Benzotriazinyl Radicals Research Articles

Optically Distinguishable Electronic Spin-isomers of a Stable Organic Diradical.

Herein, we introduce a model of electronic spin isomers, the electronic counterpart of nuclear spin isomers, by using a stable organic diradical. The diradical, composed of two benzotriazinyl radicals connected by a rigid triptycene skeleton, exhibits a small singlet-triplet energy gap of -3.0 kJ/mol, indicating ca. 1:1 coexistence of the two spin states at room temperature. The diradical shows characteristic near-IR absorption bands, which are absent in the corresponding monoradical subunit. Variable temperature measurements revealed that the absorbance of the NIR band depends on the abundance of the singlet state, allowing us to identify the NIR band as the singlet-specific absorption band. It enables photoexcitation of one of the two spin states coexisting in thermal equilibrium. Transient absorption spectroscopy disclosed that the two spin states independently follow qualitatively different excited-state dynamics. These results demonstrate a novel approach to the design and study of electronic spin isomers based on organic diradicals.

Integrating Pillar[5]arene and BODIPY for a Supramolecular Nanoplatform To Achieve Synergistic Photodynamic Therapy and Chemotherapy.

BODIPY photosensitizers have been integrated with a hypoxia-activated prodrug to achieve synergistic photodynamic therapy (PDT) and chemotherapy. A novel BODIPY derivative BDP-CN was designed and synthesized. It had two cyano groups to make it complex well with a water-soluble pillar[5]arene. Their association constant was calculated to be (6.8±0.9)×106 M-1 . After self-assembly in water, regular spherical nanocarriers can be formed; these were used to encapsulate the hypoxia-activated prodrug tirapazamine (TPZ). BDP-CN displayed excellent photodynamic activity to complete PDT. In this process, O2 can be continuously consumed to activate TPZ to allow it to be converted to a benzotriazinyl (BTZ) radical with high cytotoxicity to complete chemotherapy. As a result, the formed nanoparticles showed excellent synergistic photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy efficacy. The synergistic therapy mechanism is discussed in detail.

A bioresponsive diselenide-functionalized hydrogel with cascade catalytic activities for enhanced local starvation- and hypoxia-activated melanoma therapy

Glutathione (GSH) consumption-enhanced cancer therapies represent important potential cancer treatment strategies. Herein, we developed a new multifunctional diselenide-crosslinked hydrogel with glutathione peroxidase (GPx)-like catalytic activity for GSH depletion-enhanced glucose oxidase (GOx)-mediated tumor starvation and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy. By increasing acid and H2O2 during GOx-induced tumor starvation, the degradation of the multiresponsive scaffold could be promoted, which led to accelerated release of the loaded drugs. Meanwhile, the overproduced H2O2 led to accelerated intracellular GSH consumption under the cascade catalysis of small molecular selenides released from the degraded hydrogel, further enhancing the curative effect of in situ H2O2 and subsequent multimodal cancer treatment. Following the GOx-induced amplification of hypoxia, tirapazamine (TPZ) was transformed into the highly toxic benzotriazinyl radical (BTZ·), exhibiting enhanced antitumor activity. This GSH depletion-augmented cancer treatment strategy effectively boosted GOx-mediated tumor starvation and activated the hypoxia drug, leading to significantly enhanced local anticancer efficacy. Statement of significanceThere has been a growing interest in depleting intracellular GSH as a potential strategy for improving ROS-based cancer therapy. Herein, a bioresponsive diselenide-functionalized dextran-based hydrogel with GPx-like catalytic activity was developed for GSH consumption-enhanced local starvation- and hypoxia-activated melanoma therapy. Results showed that the overproduced H2O2 led to accelerated intracellular GSH consumption under the cascade catalysis of small molecular selenides released from the degraded hydrogel, further enhancing the curative effect of in situ H2O2 and subsequent multimodal cancer treatment.

PH/GSH dual-responsive supramolecular nanomedicine for hypoxia-activated combination therapy.

Moderate oxygen (O2) supply and uneven distribution of oxygen at the tumor site usually hinder the therapeutic efficacy of hypoxia-activated prodrugs. In this report, we designed a ferrocene-containing supramolecular nanomedicine (PFC/GOD-TPZ) with the PEG corona and disulfide-bond cross-linked core to co-encapsulate 4-di-N-oxide tirapazamine (TPZ) and glucose oxidase (GOD). The PEG corona of PFC/GOD-TPZ could be weakly acidic tumor pH-responsively detached for an enhanced cellular internalization, while the disulfide-bond cross-linked core could be cleavaged by intracellular glutathione (GSH) to present a GSH-triggered drug-release behavior. Subsequently, the cascade reactions, including catalytic reactions among the released GOD, glucose, and O2 to generate H2O2 and the subsequent Fenton reaction between ferrocene and H2O2, occurred. With the depletion of O2, the non-toxic TPZ was activated and converted into the cytotoxic therapeutic agent benzotriazinyl (BTZ) radical under the exacerbated hypoxic microenvironment. Collectively, the PFC/GOD-TPZ provides a promising strategy for effective combination therapy of GOD-mediated starvation therapy, chemodynamic therapy (CDT), and hypoxia-activated chemotherapy (CT).

Halo‐Substituted Blatter Radicals and Their Role in Modulating Magnetic Interaction in Metal Complexes: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

AbstractHerein, we report the synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties of three new halo‐substituted benzotriazinyl radicals (Rad3a‐3c where a=Cl, b=Br, c=I) and two metal complexes [M(hfac)2(Rad3c)⋅CHCl3](M=Cu(II) (1), Zn(II) (2) and hfac: hexafluoroacetylacetonate) as representative examples. Structural analyses disclose that all the radicals are isostructural. Compared to the reported benzotriazinyl radicals, the N4 atom of pyridine flips opposite to the spin bearing (N1) centre, and it is stabilized by secondary C−H⋅⋅⋅N interaction. The π⋅⋅⋅π stacking interaction between the spin bearing centre and pyridyl ring decreases as the size of the halogen increases from ‐Cl to ‐I. The stacking distance is substantially longer than the other coordinating benzotriazinyl radicals reported so far. The dc magnetic studies reveal the presence of strong intermolecular antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between the radical dimers, which decreases in the order of Rad3a→Rad3b→Rad3c. Complex 1 shows a strong intramolecular through‐bond metal‐radical ferromagnetic interaction, whereas a weak intermolecular through‐space radical⋅⋅⋅radical antiferromagnetic exchange interaction is observed in complex 2. Furthermore, the broken symmetry (BS)‐DFT calculations were performed to get more insight into the exchange interaction for all the radicals and metal complexes.

Ferrocene-containing polymersome nanoreactors for synergistically amplified tumor-specific chemodynamic therapy

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT) has been proposed to convert tumoral H2O2 into toxic hydroxyl radicals (OH) via Fenton or Fenton-like reactions for antitumor efficacy, which is frequently limited by low H2O2 concentrations or lack of enough metal ions inside tumor tissues. In this report, we present ferrocene-containing responsive polymersome nanoreactors via loading glucose oxidase (GOD) and hypoxia-activable prodrug tirapazamine (TPZ) in the inner aqueous cavities. After intravenous injection, the polymersome nanoreactors with the optimized nanoparticle size of ~100 nm and poly(ethylene glycol) corona facilitate tumor accumulation. The tumor acidic microenvironment can trigger the permeability of the polymersome membranes to activate the nanoreactors and release the loaded TPZ prodrugs. Tumor oxygen and glucose can enter the polymersome nanoreactors and are transformed into H2O2 under the catalysis of GOD, which are further converted into OH via Fenton reaction under catalysis of ferrocene moieties. The oxygen consumption can aggravate tumor hypoxia to activate hypoxia-responsive TPZ prodrugs which can produce benzotriazinyl (BTZ) radicals and OH. All the produced radicals synergistically kill tumor cells via the amplified CDT and suppress the tumor growth efficiently. Thus, the ferrocene-containing responsive polymersome nanoreactors loading GOD and TPZ represent a potent nanoplatform to exert amplified CDT for improved anticancer efficacy.

Electronic effects in profluorescent benzotriazinyl radicals: a combined experimental and theoretical study.

The synthesis, photophysical characterization, and quantum chemical calculations of a series of benzotriazinyl radicals and their styryl radical trapping products are presented. The benzotriazinyl radicals are non-luminescent but surprisingly the corresponding styryl radical trapping products exhibit high fluorescence quantum yields (up to 60% in some cases), making them highly valuable probes or labels. Additionally, the influence of the substitution pattern on the optical properties of the radical trapping products was observed experimentally and interpreted by means of quantum chemical calculations. Specific substitution patterns showed a bathochromic shift compared to the unsubstituted compound. Computationally, it was shown that this substitution pattern leads to a stronger energetic stabilization of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital than the highest occupied molecular orbital. Analysis of the influence of the substitution pattern on the optical properties showed a bathochromic shift in several examples, which was interpreted by means of quantum chemical calculations.

Reactions in Tirapazamine Induced by the Attachment of Low-Energy Electrons: Dissociation Versus Roaming of OH.

Tirapazamine (TPZ) has been tested in clinical trials on radio‐chemotherapy due to its potential highly selective toxicity towards hypoxic tumor cells. It was suggested that either the hydroxyl radical or benzotriazinyl radical may form as bioactive radical after the initial reduction of TPZ in solution. In the present work, we studied low‐energy electron attachment to TPZ in the gas phase and investigated the decomposition of the formed TPZ− anion by mass spectrometry. We observed the formation of the (TPZ–OH)− anion accompanied by the dissociation of the hydroxyl radical as by far the most abundant reaction pathway upon attachment of a low‐energy electron. Quantum chemical calculations suggest that NH2 pyramidalization is the key reaction coordinate for the reaction dynamics upon electron attachment. We propose an OH roaming mechanism for other reaction channels observed, in competition with the OH dissociation.

Probing through-space and through-bond magnetic exchange couplings in a new benzotriazinyl radical and its metal complexes.

The synthesis and characterization of a new chelating benzotriazinyl radical (Rad2) are described. Crystallographic studies coupled with SQUID magnetometry on Rad2 reveal the presence of discrete radical pairs which are antiferromagnetically coupled. The reaction of Rad2 with the 3d transition metal complexes M(hfac)2·xH2O (hfac- = hexafluoroacetylacetonate) led to mononuclear metal complexes of general formula M(hfac)2(Rad2) [M = Zn(ii) (1); Ni(ii) (2) and Co(ii) (3)] whose structures have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Compounds 1-3 are isostructural and crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21/n with two molecules in the asymmetric unit. In the case of the Zn(ii) complex (1) through-space intermolecular radicalradical antiferromagnetic exchange interactions viaπ*π* contacts are observed, whereas strong intramolecular through-bond metal-radical ferromagnetic interactions [J = +59.3(9) cm-1] are observed for the Ni(ii) complex (2). For the Co(ii) complex (3), computational and magnetic studies reveal substantial zero field splitting and ferromagnetic metal-radical interactions.

A novel bis-1,2,4-benzothiadiazine pincer ligand: synthesis, characterization and first row transition metal complexes.

Reaction of 2,6-dicyanopyridine with 2 equiv. of 2-(propylthio)benzenamine in the presence of lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide, followed by ring-closing oxidation with N-chlorosuccinimide affords the novel tridentate ligand, 2,6-bis-(1',2',4'-benzothiadiazinyl)pyridine (LH2). Electrochemical studies on the free ligand LH2 reveal a single well-defined 2e- oxidation process with E1/2 = +0.90 V. EPR studies of the in situ chemical oxidation of LH2 reveal the generation of a benzotriazinyl radical. Reactions of ligand LH2 with a range of divalent transition metal salts in either MeOH or MeCN in a 2 : 1 ratio at ambient temperatures afforded mononuclear complexes with general formula [M(LH2)2][X]2 (M = Mn, X = CF3SO3 (1); Fe, X = CF3SO3 (2); Fe, X = BF4 (3); Co, X = Cl (4); Ni, X = Cl (5); Zn, X = CF3SO3 (6)) and the 1 : 1 complex [Cu(LH2)(NO3)2] (7). In all cases the LH2 ligand binds in a tridentate N,N',N'' chelate fashion via benzothiadiazinyl NBTDA and pyridyl Npy atoms. The low spin FeII complexes (2 and 3) were implemented for NMR and UV-Vis solution studies of ligand reactivity as well as cyclic voltammetry which reveal two 1e-oxidation waves. The metal complexes 1-6 are discussed and reveal a range of geometries between octahedral and trigonal prismatic with the greatest deviation from octahedral symmetry apparent for ions with no crystal field stabilisation energy, i.e. d10 ZnII and high spin d5 MnII ions.

New Blatter-type radicals from a bench-stable carbene

Stable benzotriazinyl radicals (Blatter’s radicals) recently attracted considerable interest as building blocks for functional materials. The existing strategies to derivatize Blatter’s radicals are limited, however, and synthetic routes are complex. Here, we report that an inexpensive, commercially available, analytical reagent Nitron undergoes a previously unrecognized transformation in wet acetonitrile in the presence of air to yield a new Blatter-type radical with an amide group replacing a phenyl at the C(3)-position. This one-pot reaction of Nitron provides access to a range of previously inaccessible triazinyl radicals with excellent benchtop stabilities. Mechanistic investigation suggests that the reaction starts with a hydrolytic cleavage of the triazole ring followed by oxidative cyclization. Several derivatives of Nitron were prepared and converted into Blatter-type radicals to test the synthetic value of the new reaction. These results significantly expand the scope of using functionalized benzotriazinyls as stable radical building blocks.

Coordination Complexes of a Neutral 1,2,4-Benzotriazinyl Radical Ligand: Synthesis, Molecular and Electronic Structures, and Magnetic Properties.

A series of d-block metal complexes of the recently reported coordinating neutral radical ligand 1-phenyl-3-(pyrid-2-yl)-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-4-yl (1) was synthesized. The investigated systems contain the benzotriazinyl radical 1 coordinated to a divalent metal cation, Mn(II) , Fe(II) , Co(II) , or Ni(II) , with 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoroacetylacetonato (hfac) as the auxiliary ligand of choice. The synthesized complexes were fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and electronic structure calculations. The complexes [Mn(1)(hfac)2 ] and [Fe(1)(hfac)2 ] displayed antiferromagnetic coupling between the unpaired electrons of the ligand and the metal cation, whereas the interaction was found to be ferromagnetic in the analogous Ni(II) complex [Ni(1)(hfac)2 ]. The magnetic properties of the complex [Co(1)(hfac)2 ] were difficult to interpret owing to significant spin-orbit coupling inherent to octahedral high-spin Co(II) metal ion. As a whole, the reported data clearly demonstrated the favorable coordinating properties of the radical 1, which, together with its stability and structural tunability, make it an excellent new building block for establishing more complex metal-radical architectures with interesting magnetic properties.

π-Stacked structure of thiadiazolo-fused benzotriazinyl radical: Crystal structure and magnetic properties

A novel benzotriazinyl radical with a 2,1,3-thiadiazolo fused ring (1,3-diphenyl-1,2-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3′,4′:3,4]benzo[1,2-e]-1,2,4-triazine-2-yl; NSNBT) was prepared and characterized by ESR measurement, cyclic voltammetry, and X-ray crystallographic analysis. By a detailed study of bond lengths and angles, it was found that the molecular structure of NSNBT borrows characteristics both from 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole and from the unsubstituted benzotriazinyl radical, and the central phenyl ring presents a phenanthrene-type bond alternation. Molecules were shown to be arranged in a π-stacked columnar structure, with columns connected to each other through sulfur–sulfur interactions in the crystal. It exhibited strong antiferromagnetic interactions (J/kB=−434K) derived from its dimer structure.

ChemInform Abstract: Ring Contraction of 1,3‐Diphenylbenzo[1,2,4]triazinyl Radicals to 1,2‐Diphenylbenzimidazoles.

AbstractTreatment of benzotriazinyl radicals (I) and (III) with Zn powder in acetic acid leads to a reductive ring contraction to afford the N‐phenylbenzimidazoles (II) and (IV), respectively.

Introduction of Three Aryl Groups to Benzotriazinyl Radical by Suzuki–Miyaura Cross-coupling Reaction

Abstract A new radical, 7-phenyl-1,3-bis(4-biphenylyl)-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-4-yl (2), was prepared from the iodo group-substituted benzotriazinyl radical 1 with phenyltriolborate salt by the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction at room temperature. An X-ray crystal structural analysis clarified its crystal structure. ESR measurements and DFT calculations revealed that its unpaired electron was more delocalized over the molecule than that of Blatter’s radical due to the substituent effect.

ChemInform Abstract: Synthesis and Properties of Imidazolo‐Fused Benzotriazinyl Radicals.

AbstractA two‐step synthesis of title radicals (IV) is elaborated using a base‐promoted reaction of benzotriazinone (I) with benzamidines (II) followed by cyclization of resulting benzimidamides (III) in acetic acid.

Ring contraction of 1,3-diphenylbenzo[1,2,4]triazinyl radicals to 1,2-diphenylbenzimidazoles

Reductive ring contraction of 1,3-diphenyl-1,4-dihydrobenzo[e][1,2,4]triazin-4-yls (Blatter's radicals) using zinc powder (2 equiv.) in acetic acid heated to ca. 118 °C gives 1,2-diphenylbenzimidazoles in high yield. 1,3-Diphenylbenzo[e][1,2,4]triazin-7(1H)-one and the zwitterionic tetraphenylhexaazaanthracene (TPHA) also undergo reductive ring contractions to give 1,2-diphenylbenzimidaz-6-ol and 1,2,6,7-tetraphenyl-1,7-dihydrobenzo[1,2-d:4,5-d']diimidazole, respectively. By using less zinc, the incomplete reduction of TPHA gave the stable organic radical 1,3,7,8-tetraphenyl-4,8-dihydro-1H-imidazo[4,5-g][1,2,4]benzotriazin-1-yl. Imidazolo-, oxazolo- and thiazolo-fused 1,2,4-benzotriazinyls all undergo zinc mediated ring contractions to give imidazolo-, oxazolo- and thiazolo-fused benzimidazoles in excellent yields.

Synthesis and properties of imidazolo-fused benzotriazinyl radicals

1,3-Diphenylbenzo[e][1,2,4]triazin-7(1H)-one, the oxidation product of 1,3-diphenyl-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-4-yl (Blatter's radical), reacts with N'-arylbenzamidines in PhMe at ca. 100 °C in the presence of N,N-diisopropylethylamine (Hünig's base) (1 equiv.) to give N'-aryl-N-(1,7-dihydro-7-oxo-1,3-diphenylbenzo[e][1,2,4]triazin-6-yl)benzimidamides in 49-95% yield. In neat AcOH heated at ca. 120 °C, N'–aryl-N-(1,7-dihydro-7-oxo-1,3-diphenylbenzo[e][1,2,4]triazin-6-yl)benzimidamides cyclodehydrate to give the novel 8-substituted 1,3,7-triphenyl-4,8-dihydro-1H-imidazo[4,5-g][1,2,4]benzotriazin-4-yls in 13-81% yield. During the optimization of this cyclodehydration an additional oxazole fused benzotriazinyl radical 1,3,7-triphenyl-1,4-dihydro[1,3]oxazolo[4,5-g][1,2,4]benzotriazin-4-yl was isolated as a side product and characterized. The CV and EPR data of the imidazolo- and oxazolo-fused radicals are presented as well as single crystal X-ray structures of 1,3,7-triphenyl-1,4-dihydro-[1,3]oxazolo[4,5-g][1,2,4]benzotriazin-4-yl and 1,3,7,8-tetraphenyl-4,8-dihydro-1H-imidazo[4,5-g][1,2,4]benzotriazin-4-yl.

Antiferromagnetic Interactions in 1D Heisenberg Linear Chains of 7‐(4‐Fluorophenyl) and 7‐Phenyl‐Substituted 1,3‐Diphenyl‐1,4‐dihydro‐ 1,2,4‐benzotriazin‐4‐yl Radicals

7-(4-Fluorophenyl) and 7-phenyl-substituted 1,3-diphenyl-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-4-yl radicals were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis and variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility studies. The radicals pack in 1D π stacks of equally spaced slipped radicals with interplanar distances of 3.59 and 3.67 Å and longitudinal angles of 40.97 and 43.47°, respectively. Magnetic-susceptibility studies showed that both radicals exhibit antiferromagnetic interactions. Fitting the magnetic data revealed that the behavior is consistent with 1D regular linear antiferromagnetic chain with J=-12.9 cm(-1), zJ'=-0.4 cm(-1), g=2.0069 and J=-11.8 cm(-1), zJ'=-6.5 cm(-1), g=2.0071, respectively. Magnetic-exchange interactions in benzotriazinyl radicals are sensitive to the degree of slippage, and inter-radical separation and subtle changes in structure alter the fine balance between ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions.

Ferromagnetic spin-delocalized electron donors for multifunctional materials: π-conjugated benzotriazinyl radicals

We have developed new synthetic methodology for benzotriazinyl radicals that exhibit spin delocalization, low oxidation potentials, and ferromagnetic interactions in the solid state via π-π interactions, making them promising candidates for multifunctional magnetic materials.