Abstract:
The general solution behaviour and" the major fragmentation pathways of the anticanceractive
PtIV coordination complexes, trans, trans, cis, cis-[PtCIOH{N(pFC6F4)
CH2h(pY)2] (1), trans, cis, cis-[Pt(OH)2{N(p-FC6F4)CH2h(Py)2] (2), trans, cis,
cis-[Pt(OH)2{N(p-HC6F4)CH2h(Py)2] (3), trans, trans, cis, cis-[PtCIOH{N(pHC6F4)
CH2h(Py)2] (4), and trans, trans, cis, cis-[PtOH(OCH3){N(p-HC6F4)CH2h(PY)2]
(5) (Py = pyridine) have been deduced by positive-ion tandem-in-time ESI-MS. Overall,
the acquired full-scan, positive-ion ESI-MS spectra of 2, 3, and 5 were characterized by
the presence of relatively low-intensity [M+Nar and [M+Kt mass spectral peaks,
whereas those of 1 and 4 were dominated by extremely intense [M+Hr peaks.
Complexes 2 and 3 were also noted to form [2M+Ht and [2M+Nat dilneric cations. The
source of Na + and K+ ions is believed to be the sample, the solvent systems used or the
transport line carrying the sample solutions into the ES ion source. Further, the
fragmentation pathway of all complexes studied was found to be almost identical with
concurrent loss of py and H20 molecules, loss of a {N(p-YC6F4)CH2} (Y = F, H) group
and/or concomitant release of the latter group and a py ligand being the most conunon.
The photochemical degradation behaviour of 1 and 2 was also investigated using either
fluorescent or ultraviolet light and some products of that degradation were positively
identified. Altogether, light irradiation of solutions of both complexes resulted in cation
cationisation, reductive-elimination, ligand-release, ligand-exchange and ligand-addition
reactions. Finally, positive- and negative-ion ESI-MSn spectra of 5' -GMP, guanosine,
inosine and products of their reactions with 1, 2,3, and 4 were also recorded. On the whole, full-scan ESI-MS spectra of the pure nucleobases revealed the presence of
cationic and anionic species that are highly reflective of both their solution ionic
composition and their propensity t9 form polymeric clusters. Analyses of mass spectra
acquired from their reaction solutions with the aforementioned platinum complexes
indicated very slow kinetics. However, all complexes investigated formed, to various
degrees, Pt-nucleobase adducts with guanosine and inosine, but not with 5'-GMP. The
products included species having coordination numbers of III, IV, V, and VI, among
which the first-time· observed, coordinatively saturated, jive-coordinate PtlI-nucleobase
complexes were of most interest. The latter complexes are presumably stabilized by 7tback-
donation involving the filled d orbitals of the PtII centre and the empty pz· orbital of
MeCN. All products, whose peaks appeared inlull-scan ESI-MS spectra, are believed to
represent solution species rather than artifacts of gas-phase processes. Finally, negativeion
ESI-MSn spectra recorded in reaction solutions of 1 and 4 with guanosine and of the
latter complex with inosine revealed the negative-ion-ESI-MS first-time observed, noncovalent,
nucleoside-chloride adducts, with the source of chloride anion being complexes
1 and 4 theillselves. In contrast, no such adducts were observed to form with Na25'-GMP
or its protonated fonn. Few suggestions are offered for the possible cause(s) behind the
absence of such adduct ions.