Study of pH-dependent zinc(II)-carboxamide interactions by zinc(II)-carboxamide-appended cyclen complexes (cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane).

To elucidate intrinsic recognition of carboxamides by zinc(II) in carbonic anhydrase (CA) (as inhibitors) and carboxypeptidase A (CPA) (as substrates), a new series of Zn(2+)-carboxamide-appended cyclen complexes have been synthesized and characterized (cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane). Two types of Zn(2+)-carboxamide interactions have been found. In the first case represented by a zinc(II) complex of carbamoylmethyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (L(1)), the amide oxygen binds to zinc(II) at slightly acidic pH (to form ZnL(1)), and the deprotonated amide N(-) binds to zinc(II) at alkaline pH (to form ZnH(-1)L(1)) with pK(a) = 8.59 at 25 degrees C and I = 0.1 (NaNO(3)), as determined by potentiometric pH titrations, infrared spectral changes, and (13)C and (1)H NMR titrations. The X-ray crystal structure of ZnH(-1)L(3) (where L(3) = N-(4-nitrophenyl)carbamoylmethyl cyclen, pK(a) = 7.01 for ZnL(3) <==> ZnH(-1)L(3)) proved that the zinc(II) binds to the amidate N(-) (Zn-N(-) distance of 1.974(3) A) along with the four nitrogen atoms of cyclen (average Zn-N distance 2.136 A). Crystal data: monoclinic, space group P2(1)/n (No. 14) with a = 10.838(1) A, b = 17.210(2) A, c = 12.113(2) A, b = 107.38(1) degrees, V = 2156.2(5) A(3), Z = 4, R = 0.042, and R(w) = 0.038. These model studies provide the first chemical support that carboxamides are CA(-) inhibitors by occupying the active Zn(2+) site both in acidic and alkaline pH to prevent the occurrence of the catalytically active Zn(2+)-OH(-) species. In the second case represented by a zinc(II) complex of 1-(N-acetyl)aminoethylcyclen, ZnL(6), the pendant amide oxygen had little interaction with zinc(II) at acidic pH. At alkaline pH, the monodeprotonation yielded a zinc(II)-bound hydroxide species ZnL(6)(OH(-)) (pK(a) = 7.64) with the amide pendant remaining intact. The ZnL(6)(OH(-)) species showed the same nucleophilic activity as Zn(2+)-cyclen-OH(-). The second case may mimic the Zn(2+)-OH(-) mechanism of CPA, where the nucleophilic Zn(2+)-OH(-) species does not act as a base to deprotonate a proximate amide.