Photochemical Isomerization Research Articles

Tautomeric preferences of the cis and trans isomers of axitinib

The tautomeric preferences of axitinib, a potent anticancer drug, as tyrosine kinase inhibitor have been investigated using quantum chemical calculations and docking methods. The energy differences between the two tautomers of trans-isomer are around 4 and 3 kcal mol−1 in vacuo and water, respectively, and for its cis-isomer (major photochemical isomerization product) this equilibrium reversed completely in favour of the second tautomer (not considered previously), which is about 7–8 kcal mol−1 more stable in both gas and aqueous media. The results indicate a very high activation energy for proton exchange for both [1,2] and [1,5] H-shift (around 50 kcal mol−1) in the gas phase, but inclusion of protic solvents (e.g. water) decrease this barrier to around 14 and 35 kcal mol−1 for the both hydrogen shift processes, respectively. In order to have better insight about the electronic structure of axitinib tautomers, the NBO, HOMO-LUMO, NICS and molecular electrostatic potential surfaces (MESP) calculations have been carried out. Docking investigations on the two more stable tautomers revealed that binding of the trans isomer of tautomer I to the active site of the receptor is the most favourable in the terms of energy and structure. This more stability could be attributed to the more hydrogen bonding of this tautomer with the protein residues in comparison to the second tautomer.

Mechanistic Investigations on the Photoisomerization Reactions of Five-Membered Ring Heterocyclic Molecules Containing Sulfur and Selenium Atoms.

The restricted active space self-consistent field method in the 26-electron/27-orbital active space and the 6-311(d) basis set has been used to investigate the mechanisms of the photochemical isomerization reactions concerning the model systems of 1,2,3-thiadiazole and 1,2,3-selenadiazole. The computational works suggest that the preferred reaction paths for both 1,2,3-thiadiazole and 1,2,3-selenadiazole are as follows: reactant → Franck–Condon region → conical intersection → intermediate → transition states → photoproducts. As a result, the structures of the conical intersections, which play a decisive role in these photoisomerization reactions, are obtained. In particular, the present theoretical evidences demonstrate that the potential energy surfaces for the formation of 1,3-diradicals are quite flat. This may explain why their experimental detections are so difficult.

Synthesis and Isomerization Behavior of a Macrocycle with Four Photoresponsive Moieties.

The macrocycle 1 containing four photoresponsive fluorenylidene moieties was designed. The EZEZ form of 1, 1 EZEZ, was selectively produced. Reversible photochemical isomerization between 1 EZEZ and 1 ZZZZ was achieved, the extent of which was dependent on the light source used. Furthermore, the intermediate 1 EZZZ was selectively isomerized to 1 ZZZZ thermally and photochemically.

Light-induced switching of 1,3-diazabicyclo-[3.1.0]hex-3-enes on gold nanoparticles

The fabrication of hybrid nanoassemblies involving sulfure-modified photochromic derivatives (SMPDs) on the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was carried out to investigate the influence of AuNPs surface plasmons on the SMPDs photoisomerization. The size of the AuNPs obtained was <30 nm in average diameter. Upon irradiation by alternating UV and Vis light, a reversible photochemical isomerization along with bathochromic shift in the absorption band takes place on the surface of the AuNPs in analogy with free SMPDs in solutions. Furthermore, in some cases a significant quenching of photochromic reactivity was observed due to the excited energy transfer from the photochromic molecules to the AuNPs core.

Efficient Approach to Medium-sized Cyclic Molecules Containing (E)-Alkene via Z to E Photochemical Isomerization in the Presence of AgNO3-impregnated Silica Gel

Efficient synthesis of medium-sized cyclic molecules containing an (E)-alkene was performed via the highly (E)-selective photochemical isomerization of the (Z)-isomer, facilitated by AgNO3-impregnated silica gel.

Discovery of human cell selective effector molecules using single cell multiplexed activity metabolomics

Discovering bioactive metabolites within a metabolome is challenging because there is generally little foreknowledge of metabolite molecular and cell-targeting activities. Here, single-cell response profiles and primary human tissue comprise a response platform used to discover novel microbial metabolites with cell-type-selective effector properties in untargeted metabolomic inventories. Metabolites display diverse effector mechanisms, including targeting protein synthesis, cell cycle status, DNA damage repair, necrosis, apoptosis, or phosphoprotein signaling. Arrayed metabolites are tested against acute myeloid leukemia patient bone marrow and molecules that specifically targeted blast cells or nonleukemic immune cell subsets within the same tissue biopsy are revealed. Cell-targeting polyketides are identified in extracts from biosynthetically prolific bacteria, including a previously unreported leukemia blast-targeting anthracycline and a polyene macrolactam that alternates between targeting blasts or nonmalignant cells by way of light-triggered photochemical isomerization. High-resolution cell profiling with mass cytometry confirms response mechanisms and is used to validate initial observations.

Photochemical isomerization reactions of acrylonitrile. A mechanistic study.

The mechanisms for the photochemical isomerization reactions are determined theoretically using the acrylonitrile model molecule. The CASSCF (twelve-electron/eleven-orbital active space) and MP2-CAS methods are respectively used with the 6-311G(d,p) and 6-311++G(3df,3pd) basis sets. The structure of the conical intersection that plays a prominent role in the photoisomerization of acrylonitrile is obtained. The intermediates and the transition structures of the ground states are also calculated, to allow a qualitative explanation of the reaction pathways. These model studies suggest that the preferred reaction route is: acrylonitrile → Franck–Condon region → conical intersection → isoacrylonitrile → transition state → intermediate complex → transition state → cyanoacetylene. The theoretical evidence suggests that conical intersections found in this paper can give a better understanding of the photochemical reactions of acrylonitrile and support the experimental observations.

Toward Fractioning of Isomers through Binding-Induced Acceleration of Azobenzene Switching.

The E/Z isomerization process of a uracil-azobenzene derivative in which the nucleobase is conjugated to a phenyldiazene tail is studied in view of its ability to form triply H-bonded complexes with a suitably complementary 2,6-diacetylamino-4-pyridine ligand. UV-vis and 1H NMR investigations of the photochemical and thermal isomerization kinetics show that the thermal Z → E interconversion is 4-fold accelerated upon formation of the H-bonded complex. DFT calculations show that the formation of triple H-bonds triggers a significant elongation of the N═N double bond, caused by an increase of its πg* antibonding character. This results in a reduction of the N═N torsional barrier and thus in accelerated thermal Z → E isomerization. Combined with light-controlled E → Z isomerization, this enables controllable fractional tuning of the two configurational isomers.

Synthesis, photochemical and luminescent properties of ortho-hydroxystyrylquinazolinone-linked benzocrown ethers

Abstract Photoinduced transformations of (E)-2-(2-hydroxystyryl)quinazolinone-linked benzo[15(18)]crown-5(6) ethers in solutions have been studied by using UV–vis absorption and NMR spectroscopy. These crown ethers were found to have dual emission at 520 and 650 nm, associated with proton-transfer tautomer emission (ESIPT-luminescence) as a rare case of excited-state proton-transfer reaction in the non-pseudocyclic chromophoric systems. It was established also, that the organic bases affect the luminescence intensity of solutions of these compounds in the 550–650-nm wavelength range. An X-ray crystallography analysis of molecular structures of crown ethers and their complexes in crystals has been carried out. The fact of reversible photo/thermal E-Z isomerization in DMF and Et3N for these macroheterocyclic compounds has been confirmed. An opportunity to control the photochemical isomerization rate of quinazolinone 2-(hydroxyphenyl)ethenyl derivatives by changing pH of the medium has been demonstrated.

Mechanistic Investigations of the Photochemical Isomerizations of [(CO)5MC(Me)(OMe)] (M = Cr, Mo, and W) Complexes.

The mechanisms for the photochemical isomerization reactions are determined theoretically using group 6 Fischer carbene complexes (CO)5M=C(Me)(OMe) (M = Cr, Mo, and W) and the complete-active-space self-consistent field (CASSCF) (10-orbital/8-electron active space) and second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation (MP2-CAS) methods with the Def2-SVPD basis set. The structures and energies of the singlet/singlet conical intersections and the triplet/singlet intersystem crossings, which play a decisive role in these photoisomerizations, are determined. The former is applied to the chromium and molybdenum systems because their photoproducts are essentially from the singlet excited states. The latter is applied to the tungsten complex because its photoproducts are formed from a low-lying triplet excited state. Two reaction pathways are examined in this work: photocarbonylation (path I) and CO-photoextrusion (path II). The model studies strongly indicate that in the photochemistry of Cr and Mo Fischer carbene systems, the formation of metallaketene intermediates may occur at higher excitation wavenumbers, whereas the five-coordinated complexes that are attached by a solvent molecule are obtained at lower excitation wavenumbers. However, in the W analogue, because the activation barriers for path I are greater than that for path II and path I has more reaction steps than path II, the quantum yields for the metallaketene intermediate should be smaller than those for the five-coordinated species, which is also attached by a solvent molecule. These theoretical studies also suggest that the conical intersection and the spin crossover mechanisms that are identified in this work explain the process well and support the experimental observations.

Photosensitization of Fluorofuroxans and Its Application to the Development of Visible Light-Triggered Nitric Oxide Donor.

Nitric oxide (NO) is an endogenous signaling molecule used in multiple biochemical processes. The development of switchable NO donors that deliver an NO payload under spatiotemporal control harbors many medicinal benefits. Previously, 4-fluorofuroxans were found to function as a UV light-induced NO donor under physiological conditions based on the photoinduced isomerization mechanism; however, the isomerization of fluorofuroxans with longer wavelength light is desired for further application into living systems. Herein, we report the use of photosensitizers in the photochemical isomerization of fluorofuroxan, enabling the use of visible light to induce isomerization. Among the tried photosensitizers, anthraquinone derivatives showed a good sensitizing ability to isomerize 4-fluorofuroxan to 3-fluorofuroxan using visible light. This new phenomenon was applied to the synthesis of a water-soluble anthraquinone-fluorofuroxan all-in-one molecule, which demonstrated promising NO-releasing ability using 400-500 nm irradiation. A high level of control is displayed with "on" and "off" NO-release functionality suggesting that photosensitizer-furoxan hybrids would make valuable donors. Furthermore, unlike most furoxans, NO is released in the absence of thiol cofactor.

Surface Inclusion of Unidirectional Molecular Motors in Hexagonal Tris(o-phenylene)cyclotriphosphazene.

A new unidirectional light-driven molecular motor suitable for host-guest surface inclusion complexes with tris(o-phenylene)cyclotriphosphazene (TPP) was synthesized. The motor molecules formed regular two-dimensional trigonal arrays covering the large facets of disc-shaped TPP nanocrystals. Photochemical and thermal isomerization studies demonstrated that the light-driven rotation of the anchored motors is similar to that observed in solution and is not compromised neither by either the surface confinement or the density of surface coverage (50 vs 100%).

Adhesive Photoswitch: Selective Photochemical Modulation of Enzymes under Physiological Conditions

We developed a water-soluble adhesive photoswitch (Gluen-Azo-SA, average n = 5) that selectively binds to a target enzyme and photochemically modulates its enzymatic activity even in cell lysates. Its design strategy features a photochromic azobenzene unit (Azo), which carries on one side an inhibitory motif for the target enzyme and on the other a glue part (Gluen) that utilizes its multiple guanidinium ion (Gu+) pendants for adhering onto the target surface. The target of Gluen-Azo-SA is carbonic anhydrase (CA) because sulfonamide (SA) derivatives, such as SA at the terminus of Gluen-Azo-SA, are known to bind selectively to the CA active site. The SA moiety, upon docking at the CA active site, possibly guides the connecting Gluen part to an oxyanion-rich area in proximity to the active site for adhesion, so that the conjugation between Gluen-Azo-SA and CA is ensured. With this geometry, the photochemical isomerization of the Azo unit likely generates a push-pull motion of SA, resulting in its docking and undocking at the active site of CA with the help of a competing substrate. Consequently, Gluen-Azo-SA can selectively photomodulate the enzymatic action of CA even in cell lysates. Azo-SA without Gluen can likewise suppress the enzymatic activity of CA by docking SA at its active site, but the resulting CA/Azo-SA conjugate, in contrast, does not respond to light.

Synthesis of cyanofuroxans from 4-nitrofuroxans via C[sbnd]C bond forming reactions

A substitution reaction of 4-nitrofuroxans to prepare 4-cyanofuroxans is described. This substitution reaction was complicated by the reverse reaction and a judicious choice of cyanide source was important to enable this direct synthesis process. The optimized reaction conditions showed an excellent applicability for the synthesis of a range of 4-cyanofuroxans. 3-Cyanofuroxans, known to be thiol-mediated nitric oxide donors, could also be obtained by the thermal or photochemical isomerization of 4-cyanofuroxans. The developed cyanation of furoxans is a rare example of CC bond-forming reaction on a furoxan ring.

New Photomechanical Molecular Switch Based on a Linear π-Conjugated System

We report the electronic transport properties of a new photo-addressable molecular switch. The switching process relies on a new concept based on linear {\pi}-conjugated dynamic systems, in which the geometry and hence the electronic properties of an oligothiophene chain can be reversibly modified by the photochemical trans-cis isomerization of an azobenzene unit fixed in a lateral loop. Electron transport measurements through self-assembled monolayers on gold, contacted with eGaIn top contact, show switching with a conductance ratio up to 1E3. Ab initio calculations have been used to identify the most energetically stable conformations of the molecular switch, the corresponding calculated conductances qualitatively explain the trend observed in the photo-switching experiments.

Ultrafast Dynamics in Light-Driven Molecular Rotary Motors Probed by Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy.

Photochemical isomerization in sterically crowded chiral alkenes is the driving force for molecular rotary motors in nanoscale machines. Here the excited-state dynamics and structural evolution of the prototypical light-driven rotary motor are followed on the ultrafast time scale by femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) and transient absorption (TA). TA reveals a sub-100-fs blue shift and decay of the Franck-Condon bright state arising from relaxation along the reactive potential energy surface. The decay is accompanied by coherently excited vibrational dynamics which survive the excited-state structural evolution. The ultrafast Franck-Condon bright state relaxes to a dark excited state, which FSRS reveals to have a rich spectrum compared to the electronic ground state, with the most intense Raman-active modes shifted to significantly lower wavenumber. This is discussed in terms of a reduced bond order of the central bridging bond and overall weakening of bonds in the dark state, which is supported by electronic structure calculations. The observed evolution in the FSRS spectrum is assigned to vibrational cooling accompanied by partitioning of the dark state between the product isomer and the original ground state. Formation of the product isomer is observed in real time by FSRS. It is formed vibrationally hot and cools over several picoseconds, completing the characterization of the light-driven half of the photocycle.

Kinetics of photochemical isomerization of TFA-Gly-ZΔPhe into TFA-Gly-EΔPhe

Kinetics of photochemical isomerization of TFA-Gly-ZΔPhe into TFA-Gly-EΔPhe

Photochemical migration of liquid column in a glass tube

A light-induced migration of liquid columns in a 2.5-mm glass capillary by photochemical isomerization was demonstrated. The isomerization of a surfactant AZTMA, which was added into ultrapure water, occurred by irradiating UV or visible light and results in the surface tension of the liquid. By utilizing this effect, the column manipulation was performed by irradiating the UV light to a half portion of the liquid column so that liquid-gas interface at two column ends had different surface tension dye to the photochemical isomerization. As a result, the migration of the columns generated by a difference in the Laplace pressure at two ends was observed. The columns firstly advanced at constant speeds depending on their lengths and then decelerated by mixing of isomers in the columns. Moreover, it was found that shorter the column length, higher the mobility. This characteristic was explained by the viscous friction, which counteracted the driving force, and the Marangoni convection in the vicinity of the interface.

Ultrafast Excited State Dynamics in Molecular Motors: Coupling of Motor Length to Medium Viscosity

Photochemically driven molecular motors convert the energy of incident radiation to intramolecular rotational motion. The motor molecules considered here execute four step unidirectional rotational motion. This comprises a pair of successive light induced isomerizations to a metastable state followed by thermal helix inversions. The internal rotation of a large molecular unit required in these steps is expected to be sensitive to both the viscosity of the medium and the volume of the rotating unit. In this work, we describe a study of motor motion in both ground and excited states as a function of the size of the rotating units. The excited state decay is ultrafast, highly non-single exponential, and is best described by a sum of three exponential relaxation components. The average excited state decay time observed for a series of motors with substituents of increasing volume was determined. While substitution does affect the lifetime, the size of the substituent has only a minor effect. The solvent polarity dependence is also slight, but there is a significant solvent viscosity effect. Increasing the viscosity has no effect on the fastest of the three decay components, but it does lengthen the two slower decay times, consistent with them being associated with motion along an intramolecular coordinate displacing a large solvent volume. However, these slower relaxation times are again not a function of the size of the substituent. We conclude that excited state decay arises from motion along a coordinate which does not necessarily require complete rotation of the substituents through the solvent, but is instead more localized in the core structure of the motor. The decay of the metastable state to the ground state through a helix inversion occurs 14 orders of magnitude more slowly than the excited state decay, and was measured as a function of substituent size, solvent viscosity and temperature. In this case neither substituent size nor solvent viscosity influences the rate, which is entirely determined by the activation barrier. This result is different to similar studies of an earlier generation of molecular motors, which suggests different microscopic mechanisms are in operation in the different generations. Finally, the rate of photochemical isomerization was studied for the series of motors, and those with the largest volume substituents showed the highest photochemical cross section.

Arylazoindazole Photoswitches: Facile Synthesis and Functionalization via SNAr Substitution.

A straightforward synthetic route to arylazoindazoles via nucleophilic aromatic substitution is presented. Upon deprotonation of the NH group, a C6F5-substituted formazan undergoes facile cyclization as a result of intermolecular nucleophilic substitution (SNAr). This new class of azo photoswitches containing an indazole five-membered heterocycle shows photochemical isomerization with high fatigue resistance. In addition, the Z-isomers have long thermal half-lives in the dark of up to several days at room temperature. The fluorinated indazole group offers a handle for further functionalization and tuning of its properties, as it is shown to be susceptible to a subsequent, highly selective nucleophilic displacement reaction.