Tullio Pilati

Bio: Tullio Pilati is an academic researcher from University of Milan. The author has contributed to research in topics: Halogen bond & Cycloaddition. The author has an hindex of 21, co-authored 57 publications receiving 3822 citations. Previous affiliations of Tullio Pilati include Polytechnic University of Milan.

Halogen Bonding Based Recognition Processes: A World Parallel to Hydrogen Bonding †

Abstract: Halogen bonding is the noncovalent interaction between halogen atoms (Lewis acids) and neutral or anionic Lewis bases. The main features of the interaction are given, and the close similarity with the hydrogen bonding will become apparent. Some heuristic principles are presented to develop a rational crystal engineering based on halogen bonding. The focus is on halogen-bonded supramolecular architectures given by halocarbons. The potential of the interaction is shown by useful applications in the field of synthetic chemistry, material science, and bioorganic chemistry.

Halogen bonding: a general route in anion recognition and coordination

Abstract: This critical review describes how halocarbons can function as effective binding sites of anions via halogen bonding, the noncovalent interaction whereby halogen atoms accept electron density. The focus is on the binding and coordination of oxyanions, by far the most numerous class of anions in organic chemistry. It is shown how a large variety of inorganic and organic oxyanions can form discrete adducts and 1D, 2D, or 3D supramolecular networks with chloro-, bromo-, and iodocarbons. Specific examples are discussed in order to identify new supramolecular synthons based on halogen bonding and to outline some general principles for the design of effective and selective receptors based on this interaction. The interaction allows for several other anions to self-assemble with halocarbons and mention is also given to the halogen bonding-based coordination of halides, polycyano- and polyoxometallates (72 references).

Halogen bonding in halocarbon–protein complexes: a structural survey

Abstract: Halogen bonding has been extensively described in the context of a variety of self-assembled supramolecular systems and efficiently utilized in the rational design of materials with specific structural properties. However, it has so far received only little recognition for its possible role in the stabilization of small molecule–protein complexes. In this tutorial review, we provide a few examples of halogen bonds occurring between small halogen-substituted ligands and their biological substrates. Examples were drawn from a diverse set of compounds, ranging from chemical additives and possible environmental agents such as triclosan to pharmacologically active principles such as the volatile anesthetic halothane or HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors or a subset of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are halogen-substituted. The crystal structures presented here, where iodine, bromine, or chlorine atoms function as halogen bonding donors and a variety of electron rich sites, such as oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur atoms, as well as aromatic π-electron systems, function as halogen bonding acceptors, prove how halogen bonds can occur in biological systems and provide a class of highly directional stabilizing contacts that can be exploited in the process of rational drug design.

Engineering functional materials by halogen bonding

Abstract: Engineering functional materials endowed with unprecedented properties require the exploitation of new intermolecular interactions, which can determine the characteristics of the bulk materials. The great potential of Halogen Bonding (XB), namely any noncovalent interaction involving halogens as electron acceptors, in the design of new and high-value functional materials is now emerging clearly. This Highlight will give a detailed overview on the energetic and geometric features of XB, showing how some of them are quite constant in most of the formed supramolecular complexes (e.g., the angle formed by the covalent and the noncovalent bonds around the halogen atom), while some others depend strictly on the nature of the interacting partners. Then, several specific examples of halogen-bonded supramolecular architectures, whose structural aspects as well as applications in fields as diverse as enantiomers' separation, crystal engineering, liquid crystals, natural, and synthetic receptors, will be fully described. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: PolymChem 45: 1–15, 2007

Naming Interactions from the Electrophilic Site

Abstract: It is proposed that noncovalent interactions, wherein it is possible to identify an element or moiety working as the electrophile, are named by referring to the Group of the Periodic Table the electrophilic atom belongs to. The resulting terminology generalizes a criterion which was used in the recent IUPAC definition of halogen bond and inspired the definition of hydrogen bond. A systematic, unambiguous, and periodic naming is obtained and applies to the majority of the attractive interactions formed by the elements of Groups 1, 2, 13–17 and, possibly, to some interactions formed by the elements of other Groups.

Molecular self-assembly and nanochemistry: A chemical strategy for the synthesis of nanostructures

Abstract: Molecular self-assembly is the spontaneous association of molecules under equilibrium conditions into stable, structurally well-defined aggregates joined by noncovalent bonds. Molecular self-assembly is ubiquitous in biological systems and underlies the formation of a wide variety of complex biological structures. Understanding self-assembly and the associated noncovalent interactions that connect complementary interacting molecular surfaces in biological aggregates is a central concern in structural biochemistry. Self-assembly is also emerging as a new strategy in chemical synthesis, with the potential of generating nonbiological structures with dimensions of 1 to 10(2) nanometers (with molecular weights of 10(4) to 10(10) daltons). Structures in the upper part of this range of sizes are presently inaccessible through chemical synthesis, and the ability to prepare them would open a route to structures comparable in size (and perhaps complementary in function) to those that can be prepared by microlithography and other techniques of microfabrication.

The Halogen Bond

Abstract: The halogen bond occurs when there is evidence of a net attractive interaction between an electrophilic region associated with a halogen atom in a molecular entity and a nucleophilic region in another, or the same, molecular entity. In this fairly extensive review, after a brief history of the interaction, we will provide the reader with a snapshot of where the research on the halogen bond is now, and, perhaps, where it is going. The specific advantages brought up by a design based on the use of the halogen bond will be demonstrated in quite different fields spanning from material sciences to biomolecular recognition and drug design.

New Chiral Phosphorus Ligands for Enantioselective Hydrogenation

Abstract: The increasing demand to produce enantiomerically pure pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, flavors, and other fine chemicals has advanced the field of asymmetric catalytic technologies.1,2 Among all asymmetric catalytic methods, asymmetric hydrogenation utilizing molecular hydrogen to reduce prochiral olefins, ketones, and imines, have become one of the most efficient methods for constructing chiral compounds.3 The development of homogeneous asymmetric hydrogenation was initiated by Knowles4a and Horner4b in the late 1960s, after the discovery of Wilkinson’s homogeneous hydrogenation catalyst [RhCl(PPh3)3]. By replacing triphenylphosphine of the Wilkinson’s catalystwithresolvedchiralmonophosphines,6Knowles and Horner reported the earliest examples of enantioselective hydrogenation, albeit with poor enantioselectivity. Further exploration by Knowles with an improved monophosphine CAMP provided 88% ee in hydrogenation of dehydroamino acids.7 Later, two breakthroughs were made in asymmetric hydrogenation by Kagan and Knowles, respectively. Kagan reported the first bisphosphine ligand, DIOP, for Rhcatalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation.8 The successful application of DIOP resulted in several significant directions for ligand design in asymmetric hydrogenation. Chelating bisphosphorus ligands could lead to superior enantioselectivity compared to monodentate phosphines. Additionally, P-chiral phosphorus ligands were not necessary for achieving high enantioselectivity, and ligands with backbone chirality could also provide excellent ee’s in asymmetric hydrogenation. Furthermore, C2 symmetry was an important structural feature for developing new efficient chiral ligands. Kagan’s seminal work immediately led to the rapid development of chiral bisphosphorus ligands. Knowles made his significant discovery of a C2-symmetric chelating bisphosphine ligand, DIPAMP.9 Due to its high catalytic efficiency in Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of dehydroamino acids, DIPAMP was quickly employed in the industrial production of L-DOPA.10 The success of practical synthesis of L-DOPA via asymmetric hydrogenation constituted a milestone work and for this work Knowles was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2001.3k This work has enlightened chemists to realize * Corresponding author. 3029 Chem. Rev. 2003, 103, 3029−3069

Halogen bonding: the σ-hole

Abstract: Halogen bonding refers to the non-covalent interactions of halogen atoms X in some molecules, RX, with negative sites on others. It can be explained by the presence of a region of positive electrostatic potential, the sigma-hole, on the outermost portion of the halogen's surface, centered on the R-X axis. We have carried out a natural bond order B3LYP analysis of the molecules CF(3)X, with X = F, Cl, Br and I. It shows that the Cl, Br and I atoms in these molecules closely approximate the [Formula: see text] configuration, where the z-axis is along the R-X bond. The three unshared pairs of electrons produce a belt of negative electrostatic potential around the central part of X, leaving the outermost region positive, the sigma-hole. This is not found in the case of fluorine, for which the combination of its high electronegativity plus significant sp-hybridization causes an influx of electronic charge that neutralizes the sigma-hole. These factors become progressively less important in proceeding to Cl, Br and I, and their effects are also counteracted by the presence of electron-withdrawing substituents in the remainder of the molecule. Thus a sigma-hole is observed for the Cl in CF(3)Cl, but not in CH(3)Cl.

Halogen Bonding Based Recognition Processes: A World Parallel to Hydrogen Bonding †

Abstract: Halogen bonding is the noncovalent interaction between halogen atoms (Lewis acids) and neutral or anionic Lewis bases. The main features of the interaction are given, and the close similarity with the hydrogen bonding will become apparent. Some heuristic principles are presented to develop a rational crystal engineering based on halogen bonding. The focus is on halogen-bonded supramolecular architectures given by halocarbons. The potential of the interaction is shown by useful applications in the field of synthetic chemistry, material science, and bioorganic chemistry.