An efficient synthesis of pyridine containing triaza-macrocyclic triacetate ligand and luminescence properties of its europium(III) complex

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)01272-7

Reaction of diethylenetriamine with 2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride leads to an activated and protected compound that could be cyclized to N-protected aza-macrocycle. After a smooth deprotection step, the macrocycle was alkylated with chloroacetic acid le

Full text of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4039(00)01272-7

TETRAHEDRON
LETTERS
Pergamon
Tetrahedron Letters 41 (2000) 7443–7446
An efficient synthesis of pyridine containing
triaza-macrocyclic triacetate ligand and luminescence
properties of its europium(III) complex
Jean-Michel Siaugue,a Fabienne Segat-Dioury,a Alain Favre-Re´guillon,b Charles Madic,c
Jacques Foosa and Alain Guyb,*
aLaboratoire des Sciences Nucle´aires, Conservatoire National des Arts et Me´tiers, 2 rue Conte´, 75003 Paris, France
bLaboratoire de Chimie Organique ESA CNRS 7084, Conservatoire National des Arts et Me´tiers,
292 rue St Martin, 75141 Paris Cedex 3, France
cCEA, Direction du Cycle du Combustible, Bat. 450 CEA/Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Received 20 January 2000; accepted 24 July 2000
Abstract
Reaction of diethylenetriamine with 2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride leads to an activated and protected
compound that could be cyclized to N-protected aza-macrocycle. After a smooth deprotection step, the
macrocycle was alkylated with chloroacetic acid leading to the pyridine containing triaza-macrocycle 1 in
good yield. The luminescence properties of its Eu3+ complex were examined in aqueous solution. © 2000
Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Aza-macrocyclic ligands are known for their ability to complex transition and non-transition
metallic cations and some of their lanthanide complexes have found application in the medical
area.1 However, the challenge in macrocyclic ligand design remains the obtention of lanthanide
chelates that are both thermodynamically stable and kinetically inert. This is complicated by the
fact that neither the complexation mechanisms nor the factors determining the complex stability
have been fully understood. So, as part of our research on the complexation of f-elements, we
report on the synthesis of the aza-macrocycle 1. In addition, the luminescence properties of its
Eu3+ complex were studied.
The synthesis of 12-membered Pyridine Containing TriAza-macrocyclic (PCTA) triacetate
ligands has been previously described2,3 and it appears that the building of the aza-macrocyclic
ring is the crucial step. It is usually performed in anhydrous DMF or CH3CN by reaction of the
dianion of
a
bis-toluenesulfonamide derived from diethylenetriamine with
a
2,6-
bis(halomethyl)pyridine.2 In these reactions, the p-toluenesulfonamide group serves a dual
* Corresponding author. Fax: (33) 1 42 71 05 34; e-mail: guy@cnam.fr
0040-4039/00/$ - see front matter © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0040-4039(00)01272-7

7444
purpose. It not only increases the acidity of the secondary NH proton but it also acts as a
temporary nitrogen-protecting group by controlling the monoalkylation of the amine function.
However, the deprotection of the resulting macrocycle is often a low yielding reaction since it
requires drastic conditions.4,5 So, in order to increase the overall yield of the process, we decided
to employ a new protecting/activating group that could be removed using smoother methods. In
addition, a further functionalization of the 2,6-bis(halomethyl)pyridine moiety would thus be
allowed.
Fukuyama and co-workers6 have introduced the 2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl group as a new amine
protecting/activating group. Since then, such derivatives have successfully been used for the
synthesis of a variety of secondary amines,6,7 as well as natural products.8 It appears, therefore,
that the 2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl group should be a protective group of choice to increase the
overall yield of the synthesis of PCTA ligands, as it can be removed by a smooth method
(PhSH, Na2CO3, room temperature).6–8 Here we report on an efficient synthesis of PCTA ligand
1 employing a 2-nitrobenzenesulfonamide intermediate.
The tris(2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl)-protected compound 2 was prepared by reaction of 2-
nitrobenzenesulfonyl chloride 3 with diethylenetriamine 4 (Scheme 1). The use of the heteroge-
neous NaHCO3/THF system instead of the homogeneous Et3N/CH2Cl2 system7 avoids the
purification by flash chromatography, as the desired product 2 is readily obtained by recrystal-
lization in CH2Cl2.9 Condensation of 2 with 2,6-bis(bromomethyl)pyridine 5 in DMF in the
presence of Na2CO3 gives the aimed macrocyclic product 6 in a 76% yield.10
Scheme 1.
Compound 6 was readily deprotected with thiophenol at room temperature to produce the
macrocycle 7, which was isolated as its trihydrochloride salt in a 72% yield11 (Scheme 2).
Alkylation of 7 was performed by reaction with chloroacetic acid in the presence of potassium
hydroxide at 80°C by maintaining the pH of the solution at 10. The targeted macrocycle 1 was
isolated in a 78% yield as a white powder by purification by ion-exchange chromatography on
DOWEX 1X8 (formate form, elution with dilute formic acid).11
Scheme 2.
This procedure thus affords a very convenient and effective approach for the synthesis of a
PCTA ligand, as the deprotection step was completed after a night at room temperature. This
smooth step would allow further functionalization of the 2,6-bis(halomethyl)pyridine moiety in
order to prepare a PCTA compound targeted to specific bio-receptors.1

7445
The Eu3+ complex formed with the PTCA macrocycle 1 was characterized in aqueous medium
by UV-light induced Eu3+ luminescence measurements. As a result of the low extinction
coefficients associated with Laporte-forbidden lanthanide f–f transitions, direct excitation of
lanthanide ions is only practicable with laser beams.12,13 For practical reasons, it could be more
convenient to use a complexant that incorporates a sensitizing chromophore. Indeed, the
UV-light absorbed by the ligand could thus be transformed into visible lanthanoid emission via
an intramolecular energy transfer.12 In our case, the presence of a pyridine moiety in macrocycle
1 should provide an efficient through-space energy transfer from the excited chromophore to the
proximate lanthanide.
The absorbance of an aqueous solution of equimolar quantities of EuCl3 and macrocycle 1 at
pH 7 was monitored by UV–visible spectroscopy and exhibited a maximum absorption at the
269 nm wavelength (Fig. 1). Moreover, the excitation of this solution at 269 nm gave rise to the
well-known structured emission spectrum of the Eu3+ ion, thus being evidence of the formation
of an Eu3+ complex together with the occurrence of a through-space energy transfer from the
ligand to the proximate Eu3+. The use of sensitized emission led to a large Stokes shift (>250 nm)
such that it is unlikely that there was any overlap between the emission bands and the strong
absorbance band.
Figure 1.
5
As expected, all emission bands of Eu3+ arose from the D0 state. The most intense bands
5
corresponding to the D0“7Fj (J=0, 1, 2, 3, 4) transitions were observed with 37% of the total
emission light centred on the 616 nm peak (5D0“7F2). The study of the thermodynamic
properties of such complexes was thus made possible by Eu3+ luminescence experiments induced
by a through-space energy transfer.
The complexation of Eu3+ with PCTA ligand 1 leads to an ion-exchange process with the
carboxylic protons of the ligand so that the thermodynamic formation constant is a function of
the pH. The stoichiometry of the Eu3+ complex formed with ligand 1 was determined by
monitoring the luminescence at 615 nm as the function of Eu3+ added to aqueous solutions of
1 (5×10−5 M) at a pH such that the competition of protons is negligible (pH 7.0).14 A 1:1
complex stoichiometry was disclosed. The luminescence lifetimes of this complex were measured
in H2O (~H O=0.37 ms) and D2O (~D O=2.12 ms).† Such measurements allow the estimation of
2
2
the number of coordinated water molecules (pH O) by the use of the well-known empirical
2
relation proposed by Horrocks and Sudnick.13 The formula is reported to be accurate up to 0.5
water molecules. The presence of 2.3 coordinated water molecules is in agreement with the
† Experimental uncertainty 5%.

7446
expected seven-coordinating nature of compound 1 since Eu3+ prefers a coordination number of
8–9.15 In water solution a luminescence quantum yield (F=2.9%)‡ for [Eu¦1] was found. An
evaluation of the association constant of macrocycle 1 with Eu3+ will be disclosed in due course.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank V. Wintgens and P. Valat from the Laboratoire des Mate´riaux Mole´cu-
laires, UPR 241, CNRS, Thiais, France, for the spectrophotometric measurements and fruitful
discussions.
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1
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1
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‡ Experimental uncertainty 10%.