Synthesis and characterization of ruthenium and rhenium nucleosides.

We report the synthesis and characterization of new ruthenium and rhenium nucleosides [Ru(tolyl-acac)2(IMPy)-T] (tolyl-acac=di(p-methylbenzonatemethane), IMPy=2'-iminomethylpyridine, T=thymidine) (5) and [Re(CO)3(IMPy)-T]Cl (9), respectively. Structural analysis of 9 shows that the incorporation of this metal complex causes minimal perturbation to the sugar backbone and the nucleobase. Eletrochemical (5, E1/2=0.265 V vs NHE; 9, E1/2=1.67 V vs NHE), absorption (5, lambdamax=600, 486 nm; 9, lambdamax=388 nm), and emission (9, lambdamax=770 nm, pi=17 ns) data indicate that 5 and 9 are suitable probes for DNA-mediated ground-state electron-transfer studies. The separation and characterization of diastereoisomers of 5 and bipyridyl-based ruthenium nucleoside [Ru(bpy)2(IMPy)-T]2+ (7) are reported.