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Development of versatile, chemically tunable photocages for photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT) represents an excellent opportunity to address the technical drawbacks of conventional photodynamic therapy (PDT) whose oxygen-dependent nature renders it inadequate in certain therapy contexts such as hypoxic tumors. As an alternative to PDT, oxygen free mechanisms to generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) by visible light cleavable photocages are in demand. Here, we report the detailed mechanisms by which the small molecule blebbistatin acts as a one-photon blue light-gated or two-photon near-infrared light-gated photocage to directly release a hydroxyl radical (•OH) in the absence of oxygen. By using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy and chemoselective ROS fluorescent probes, we analyze the dynamics and fate of blebbistatin during photolysis under blue light. Water-dependent photochemistry reveals a critical process of water-assisted protonation and excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) that drives the formation of short-lived intermediates, which surprisingly culminates in the release of •OH but not superoxide or singlet oxygen from blebbistatin. CASPT2//CASSCF calculations confirm that hydrogen bonding between water and blebbistatin underpins this process. We further determine that blue light enables blebbistatin to induce mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, an attribute conducive to PACT development. Our work demonstrates blebbistatin as a controllable photocage for •OH generation and provides insight into the potential development of novel PACT agents.

Pi bonds between organic radicals have generated recent excitement as an orthogonal interaction for designing self-assembling architectures in water. Here, we provide the first a systematic investigation of the effect of the viologen cation radical structure on the strength and nature of the pimer bond. A striking and unexpected feature of the this pi bond is that the bond strength is unchanged by substitution with electron-donating groups or withdrawing groups or with increased conjugation. Furthermore, the interaction is undiminished by sterically bulky N-alkyl groups. Theoretical modelling indicates that strong dispersion forces dominate the interaction between the radicals, rationalizing the insensitivity of the bonding interaction to substituents: The stacking of polarizable pi radicals leads to attractive dispersion forces in excess of typical dispersion interactions of small molecules and helps overcome the Coulombic repulsion of bringing two cationic species into contact.

A series of substituted aryl dicyanomethyl radicals were synthesized, and the bonding thermodynamic parameters for self-dimerization were determined from van't Hoff plots obtained from variable-temperature electron paramagnetic resonance and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. At low temperatures, the radicals dimerize, but the colored, air-stable free radicals return upon heating. Heating and cooling cycles (5-95 °C) can be repeated without radical degradation and with striking thermochromic behavior. We find a linear free energy relationship between the Hammett para substituent parameter and the dimerization equilibrium constant, with para electron-donating substituents leading to a weaker bond and electron-withdrawing substituents leading to stronger bonds, following a captodative effect. Density functional theory investigations [B98D/6-31+G(d,p)] reveal that the dimers prefer a slip-stacked geometry and feature elongated bonds.

Binuclear iron(III) octakis(perfluorophenyl)tetraazaporphyrin μ-oxodimer complex was prepared by the reaction of bis(perfluorophenyl)maleonitrile and Fe(CO)5 and tested in catalytic oxygenation reactions of several hydrocarbons in comparison with the analogous non-fluorinated phthalocyanine complexes. Results of the study demonstrate that this complex is a highly efficient catalyst for the oxygenation of anthracene, 2-tert-butylanthracene, naphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, phenanthrene, adamantane, and toluene using iodosylbenzene, oligomeric iodosylbenzene sulfate, or Oxone as stoichiometric oxidants.

A covalently linked viologen radical cation dyad acts as a reversible thermomagnetic switch in water. Cycling between diamagnetic and paramagnetic forms by heating and cooling is accompanied by changes in optical and magnetic properties with high radical fidelity. Thermomagnetic switches in water may eventually find use as novel biological thermometers and in temperature-responsive organic materials where the changes in properties originate from a change in electronic spin configuration rather than a change in structure.

A new hypervalent iodine(V) compound, potassium 4-iodylbenzenesulfonate, was prepared by the oxidation of 4-iodobenzensulfonic acid with Oxone in water. This potassium salt can be further converted into 4-iodylbenzenesulfonic acid by treatment with the acidic form of Amberlyst 15 in water. A single-crystal X-ray structure of potassium 4-iodylbenzenesulfonate revealed the presence of polymeric chains in the solid state due to a combination of numerous intra- and intermolecular interactions. Potassium 4-iodylbenzenesulfonate will likely find many practical applications as a thermally stable and water-soluble hypervalent iodine-based oxidant, particularly useful as a reagent for oxidative iodination of aromatic substrates. This reagent can be effectively recovered from the reaction mixture (92 % recovery) by treatment of the aqueous layer with Oxone at 60 °C for 2 h, followed by filtration of the precipitate.

A series of heterocyclic compounds containing trivalent iodine, oxygen, and boron in a five-membered ring were prepared and structurally investigated by X-ray crystallography. 1-Chloro-4-fluoro-1H-1λ(3)-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol-3-ol was synthesized by chlorination of 2-fluoro-6-iodophenylboronic acid followed by treatment of the intermediate iododichloride with water. 1-Acetoxy-4-fluoro-1H-1λ(3)-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol-3-ol, 1-acetoxy-1H-1λ(3)-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol-3-ol, and similar 1-substituted trifluoroacetate derivatives of benziodoxaborole were prepared the hypochlorite oxidation of 2-fluoro-6-iodophenylboronic acid or 2-iodophenylboronic acid in acetic or trifluoroacetic acid, respectively. 1-Acetoxy substituted benziodoxaborole can be further converted to the respective trifluoroacetate by treatment with trifluoroacetic acid or to the 1-hydroxy derivative by basic hydrolysis with aqueous NaHCO(3). X-ray structural studies of 1-chloro- and 1-trifluoroacetoxy substituted benziodoxaboroles 13, 17, and 18 have shown the presence of a planar five-membered heterocyclic ring with unusually short endocyclic I-O bond distance of 2.04-2.09 Å. Slow crystallization of 4-fluoro-1-trifluoroacetoxy-1H-1λ(3)-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol-3-ol from methanol resulted in the formation of a tetrameric macrocyclic structure 21 resulting from self-assembly of the initially formed 4-fluoro-1,3-dimethoxy-1H-1λ(3)-benzo[d][1,2,3]iodoxoborol. Structural parameters of the five-membered iodoxoborol ring, such as the planar geometry and the short B-O and O-I bonds lengths in 13, 17, and 18 compared to those in 21 and known benziodoxoles are indicative of partially aromatic character of this ring. Density functional theory (DFT) predicted NIST (0) and NIST (1) indexes for 1-chloro- and 1-trifluoroacetoxy substituted benziodoxaboroles, however, are indicative of significantly lower aromaticity compared to the classic aromatic systems.

A serendipitously discovered oxidative esterification reaction of cyclohexane hexacarboxylic acid with phosphorus pentachloride and phenols provides one-pot access to previously unknown aryl mellitic acid esters. The reaction features a solvent-free digestion and chromatography-free purifications and demonstrates the possibility of cyclohexane-to-benzene conversions under relatively mild, metal-free conditions.

A serendipitously discovered oxidative esterification reaction of cyclohexane hexacarboxylic acid with phosphorus pentachloride and phenols provides one-pot access to previously unknown aryl mellitic acid esters. The reaction features a solvent-free digestion and chromatography-free purifications and demonstrates the possibility of cyclohexane-to-benzene conversions under relatively mild, metal-free conditions.

A thermally stable and water-soluble hypervalent iodine oxidant for oxidative iodination of aromatic substrates is synthesized.