A Hexanuclear Gallium(III) Complex with a {GaIII6(μ‐OH)10} Core Supported by Two Naphthalenediolate‐Based Ligands.

We have developed a family of 2,7‐disubstituted 1,8‐naphthalenediol ligands to pre‐organize two metal ions to the distance of two neighboring phosphate diesters of 6–7 Å in the DNA backbone by a rigid backbone. As complexes with divalent ions (CuII and NiII) bind to DNA, interferes DNA synthesis via PCR, and kills human cancer cells more efficiently than human stem cells of the same proliferation rate, we intended to increase the binding affinity by going from divalent to trivalent ions‐especially FeIII. Here, we apply GaIII as redox inactive model for FeIII and obtain for the first time a complex with trivalent ions. However, the structural characterization provides not a dinuclear GaIII complex, but a hexanuclear GaIII complex with a central {GaIII6(μ‐OH)10} core, that is yet unprecedented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]