Pushing the photodelivery of nitric oxide to the visible: are {FeNO}7 complexes good candidates?

Abstract

Photodelivery of NO requires stable compounds which can be made reactive by irradiation with (visible) light. Traditional {MNO}⁶ complexes require a substantial ligand design to shift their absorption spectra to the appropriate region of the electromagnetic spectrum. [Fe((CH₂Py₂)₂Me[9]aneN₃)(NO)](BF₄)₂ is a new {FeNO}⁷ octahedral coordination compound, which is thermally and air-stable in solution. Illumination with a 450 nm light source induces significant photodetachment of the coordinated NO (ϕ_NO = 0.52 mol einstein⁻¹), suggesting that {FeNO}⁷ compounds can be in fact suitable compounds for therapeutic NO-photorelease.