Crystal Engineering with Modified 2‑Aminopurine and Group 12 Metal Ions

This communication describes the synthesis and structure of zinc, cadmium, and mercury complexes of modified N9-substituted 2-aminopurine (2AP) analogues. 2AP is an inherently fluorescent heterocyclic nucleobase with wide applications in biochemical reactions. Herein, we report a one-dimensional (1D) polymeric helical chain and discrete arrangements for zinc complexes [C8H11N5Cl2Zn] (1) and [C12H15N5O5Zn] (2), a 1D polymeric helical chain for a Cd complex [C8H11CdI2N5] (3), and a unique example of supported 2AP-Hg­(II) two-dimensional clusters [C16H21Cl6Hg3N10] (4). The photoluminescence properties of free ligand L and complexes 1–4 are also presented.