Interactions of metal ions with the intermediate of thiamine catalysis: Crystal structures of Cd(II), Hg(II) and Pt(II) complexes of 2-(α-hydroxybenzyl)thiamine

Abstract

Five complexes of formulae Cd(HBT)X 3·H 2O, Hg 2X 5(HBT) (X=Cl, Br), and Pt(HBT)(NO 2) 3 were prepared by reacting CdX 2, HgX 2 and K 2Pt(NO 2) 4 with 2-(α-hydroxybenzyl)thiamine (HBT), an active intermediate of thiamine catalysis, and their crystal structures were determined by X-ray diffraction. The metal ion binds to the N(1′) site of the pyrimidine ring in each case, despite the different shapes and sizes of metal coordination units; a tetrahedral unit in the cadmium complexes, a double-metal unit consisting of two tetrahedral Hg(II) ions in the mercury complexes and a square-planar unit in the platinum complex. The HBT ligands in these complexes adopt the S conformation, as usually observed in C(2)-substituted derivatives of thiamine, with average torsion angles ϕ T being ±99° and ϕ P being ±175°. A ‘two-point’ anion-bridge between the amino group of the pyrimidine ring and the cationic thiazolium ring of the same molecule is found in all the structures, being of the form N(4′α)–H…X 1–M–X 2…thiazolium-ring (M=metal ion), which is one of the factors that affect the S conformation. Stacking interactions between the pyrimidine and phenyl rings play an important role in the molecular conformation and crystal packing. The intramolecular close contact between the oxygen of the C(2)-substituent and the sulfur of the thiazolium ring is also a common feature to these complexes, which gives the mechanistic implications.