Ricerc@Sapienza

Platinum(IV) complexes are extensively studied for their activity against cancer cells as potential substitutes for the widely used platinum(II) drugs. Pt(IV) complexes are kinetically inert and need to be reduced to Pt(II) species to play their pharmacological action, thus acting as prodrugs. The mechanism of the reduction step inside the cell is however still largely unknown. Gas-phase activation of deprotonated platinum(IV) prodrugs was found to generate products in which platinum has a formal +3 oxidation state.

We explore the structure of two ionic liquids based on the choline cation and the monoanion
of the maleic acid. We consider two isomers of the anion (H-maleate, the cis-isomer and H-fumarate,
the trans-isomer) having different physical chemical properties. H-maleate assumes a closed structure
and forms a strong intramolecular hydrogen bond whereas H-fumarate has an open structure.
X-ray diffraction, infrared and Raman spectroscopy and molecular dynamics have been used

Infrared multiple photon dissociation (IRMPD) spectroscopy allows for the derivation of the vibrational fingerprint of molecular ions under tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) conditions. It provides insight into the nature and localization of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) affecting single amino acids and peptides.