Investigation of Molybdenum Metallocene Complexes for Hydrolyzing Phosphate Neurotoxins

路易斯·郭博士，路易斯·克拉克学院化学系，得到化学学部无机、生物无机和有机金属化学的支持，研究合成和调查新的有机金属配合物，水解磷酸酯。二氯化钼（Cp2MoCl2）是唯一已知的在水溶液中对有机磷酸盐进行水解的有机金属体系。PI证明了这一过程涉及钼配合物与磷酸盐中心的刘易斯酸/碱相互作用。增加Mo（IV）的路易斯酸可以加速酯的水解。因此，在这个项目中，Mo（IV）中心的刘易斯酸度将通过在环戊二烯基配体上附着小的吸电子/给电子基团而改变。各种各样的这些将被研究，以发展关系，其中涉及的配合物的结构与他们的能力水解磷酸酯。利用这些关系，新的过渡金属基材料将被设计用于降解有机磷神经毒素。该项目的第二部分将研究辉钼矿衍生物水解磷硫代酸盐中P-S键的能力。在整个项目中，将进行机械调查。许多化学战剂和杀虫剂是磷酸酯或类似于硫代膦酸盐。这些物种的主要解毒策略是水解和焚烧。该项目旨在开发新的药剂，可以加速水解的磷酸盐和硫代膦。目前重要的是开发更好的水解磷酸酯的试剂，因为大量的化学战剂库存必须在未来几年内销毁。在教育方面，该项目将对刘易斯和克拉克学院的本科生研究产生重大影响，该项目的环境影响将影响该学院蓬勃发展的环境研究项目以及化学和生物化学项目。

Dr. Louis Kuo, Chemistry Department, Lewis and Clark College, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry of the Chemistry Division for research into the syntheses and investigation of new organometallic complexes that hydrolyze phosphate esters. Molybdocene dichloride (Cp2MoCl2) is the only known organometallic system that carries out the hydrolysis of organophosphates in aqueous solution. The PI has demonstrated that this process involves a Lewis Acid/Base interaction of the molybdenum complex with the phosphate center. Increasing the Lewis acidity of Mo(IV) should accelerate ester hydrolysis. Thus, in this project the Lewis acidity of Mo(IV) centers will be altered by attaching small electron withdrawing/donating groups to the cyclopentadienyl ligand. A variety of these will be investigated in order to develop relationships which relate the structures of the complexes with their ability to hydrolyze phosphate esters. Using these relationships, new transition metal-based materials will be designed for the degradation of organophosphate neurotoxins. The second part of the project will investigate the ability of the molybdocene derivatives to hydrolyze the P-S bond in phosphinothioates. Throughout the project, mechanistic investigations will be undertaken.Many chemical warfare agents and pesticides are phosphate esters or resemble phosphinothioates. The main detoxification strategies for these species are hydrolysis and incineration. This project seeks to develop new agents that can accelerate the hydrolysis of phosphates and phosphinothioates. There is current importance to developing better reagents that hydrolyze phosphate esters because substantial stockpiles of chemical warfare agents must be destroyed over the next few years. Educationally, this project will have a major impact on undergraduate research at Lewis and Clark College and the environmental implications of the project will impact the college's burgeoning Environmental Studies program as well as its chemistry and biochemistry programs.