The tripyrrin-1,14-dione scaffold of urinary pigment uroerythrin coordinates divalent palladium as a planar tridentate ligand. Spectroscopic, structural and computational investigations reveal that the tripyrrindione ligand binds as a dianionic radical, and the resulting complex is stable at room temperature. One-electron oxidation and reduction reactions do not alter the planar coordination sphere of palladium(II) and lead to the isolation of two additional complexes presenting different redox states of the ligand framework. Unaffected by stability problems common to tripyrrolic fragments, the tripyrrindione ligand offers a robust platform for ligand-based redox chemistry.

The crystallization of α-p-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) from mixed solutions in ethanol (EtOH) and nitromethane (NMe) is reported. From solutions with compositions >60 wt % NMe, the known α-polymorph of pABA appears. In contrast, crystals prepared from mixed solvent with <60 wt % NMe reveal the presence of a previously unknown NMe solvate, which crystallizes concomitantly with the α-form. The crystal structure of this new form has been determined and is compared with the previously known structure of the α-polymorph. The crystal structure of the NMe solvate has similar synthonic interactions with respect to α-pABA, in particular, the OH•••O H-bonded dimers and the NH•••O Hbonds between the pABA molecules. However, the π−π stacking interactions between the phenyl ring groups are found to be much more offset and do not form a continuous chain through the structure, as found in α-pABA. The synthonic interactions in the NMe solvate structure are generally weaker than those found in α-pABA, and the lattice energy is calculated to be significantly lower, suggesting the solvate structure is metastable with respect to α-pABA. The impact of NMe on the morphology of α-pABA crystals, together with molecular modelling results suggest that this solvent is able to disrupt the π−π stacking interactions that dominate growth along the needle (b-axis) direction of α-pABA, and are intimately linked to the ultimate formation of the solvate.

Three diplatinum(II) complexes [{PtL}2(μ-thea)] (H4thea=2,3,6,7-tetrahydroxy-9,10-dimethyl-9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene) have been prepared, with diphosphine or bipyridyl “L” co-ligands. One-electron oxidation of these complexes gave radical cations containing a mixed-valent [thea]3− ligand with discrete catecholate and semiquinonate centers separated by quaternary methylene spacers. The electronic character of these radicals is near the Robin–Day class II/III border determined by UV/Vis/NIR and EPR spectroscopies. Crystal-structure determinations and a DFT calculation imply that oxidation of the thea4− ligand may lead to an increased through-space interaction between the dioxolene π systems.

Sirtinol is a known inhibitor of sirtuin proteins, a family of deacetylases involved in the pathophysiology of aging. Spectroscopic and structural data reveal that this compound is also an iron chelator forming high-spin ferric species in vitro and in cultured leukemia cells. Interactions with the highly regulated iron pool therefore contribute to its overall intracellular agenda.