Prochloron didemni, an obligate symbiont of certain ascidians (sea squirts found in tropical areas), produces various cyclic pseudo-octapeptides in large quantities. These secondary metabolites have attracted the attention of medicinal chemists and, due to their four azol(in)e and four amide donor groups, coordination chemists have become interested in these molecules. The structures of the metal-free macrocycles and their dinuclear copper(II) complexes are known, and solution equilibria, spectroscopic properties and a range of biologically relevant reactions have been studied in detail. However, until recently, the properties of the patellamides and structures of the copper(II) complexes in living systems have not been known unambiguously. These are reviewed in the present Perspective and, as a result, it now is possible to discuss possible biological functions of these species.

中文翻译：

---

髌骨的铜配位化学 - 海髌-Prochloron 共生中的 cyanobactins


Prochloron didemni 是某些 ascidines（在热带地区发现的海鞘）的专性共生体，可大量产生各种环状伪八肽。这些次生代谢物引起了药物化学家的注意，并且由于它们的四个唑氮（in）e 和四个酰胺供体基团，配位化学家对这些分子产生了兴趣。无金属大环及其双核铜 （II） 配合物的结构是已知的，并且已经详细研究了溶液平衡、光谱特性和一系列生物学相关反应。然而，直到最近，生命系统中髌骨的性质和铜 （II） 络合物的结构还未明确。这些在本视角中进行了回顾，因此，现在可以讨论这些物种可能的生物学功能。