Dalton Transactions Blog

A recent article from John Field and his team at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, describes the sorption and sensing properties of a porous material with an unusual crystal structure. The platinum based material has an open framework made up from repeating 2D stacks of [Pt{4′-(Ph)trpy}(NCS)]⁺ cations (where trpy is 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine) that are stabilised by extended π-π interactions. This is somewhat different to the usual coordination compounds that are formed from metal ions linked by bridging organic molecules.

Unlike it’s parent material ([Pt(trpy)(NCS)]SbF₆), this compound can reversibly sorb and desorb organic vapours with no disruption of the framework structure which the team attribute to the 4′-phenyl substituent which participates in stabilising π-π interactions with pyridines on the nearby cations.

The solvent accessible voids in [Pt{4′-(Ph)trpy}(NCS)]SbF₆

Read this HOT article now:
Sorption of small molecule vapours by single crystals of [Pt{4′-(Ph)trpy}(NCS)]SbF₆ where trpy = 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine: a porous material with a structure stabilised by extended π–π interactions
John S. Field, Orde Q. Munro and Bradley P. Waldron

Bernhard Lippert and colleagues have followed up on their previous Dalton Transactions article with further insights into the coordination of guanine to a platinum centre.

The team’s goal is to create platinated nucleobase analogues capable of recognising natural DNA. However, due to the many potential tautomeric forms of guanine, more questions on the hydrogen bonding of these Pt-guanine complexes need to be answered.

In their latest Dalton Transactions article, Lippert and co-workers discuss the solution and solid state behaviour of 7-methylguanine and determine if the Pt complex is able to recognise 1-methylcytosine through Watson–Crick base pairing.

See what they found out by downloading the HOT article now – it’s free to access until 26^th March.
7-Methylguanine: protonation, formation of linkage isomers with trans-(NH₃)₂Pt^II, and base pairing properties
Ágnes Kozma, Susana Ibáñez, Radu Silaghi-Dumitrescu, Pablo J. Sanz Miguel, Deepali Gupta and Bernhard Lippert

To read their previous article…
Pt(II) complexes of unsubstituted guanine and 7-methylguanine
Deepali Gupta, Ralf Nowak and Bernhard Lippert, Dalton Trans., 2010, 39, 73–84