Copper-promoted reductive homocoupling of quasi-aromatic iron(ii) clathrochelates: boosting the inhibitory activity in a transcription assay

Abstract

A copper-promoted reductive homocoupling reaction, for the first time used for a metal complex, allowed obtaining a new kind of complexes with the encapsulated metal ions, C–C conjugated bis-clathrochelates. These compounds demonstrate extremely high transcription inhibition activity in the T7 RNA polymerase system with values of IC₅₀ reaching as low as the submicromolar range, which places them among the most potent metal-based transcription inhibitors.