No abstract

A ditopic, macrobicyclic receptor with adjacent anion and cation binding sites is able to extract a range of monovalent salts into chloroform solution. The structures of the receptor complexed with KAcO, LiNO(3), NaNO(3), KNO(3), and NaNO(2) are characterized in solution by NMR spectroscopy and in the solid state by X-ray crystallography. The sodium and potassium salts are bound to the receptor as contact ion-pairs, with the metal cation located in the receptor's crown ether ring and the trigonal oxyanion hydrogen bonded to the receptor NH residues. The solid-state structure of the LiNO(3) complex has a bridging water molecule between the cation and anion. In all solid-state structures, the trigonal oxyanion is not located symmetrically inside the receptor cavity. It appears that anion orientation is controlled by a complex interplay of steric factors, coordination bonding to the metal cation, and hydrogen bonding with the receptor NH residues. An important feature with this latter effect is the fact that hydrogen bonds directed toward the oxygen lone pairs on a trigonal oxyanion are stronger than hydrogen bonds to the pi-electrons. In solution, the (1)H NMR spectra of the nitrate and nitrite salt complexes are noteworthy because several receptor signals, including the NH protons, undergo unusual upfield movements in chemical shift upon complexation. This is a reflection of the diamagnetic anisotropy of these trigonal oxyanions. The magnetic shielding surface for the NO(3)(-) anion is calculated using density functional theory and shown to have a shielding region directly above the central nitrogen.

A Zn2+‐dipicolylamine coordination compound is shown to sense the presence of anionic phospholipids in a membrane bilayer. The sensor contains two dipicolylamine subunits attached to an anthracene scaffold, which exhibits a maximum absorbance at 380 nm, and undergoes an enhancement in fluorescence intensity when exposed to membranes enriched in phosphatidylserine. For these reasons, the compound is referred to as PSS‐380 (Phosphatidylserine Sensor, 380 nm). The fluorescence emission of PSS‐380 is enhanced up to tenfold by the presence of vesicles containing the anionic phospholipids phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylglycerol, or phosphatidic acid. No enhancement in fluorescence is observed upon exposure to vesicles containing only zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine, or exposure to monodispersed (non‐aggregated) anionic phospholipids. The sensing effect is cooperative; not only does association to the vesicles increase if the vesicles have raised levels of anionic phospholipid, but the maximum fluorescence at sensor saturation is also enhanced. It appears that sensing is triggered by the three‐component self‐assembly of sensor, Zn2+, and the anionic membrane surface, which leads to diminished photo‐induced electron transfer (PET) quenching. The utility of PSS‐380 in flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy is demonstrated by using the molecule to detect the appearance of phosphatidylserine on the plasma membrane surface of various cell lines. Thus, PSS‐380 can identify apoptotic cells in the same way as the commonly used protein reagent annexin V.