Deciphering the H-Bonding Preference on Nucleoside Molecular Recognition through Model Copper(II) Compounds.

Area of Science:

• Coordination Chemistry
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

• Acyclovir (acv) is a synthetic nucleoside analog of guanosine.
• Understanding non-covalent interactions is key to molecular recognition.
• Metal complexes can mimic biological interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel Cu(II) complexes with acyclovir.
• To investigate the role of non-covalent interactions in molecular recognition.
• To explore the binding modes of acyclovir in metal complexes.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of three novel Cu(II) complexes with acyclovir and N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine (hen).
• Single crystal X-ray diffraction for structural analysis.
• Thermogravimetric analysis, IR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, EPR, and magnetic measurements.
• Theoretical calculations to support experimental findings.

Main Results:

• Characterization of three Cu(II) complexes with varying numbers of acyclovir ligands.
• Identification of a significant molecular recognition pattern: [metal-N7(acv) + H-bond].
• Demonstration of the ligand receptor's hydrogen bond donor preference based on coordination site.

Conclusions:

• The study elucidates the non-covalent interactions governing acyclovir recognition in Cu(II) complexes.
• A specific hydrogen bonding pattern involving the acyclovir N7 atom and the ligand receptor was confirmed.
• The coordination environment dictates the hydrogen bond donating behavior of the ligand receptor.