Conférence de chimie avec la professeure Olivia Reinaud de l'Université Paris Descartes
Titre: ‘‘ METAL IONS IN BIOMIMETIC CAVITIES’’
Endroit : G-715, Pavillon Roger-Gaudry
Heure : 11:00 AM
Hôte : Prof. Jean-François Masson
Résumé :
Metal ions are essential to life for all organisms. More than 30% of the enzymes present one or more metal ions in their active sites. They may have a structuring role vis-à-vis the protein, they may also be key in the recognition of a substrate or of a cofactor, or they may act as catalyst for the activation of substrates and small molecules such as water or dioxygen. The knowledge of these metallic systems is an infinite source of inspiration for chemists. The lack of knowledge of their role makes them a subject of fundamental studies essential to the understanding of life.
The aim of our work is to design supramolecular systems that will mimic both, the coordination core, and the hydrophobic pocket of a metallo-enzyme active site. Our strategy relies on the synthesis of cavity-based ligands that allow the control of the metal ion micro-environment, together with the approach and the binding of guest molecules.
Since many years, we have been developing systems based on the calix[6]arene scaffold, giving rise to the so-called “funnel complexes”. More recently, we started to explore metal complexes based on the resorcin[4]arene scaffold, which provides a supramolecular environment different in shape, rigidity and binding properties, so-called “Bowl-complexes”. One of our focus is the impact of the second and third coordination spheres provided by the cavities on their hosting properties and redox behavior. Various aspects such as dioxygen activation at a biomimetic mononuclear Cu(I) center, supramolecular control of of metal ions, guest covalent capture by a host, water-soluble receptors, surface functionalization by mono-layered cavities as well as biomimetic catalysis are developed.
