Cellular interactions of platinum drugs #chempaperaday 232

This is a 2012 review paper and a really good summary on the fate of platinum drugs in model systems and in cells. 

While we know that cisplatin completely cures testicular cancer and is very effective in a few other cancer types, the mechanism of action is still not really known. It is also not known why it is so selective against testicular cancer. The article made me really realize how little we know about cisplatin and other platinum anticancer drugs. There are tens of cellular targets and it is still not understood what happens to cisplatin when it enters the cell. In fact, only 1% of cisplatin ends up binding to DNA. There is still so much work to do to answer these questions and develop better drugs. I hope I can help one day.

The Phenomenon of the Styrian Arsenic Eaters... #chempaperaday 231

This is new to me. So, apparently, it was long known (or believed) to be that there were/are people who eat white arsenic to become immune to certain diseases or to get healthier! Stories of these people were told in several parts of the world including Europe and several novels, poems etc. are based on these people.

In this interesting article, you can read whether this phenomenon is real or not. The author mentions as many of these literature examples as possible and like a detective, he tries to find the truth. I think it is a really good read if you enjoy history of chemistry.

Heterometallic Effects in Trinuclear Complexes Supported by p-Terphenyl Diphosphine Ligands #chempaperaday 230

Not the most conclusive study, but a good work on the synthesis and characterization of three trinuclear complexes.

One of the most interesting parts for me is that compound 3[BF4]  (-1.31V) was reduced by cobaltocene (-1.32 V).

 

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.organomet.5b00579

Heterogeneous catalysis with metal nitrides #chempaperaday 229

Although I am working on making catalysts for homogeneous catalysis, one of my biggest passions is heterogeneous catalysis.

Metal nitrides are one of the most interesting class of these catalysts. There are several examples of them used and being explored in ammonia synthesis, hydrotreating, hydrogenation and so on. There are examples of these in this paper. You can also read several different methods to make these catalysts and some distinctive features of each.

There is a nice paragraph summarizing the limitations of the experiments and analysis of these catalysts too such as surface structure-activity reaction.

For those who know nothing about metal nitrides in heterogeneous catalysis, I think the key is that they are believed to show "noble-metal like behaviour."

 

Diiron Azadithiolates as Models for the [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Active Site... #chempaperaday 228

More on diiron complexes in this post. This is a nice and beautifully written summary of Prof. Rauchfuss' work on the topic.

"To the eyes of an organometallic chemist, the active site of the [FeFe]-H₂ases combines the familiar and unfamiliar."

A few things to note :

- Diiron, nickel-iron and iron based hydrogenases have no evolutionary relationship.

- low spin iron centers in general stabilizes hydrides better than high spin ones

Synthetic Advances Inspired by the Bioactive Dinitrosyl Iron Unit #chempaperaday 227

Ok, first of all, I am not dead and I didn't stop reading. In fact, I've probably read more than ever. I mostly read papers related to my research and a specific research problem though. That's why I keep them to myself. Hopefully, I will get on track again starting with this post.

This is a really good article on dinitrosyl iron units which are believed to be very important in cell biology. As the authors say "DNICs have been documented to be the largest NO-derived adduct in cells".

You can find some really cool synthetic routes to make these complexes and their electrochemistry in this paper. Hope you enjoy.