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Insights into the photochemistry of 5-aminotetrazole derivatives with applications in coordination chemistry. Effect of the saccharyl moiety on the photostability

Publication . Ismael, Amin; Abe, Manabu; Fausto, Rui; Cristiano, Maria De Lurdes

The properties and applications of 2-methyl-(211)-tetrazole-5-amino-saccharinate (2MTS) in catalysis and chelant-based chemotherapy stimulated investigations on its photostability. The photochemistry of monomeric 2MTS in solid argon (15 K) was compared with those of 2-methyl-(2H)-tetrazole-5-amine (2MT) and 1-methyl-(2H)-tetrazole-5-amine (1MT). Compounds were subjected to in situ narrowband UV-irradiation at different wavelengths. Reactions were followed by infrared spectroscopy, supported by B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) calculations. Photochemical pathways for 2MT and 2MTS proved similar but photodegradation of 2MTS was 20x slower, unraveling the photostabilizing effect of the saccharyl moiety that extends into the nitrilimine formed from 2MTS and its antiaromatic 1H-diazirene isomer, which proved photostable at 290 nm, unlike the 1H-diazirene formed from 2MT. Analysis of the photochemistries of 2MTS/2MT (250 nm) and 1MT (222 nm), including energy trends calculated for the isomeric C2H5N3 species postulated/observed from photolysis and EPR results, enabled a deeper insight into the photodegradation mechanisms of 1,5-substituted and 2,5-substituted tetrazoles. We postulate a pivotal singlet state imidoylnitrene species, (s)N1, as common intermediate, which undergoes a Wolff-type isomerization to a stable carbodiimide. Photo-extrusion of N-2 from 1,5-substituted tetrazoles generates (s)N1 directly but from 2,5-substituted tetrazoles it originates a nitrilimine, then a diazirene, which finally leads to (s)N1. Selective formation of cyanamide from 1MT requires photoisomerization between (s)N1 and (s)N2, accessible at 222 nm. EPR studies enabled the detection of methyl nitrene, arising from photolysis of 1H-diazirene intermediate.

2020Journal article

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Behavior of pyrene as a polarity probe in palmitoylsphingomyelin and palmitoylsphingomyelin/cholesterol bilayers: A molecular dynamics simulation study

Publication . do Canto, António M. T. M.; Santos, Patrícia D.; Martins, Jorge; Loura, Luís M. S.

Pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon noted for its remarkable optical spectroscopic properties. Among its uses as a fluorescent probe, measurement of lipid bilayer's equivalent polarity through the pyrene Ham effect stands out. To this effect, the ratio of the intensities of the first and third vibronic bands (I-1/I-3) in its emission spectrum of pyrene is measured. However, issues concerning the precise location of bilayer-inserted pyrene and the possibility of probe-induced perturbation of host bilayer properties are potential sources of concern in this regard. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations constitute a useful method for the characterization of lipid membrane systems, and, in particular, to understand the behavior of fluorescence probes upon incorporation in lipid bilayers. In this report, we present a detailed characterization of the behavior of pyrene in fluid N-palmitoylsphingomyelin (PSM) and PSM/cholesterol membranes, with emphasis on the degree of proximity between the probe and water molecules inside bilayers, related to the use of pyrene to measure equivalent lipid bilayer polarity. It is concluded that pyrene exerts minor effects on bilayer properties, with slight local disordering being apparent for high cholesterol content. Whereas rotation and lateral diffusion of pyrene are greatly slowed in cholesterol rich systems, its relative transverse location is not significantly affected. While hydration of PSM bilayers, as sensed by pyrene, is already low compared to that of fluid phosphatidylcholine, it becomes even smaller for high cholesterol mole fraction at the studied temperature. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

2015-09Journal article

Open Access