrocenyl chalcones, mono and 1,1'-disubstituted, functionalized with an amine moiety or an aza-macrocycle. 13 These metallo-ligands have shown selectivity toward Ca 2+ and Ba 2+ in acetonitrile. Another important class of functionalized rhenium(I) complexes with aza-crown ether pendants, synthetized by Yam et al., exhibit a high specificity towardPb(II). 14 Previously, our research group reported the synthesis of new cyrhetrenyl tricarbonyl complexes functionalized with 4'-benzo-crown or 2-methyl-crown ether fragments, bridged by an imine linker. The cyclic voltammograms showed positive anodic waves arising from the Re(II)/Re(I) redox process (I). It was concluded that the size of the crown ether did not change the anodic potential significantly. Nevertheless, the metal centered redox processes of complexes that possess a methylene moiety were shifted to positive potentials compared to a benzo group. 15 In this work, we report the synthesis, X-ray structures and electrochemical and spectroscopic behaviour of new ferrocenyl, cyrhetrenyl and cymantrenyl complexes functionalized with 4'-benzo-15-crown-5 fragment. In addition we have included the synthesis of related species with a chalcone-imine as linker.2. Results and discussion. Synthesis of the organometallic chalcones 2-3.The compounds were synthesized following a procedure similar to that described for ferrocenyl and cymantrenyl chalcone derivatives. 11,16 It is based on the Claisen-Schmidt reaction involving the condensation of the organometallic ketones 1a-c and the corresponding crown ether or organic aldehydes Id-e (Scheme 1). Derivatives 2a-c and 3awere obtained by reaction of the corresponding precursors in the presence of NaOH and were dissolved in water/ethanol mixed solvent for greater solubility of the components. A modification of the experimental procedure was used for the preparation of the cyrhetrenyl derivative 3b. The carbanion containing solution was added dropwise to an ethanolic solution of terephthalaldehyde (Ie) over a period of 2 h. in order to control the proportion of nucleophile generated. The genera...

Surfaces were prepared with polyelectrolyte derivatives of poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PSMA) functionalized with amino acids of different hydropathy indices, with the aim of evaluating the effect of the chemical functionality of polyelectrolytes on SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell adhesion. Functionalizing PSMA derivatives with L-glutamine, L-methionine and L-tyrosine yielded PSMA-Gln, PSMA-Met and PSMA-Tyr polyelectrolytes, respectively. We first studied the adsorption behavior of PSMA functionalized with amino acids on silicon wafer surfaces modified with 3aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) at pH 4.0 and 7.0 and at low and high ionic strength. The highest rate of polyelectrolyte adsorption was at pH 4.0 and high ionic strength, and was higher with the glutamine and tyrosine films. The advance contact angles (qA) of the polyelectrolyte surfaces showed a moderate effect of ionic strength and pH on polyelectrolyte film wettability, with PSMA-Tyr being slightly more hydrophobic. AFM images of the polyelectrolyte surfaces showed two types of morphology: the welldefined globular nanostructure of PSMA-Met and PSMA-Tyr, and the densely packed nanofibrous-like structure of PSMA-Gln. The highest level of ionic strength caused a slight decrease in size of the nanostructure that formed the surface domains, which was reflected in the degree of surface roughness. Cell adhesion assays with polyelectrolyte film showed that SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells cultured on PSMA-Met present a well-extended morphology characterized by a stellate shape, with five or more actin-rich thin processes, while SH-SY5Y cells that where seeded on PSMA-Gln and PSMA-Tyr have a round morphology, with fewer and shorter processes. These results indicate that it is possible to modulate the surface characteristics of polyelectrolyte films based on their chemical functionality and environmental parameters such as pH and ionic strength, in order to evaluate their effect on cell adhesion. Thus, surfaces prepared from polyelectrolytes functionalized with amino acids are an attractive and simple platform for cell adhesion, which can be used in developing biomaterials with modulated surface properties.

Inhibiting pathogenic bacterial adherence on surfaces is an ongoing challenge to prevent the development of biofilms. Multilayer polyelectrolyte films are feasible antibacterial materials. Here, we have designed new films made of carbohydrate polyelectrolytes to obtain antibacterial coatings that prevent biofilm formation. The polyelectrolyte films were constructed from poly(maleic anhydride- alt-styrene) functionalized with glucofuranose derivatives and quaternized poly(4-vinylpyridine) N-alkyl. These films prevent Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella Typhimurium, two important bacterial contaminants in clinical environments, from adhering to surfaces. When the film was composed of more than 10 layers, the bacterial population was greatly reduced, while the bacteria remaining on the film were morphologically damaged, as atomic force microscopy revealed. The antibacterial capacity of the polyelectrolyte films was determined by the combination of thickness, wettability, surface energy, and most importantly, the conformation that polyelectrolytes adopt the function of nature of the carbohydrate group. This polyelectrolyte film constitutes the first green approach to preventing pathogenic bacterial surface adherence and proliferation without killing the bacterial pathogen.

The synthesis and characterization of two novel and isomeric hybrid ferrocenyl/cyrhetrenyl aldimines [(η-CH)Fe{(η-CH)-CH[double bond, length as m-dash]N-(η-CH)}Re(CO)] (1) and [(η-CH)Fe{(η-CH)-N[double bond, length as m-dash]CH-(η-CH)}Re(CO)] (2) are reported. Their X-ray crystal structures reveal that both adopt the E form. However, molecules of 1 and 2 differ in the relative arrangement of the "Fe(η-CH)" and "Re(CO)" units (anti in 1 and syn in 2). This affects the type of intermolecular interactions, the assembly of the molecules and therefore their crystal architecture. Comparative studies of their electrochemical, spectroscopic and photo-physical properties have allowed us to clarify the effect produced by the location of the organometallic arrays (ferrocenyl or cyrhetrenyl) on electronic delocalization, the proclivity of the metals to undergo oxidation and their emissive properties. Theoretical studies based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations on the two compounds have also been carried out in order to rationalize the experimental results and to assign the bands detected in their electronic spectra. The cytotoxic activities of compounds 1 and 2 against human adenocarcinoma cell lines [breast (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231) and colon (HCT-116)] reveal that imine 2 has a greater inhibitory growth effect than 1 and it is ca. 1.8 times more potent than cisplatin in the triple negative MDA-MB 231 and in the cisplatin resistant HCT-116 cell lines. A comparative study of their effect on the normal and non-tumour human skin fibroblast BJ cell lines is also reported.

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