Synthesis and Absolute Configuration of Novel Mono- and Dinuclear Cobalt(III) Complexes Containing S-Phenylalanine

Two diastereomers of bis(1,3-diaminopropane)(S-phenylalaninato)cobalt(III) were prepared by reaction of S-phenylalanine with carbonatobis(1,3-diaminopropane)cobalt(III). The diastereomers were separated on an optically active Sephadex QAE column and their absolute configurations assigned by means of circular dichroism. In addition, 1HNMR spectra of the diastereomers were analyzed in terms of the population of the three predominant rotamers of the coordinated S-phenylalaninato ligand. One out of 24 theoretically possible diastereomers of the dinuclear species di- µ -hydroxo- tetrakis(S-phenylalaninato)dicobalt(III) was obtained by direct synthesis and its absolute configuration deduced from CD spectra.