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Reaction of the potassium salts of N-thiophosphorylated thioureas of common formula RC(S)NHP(S)(OiPr)(2) [R = morpholin-N-yl (HL(a)), piperidin-N-yl (HL(b)), NH(2) (HL(c)), PhCH(2)NH (HL(d))] with Cu(PPh(3))(3)I in aqueous EtOH/CH(2)Cl(2) leads to mononuclear [Cu(PPh(3))(2)L-S,S'] complexes. Using copper(i) iodide instead of Cu(PPh(3))(3)I, polynuclear complexes [Cu(n)(L-S,S')(n)] were obtained. The structures of these compounds were investigated by ES-MS, elemental analyses, 1H and 31P NMR in solution, IR and 31P solid-state MAS NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structures of [Cu(3)L(3)(a)] and [Cu(PPh(3))(2)L(b)] were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Metallo-β-lactamases (mβls) cause bacterial resistance toward a broad spectrum of β-lactam antibiotics by catalyzing the hydrolytic cleavage of the four-membered β-lactam ring, thus inactivating the drug. Minutiae of the mechanism of these enzymes are still not well understood, and reports about binding studies of the substrates to the enzymes as well as to synthetic model systems are rare. Here we report a new pyrazolate-based bioinspired dizinc complex (1) reminiscent of the active site of binuclear mβls. Since 1 does not mediate hydrolytic degradation of β-lactams, the binding of a series of common β-lactam antibiotics (benzylpenicillin, cephalotin, 6-aminopenicillanic acid, ampicillin) as well as the inhibitor sulbactam and the simplest β-lactam, 2-azetidinone, to the dizinc core of 1 could now be studied in detail by NMR and IR spectroscopy as well as mass spectrometry. X-ray crystallographic information was obtained for 1 and its complexes with 2-azetidinone (2) and sulbactam (3); the latter represents the first structurally characterized dizinc complex with a bound β-lactam drug. While 2-azetidinone was found deprotonated and bridging in the clamp of the two zinc ions in 2, in 3 and all other cases the substrates preferentially bind via their carboxylate group within the bimetallic pocket. The relevance of this binding mode for mβls and consequences for the design of functional model systems are discussed.

Herein, we report the synthesis, the thermochemical data, and the catalytic reactivity of a new mononuclear cobalt complex, which has four NH protons in the ligand sphere. The combination of the redox-active metal ion and NH units enabled the coupling of proton and electron-transfer steps, which we exploited in the electrocatalytic water oxidation.

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