Two coordination polymers (2a and 2b) containing dinuclear zinc(II) macrocyclic components have been unexpectedly obtained when pyrazine and 2-methylpyrazine were used to react with dinuclear zinc(II) macrocyclic complexes 1a and 1b, respectively. The X-ray crystal structural study indicated that the coordination environment around each Zn(II) atom in 2 is a five-coordinated distorted pyramid in which the apical position is occupied by a bridging formate anion, unlocalized, in an end to end fashion. The formate group acts as a bidentate bridging ligand to link two adjacent macrocyclic units forming a chain polymer. In addition, Hbonding interactions are observed in the crystal packing of 2a and 2b, which could be described as two-dimensional networks.

The condensation between sodium 2,6-diformyl-4-X-phenolate (X=Cl, CH3) with the reduced 1:1 Schiff base of 2,2',2"-tris (aminoethyl) amine (tren) and 2-formylfuran (or benzaldehyde) followed by in situ transmetallation with copper(II) perchlorate results in the production of four novel tetranuclear copper(II) complexes of 2:2 macrocyclic Schiff bases with functional pendant-arms (H2L1-4), which have been spectroscopically characterized. A typical complex (1) has been structurally studied by X-ray diffraction. In the cation of complex 1, [Cu4L1Cl2(OH)2]2+, a chair-shaped Cu4O4 core with two μ3-hydroxide groups inside is composed of two kinds of crystallographicall ndependent Cu(II) atoms, while each possesses a configuration of a distorted square pyramid. The four metal atoms are in an approximate parallelogram. Two pendant-arms, mono-dentatively bonding to their adjacent metal atoms, lie in the 'trans' position of the macrocycle. The variable temperature magnetic susceptibility of 1 has been measured in a temperature rang 4-300K. The best fitting with a quasi-butterfly magnetostructural model shows antiferromagnetic exchanges within this compound, with Jbb=-270.8cm-1, Jwb1=-40.3cm-1 and Jwb2=-37.5cm-1.

A dinuclear manganese macrocyclic complex with functional pendant arms, [Mn2(II)HL2](ClO4), has been prepared by the cyclocondensation of sodium 2,6-diformyl-4-methylphenolate with N,N-bis(2-aminoethyl)-N-(2-hydroxybenzyl)amine and subsequent transmetallation of Mn(II)(ClO4)2. In the molecular structure of the complex, each pendant arm is bound to an adjacent manganese atom and both arms lie on the same side of the resulting tetra-imine macrocycle. Each manganese(II) ion is in a distorted octahedral configuration. The variable-temperature magnetism and the cyclic voltammogram of the complex have also been investigated. In the catalytic study, this compound exhibits a high activity for catalyzing disproportionation of H2O2 to O2.

Twenty-six new hydrophilic chiral 2-alkoxy-1,4-butanediamine platinum (II) complexes having a seven-membered ring structure between a bidentate carrier ligand and a platinum atom have been synthesized and most of them were evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity toward A549 human non-small cell lung carcinoma and HCT-116 human colon cancer cell lines. The cytotoxicities of platinum complexes are related to the nature of the carrier ligand and leaving group. Complex 50b, viz. cis-dichloro[(2R)-ethoxy-1,4-butanediamine] platinum (II), exhibits the greatest potency among those 21 tested platinum complexes in both cell lines.

The combination of a macrocyclic precursor and a sodium ion, sodium 2,6-diformyl-4-substitutedphenolate, offers an effective template to carry out Schiff base cyclocondensation with a quite number of polyamines. Followed by transmetallation with heavy metals has resulted in the production of several classes of macrocyclic complexes which have been structurally characterized. The ligands are involved with [2+2], [2+3], [3+3] and [4+4] condensation modes of macrocyclic precursors with multi-amines. It has been found so far that the sodium template presents several unique features such as a 'versatile' template regardless of ring sizes, easy replacement by transition metals and induced certain group elimination during the reaction.