Supramolecular phosphatases formed by the self-assembly of the bis(Zn²⁺-cyclen) complex, copper(II), and barbital derivatives in water.

In our previous paper, we reported that a dimeric Zn(2+) complex with a 2,2'-bipyridyl linker (Zn2L(1)), cyanuric acid (CA), and a Cu(2+) ion automatically assemble in aqueous solution to form 4:4:4 complex 3, which selectively catalyzes the hydrolysis of mono(4-nitrophenyl)phosphate (MNP) at neutral pH. Herein, we report that the use of barbital (Bar) instead of CA for the self-assembly with Zn2L(1) and Cu(2+) induces 2:2:2 complexation of these components, and not the 4:4:4 complex, to form supramolecular complex 6 a, the structure and equilibrium characteristics of which were studied by analytical and physical measurements. The finding show that 6 a also accelerates the hydrolysis of MNP, similarly to 3. Moreover, inspired by the crystal structure of 6 a, we prepared barbital units that contain functional groups on their side chains in an attempt to produce supramolecular phosphatases that possess functional groups near the Cu2(μ-OH)2 catalytic core so as to mimic the catalytic center of alkaline phosphatase (AP).