Metallacarboranes and their interactions

Metallacarboranes and their interactions: theoretical insights and their applicability

Metallacarbaboranes (or metallacarboranes) are a class of inorganic polyhedral clusters containing carbon, boron, hydrogen, and metal atoms in various combinations. Metallacarboranes are becoming subject of growing interest to the broad chemical community owing to their unique combination of features and properties including the rigidity of the cages and their relative rotary motion, hydrophobicity, as well as chemical and thermal stability due to delocalized charge. The inclusion of carbon atoms in the boron framework causes a differential reactivity of the cluster with either acidic (carbon-bound) or hydridic (boron-bound) hydrogen atoms.

X-ray structure of the complex between HIV-1 protease and [3,3-Co-(1,2-C2B9H11)2] metallacarborane