Cyclam (1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) is an

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. The ...

with the formula (NHCH₂CH₂NHCH₂CH₂CH₂)₂. Classified as an

aza-crown ether In organic chemistry, an aza-crown ether is an aza analogue of a crown ether (cyclic polyether). That is, it has a nitrogen atom (amine linkage, or ) in place of each oxygen atom (ether linkage, ) around the ring. While the parent crown ethers ...

, it is a white solid that is soluble in water. As a

macrocyclic Macrocycles are often described as molecules and ions containing a ring of twelve or more atoms. Classical examples include the crown ethers, calixarenes, porphyrins, and cyclodextrins. Macrocycles describe a large, mature area of chemistry. ...

ligand In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule (functional group) that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's electr ...

, it binds strongly to many transition metal

cation An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

s. The compound was first prepared by the reaction of 1,3-dibromopropane and

ethylenediamine Ethylenediamine (abbreviated as en when a ligand) is the organic compound with the formula C2H4(NH2)2. This colorless liquid with an ammonia-like odor is a basic amine. It is a widely used building block in chemical synthesis, with approximately ...

The compound features four

secondary amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are formally derivatives of ammonia (), wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such a ...

s. Its complexes therefore can exist as several

diastereomer In stereochemistry, diastereomers (sometimes called diastereoisomers) are a type of stereoisomer. Diastereomers are defined as non-mirror image, non-identical stereoisomers. Hence, they occur when two or more stereoisomers of a compound have dif ...

s, depending on the relative orientation of the N–H centres. Its complexes feature alternating five- and six-membered chelate rings. The closely related ligand

cyclen Cyclen (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane) is a aza-crown ether with the formula (CH2CH2NH)4. It is a white solid. Synthesis Some syntheses exploit the Thorpe-Ingold effect to facilitate ring-formation. Illustrative is the reaction of the depro ...

((CH₂CH₂NH)₄) forms only five-membered C₂N₂M chelate rings and tends not to form square-planar complexes.

''N''-Alkyl derivatives

Metal-cyclam complexes are prone to oxidative degradation, which is initiated by deprotonation of the secondary amine. This flaw led to the development of cyclam derivatives wherein the NH centres are replaced by tertiary amines. For example, the tetramethyl derivatives are readily prepared by methylation using

formaldehyde Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...

and formic acid. These oxidatively robust derivatives of cyclam have enabled a number of metal–O₂ complexes. CyclamIsomers

References

{{reflist Nitrogen heterocycles Secondary amines Macrocycles Polyamines Chelating agents

''N''-Alkyl derivatives

See also

References