Mono- and di-N-acetamidomethylated derivatives of bis(l-alaninato)copper(II): Characterization and nucleolytic property

Mono- and di-N-acetamidomethylated derivatives of Cu(l-ala)2. Crystal structure determination of the latter (R1 = R2 = CH2NH(CO)CH3) shows intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonding of the N-methylacetamido substituents. The former derivative (R1 = H; R2 = CH2NH(CO)CH3), which dissolves readily in water, cleaves DNA more efficiently than Cu(l-ala)2. Both complexes are additionally characterized by electron impact mass spectrometry.