Carbon-carbon double bond in pillar[5]arene cavity: Selective binding of cis/trans-olefin isomers

The binding behavior of pillar[5]arenes (P5As) towards a series of olefin guests ((E)-1,4-dichlorobut-2-ene (1E), (Z)-1,4-dichlorobut-2-ene (1Z), (E)-but-2-ene-1,4-diol (2E), and (Z)-but-2-ene-1,4-diol (2Z), as well as an alkyne derivative 1,4-dichlorobut-2-yne (3)) have been studied in organic solution. P5As exhibit considerable selectivities for the trans-olefin isomers (1E and 2E) over their cis-isomers (1Z and 2Z). The cis/trans-selective interactions hold the potential of utilizing P5As to separate olefin isomers.     

The synthesis and liquid crystalline behaviour of 2-(4-n-alkoxyphenyl)-5-methylpyridines

We have synthesized a new series of polyphenylene compounds with a pyridine ring, 2-(4-n-alkoxyphenyl)-5-methylpyridines (CH₃C₅H₃NC₆H₄OC_iH_2i1) (1a-i; the carbon number, i, of the alkoxy group is 1-9), and studied their phase transitions and mesogenicity using DSC and polarizing microscopy. In the homologous series of 1a-i, no mesomorphic phase appeared for i=1-5 and only a monotropic nematic phase was observed for i=6-9. The mesomorphic potential is relatively weaker for the 1a-i than for the 2a-i and 3a-i homologues, which are pyridine-containing three- and four-ring similar systems. This lowering of the mesogenicity may be due to the lack of a phenyl ring between the pyridine ring and the methyl group in the 1a-i homologues.     

Synthesis and properties of optically active 1,3-diols and their derivatives as chiral dopants for ferroelectric liquid crystals

New chiral dopants β-hydroxy ketones 1, 1,3-diols 2, 1,3-dioxanes 3 and 1,3-dioxan-2-ones 4 were designed and synthesized. Reaction of (R)-1,2-epoxyoctane with carbanions derived from 2-(4-substituted phenyl)-1,3-dithianes followed by hydrolysis of the resulting hydroxy dithianes afforded 1. Reduction of 1 gave the diols 2, which yielded 3 upon acetalization and 4 upon carbonation. The syn isomers of 2, 3, and 4 exhibited larger spontaneous polarizations, when applied as chiral dopants, than the anti isomers or hydroxy ketones 1.     

Two Zinc(Ⅱ) Complexes Based on 7rany-(1R,2R)-cyclohexanediamine: Molecular Structure Analyses and Preparation of Composite Membrane

Two novel complexes Zn2(chda)2(TPA)Cl2(1) and [Zn(chda)2(H2O)2](TPAXH2O)2(2)[chda is a chiral ligand of trans-(1R,2R)-cyclohexanediamine, H2TPA is terephthalic acid] were synthesized at room temperature. The molecular structures of complexes 1 and 2 were identified by single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurement. The results showed that complex 1 had a binuclear structure, each Zn(Ⅱ) ion was four coordinated by two N atoms of chda, one O atom of TPA and one Cl atom, to construct a distorted tetrahedral geometry. For complex 2, the Zn(Ⅱ) ion was six coordinated by two chda molecules and two water molecules to form a ZnN4O2 octahedral geometry. Complexes 1 and 2 further extended into three-dimensional supramolecular frameworks by hydrogen-bonding interactions. Hirshfeld surface analysis and fingerprint plots were used to further analyze the contribution of diflerent intermolecular interactions. Further, a composite membrane [Zn(chda)2(H2O)2](TPA)(H2O)2/CA was prepared by adding 10%(mass fraction) of complex 2 into cellulose acetate using acetone/chloroform( V:V-1:1) as solvent.     

Ferroelectric liquid crystals induced by atropisomeric biphenyl dopants: the effect of chiral perturbations on achiral dopants

The addition of the achiral biphenyl dopant 2,2',6,6'-tetramethyl-4,4'-bis(4-n-nonyloxybenzoyloxy)biphenyl (3) or its dithionoester or dithioester analogue (4, 5) to a 4 mol % mixture of the atropisomeric biphenyl dopant (R)-2,2',6,6'-tetramethyl-3,3'-dinitro-4,4'-bis(4-n-nonyloxybenzoyloxy)biphenyl, (R)-1, in the phenylpyrimidine SmC host PhP1 produces a significant amplification of the spontaneous polarization induced by (R)-1. This amplification may be due to a chiral perturbation by (R)-1 which causes a shift in the equilibrium between enantiomeric conformations of the achiral dopant. The degree of polarization amplification afforded by the achiral dopant, as expressed by the polarization amplification factor PAF, varies with the nature of the linking group. This may be ascribed to different rotational distributions of the core transverse dipole moments relative to the polar axis of the SmC* phase and/or to differences in lateral bulk of the polar linking groups. The latter may affect the degree of chiral molecular recognition achieved by 3-5 in the binding site of the SmC* phase.     

Two new acetylated ginsenosides from the roots of Panax quinquefolium

Two new acetylated ginsenosides, 20（S）-protopanaxatriol-6-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl （1 → 2）-β-D-6＇-O-acetylglucopyranoside （1） and 20（R）-protopanaxatrol-6-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl （1 → 2）-β-o-6＇-O-acetylglucopyranoside （2）, were isolated from the roots of Panax quinquefolium. The structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic techniques and chemical means.     

Two new steroidal glycosides from Ophiopogon japonicus

Two new C27-steroidal glycosides were isolated from the fibrous roots of Ophiopogon japonicus. The spectral analysis and chemical evidence revealed their chemical structures to be （25R）-spirost-5,14-dien-3β-yl-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-（1 → 2）-β-D- xylopyranosyl-（1 → 4）-β-D-glucopyranoside （1） and ophiogenin 3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside （2）.     

Cholesteric helix inversion: Novel nitro compounds showing unusual changes of the cholesteric helical pitch

We present a homologeous series of liquid crystalline trioxadecalin compounds having a terminal alkoxy chain and a nitro group. The (1S, 3R, 6R,8R)-3-(4'-nitrophenyl)-8-(4'-octoxyphenyl)-2,4, 7-trioxabicyclo [4.4.0]decane 2 c shows a temperature-dependent inversion of the cholesteric helix at lower temperatures. For higher temperatures, the reciprocal helical pitch reaches a minimum, then it increases, tending to a second inversion point just above the clearing point. An additional chiral centre in the side chain leads for nitro compounds 3 to non-mesomorphic behaviour. For the cyano compounds 4, the change in the cholesteric helix is suppressed, for the R configuration, but for the S configuration helical inversion occurs at high temperatures and selective reflection above the transition to the TGB_A phase.     

Ferroelectric liquid crystals with fluoro- and aza-fluorenone cores: the effect of stereo-polar coupling

The chiral fluorenone mesogens (R)-1-fluoro-2-(2-octyloxy)-7-(4-undecyloxybenzoyloxy)fluoren-9-one (2) and (R)-2-(2-octyloxy)-7-(4-undecyloxybenzoyloxy)-3-azafluoren-9-one (3) were synthesized using a combined ortho-directed and remote metalation strategy, which also incorporates a Suzuki-Miyaura crosscoupling step. These compounds form chiral SmC* liquid crystal phases with reduced polarizations (P _o) of +475 and +332 nC cm^-2 at 10 K below the Curie point, respectively. These values are considerably larger than that previously reported for the unsubstituted fluorenone (R)-2-(2-octyloxy)-7-(4-undecyloxybenzoyloxy)fluoren-9-one (1), which is +111 nC cm^-2 at 10 K below the Curie point. Molecular modelling based on the Boulder model suggests that the larger polarizations result from a conformational bias of the fluorenone core dipole moment along the polar axis of the SmC* phase caused by stereo-polar coupling with the chiral 2-octyloxy side chain.     

Liquid crystalline properties of dissymmetric molecules IV. The substituent effect on thermal properties of nematic and smectic A phases in three aromatic ring systems with ester linkages

This paper describes the effect of substituent and ester linkage on smectic properties for some derivatives of 4-R -phenyl 4-(4-octyloxybenzoyloxy)benzoates (1 ), 4-octyloxyphenyl 4-(4-R-benzyloxy)benzoates (2), 4-(4-octyloxybenzoyloxy)phenyl 4- R -benzoates (3), and 4-R-phenyl 4-octyloxyphenyl terephthalates (4) where R = OCH₃, CH₃, OC₈H₁₇, C8H17, halogens, CF₃, OCF₃, CN, NO2, etc. The thermal properties are discussed in terms of the electrostatic nature of the substituents and the relative orientation of the ester groups with respect to both terminal substituents. The substituent effect on the layer structure of the smectic A phase is also examined by means of a small angle X-ray analysis.     

Synthesis ofα-D-GlcpNAc-（1→2）-[α-D-ManpNAc-（1→3）-]α-L-Rhap-（1→2）-α-L-Rhap-（1→3）-α-L-Rhap,the repeating unit of O10 antigen from Acinetobacter baumannii

An efficient synthesis ofα-D-GlcpNAc-（1→2）-[α-D-ManpNAc-（1→3）-]α-L-Rhap-（1→2）-α-L-Rhap-（1→3）-α-L-Rhap（1）, the repeating unit of the O10 antigen from Acinetobacter baumannii was achieved via sequential assembly of the building blocks,p- methoxylphenyl 2,4-di-O-benzoyl-α-L-rhamnopyranoside（2）;2-O-allyloxycarbonyl-3,4-di-O-bcnzoyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl tri- chloroacetimidate（3）;4-methoxylphenyl 3-O-allyloxycarbonyl-4-O-benzoyl-α-L-rhanmopyranoside（4）;2-azido-3-O-benzoyl-2- deoxy-4,6-O-isopropylidene-α-D-mannopyranosyl trichloroacetirnidatc（5）;2-azido-3,4,6-tri-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-α,β-D-glucopyr- ano syl trichloroacetimidatc（6）.The total yield of 1 from 4 was 4.7%.     

Recent Progress in the Synthetic Applications of Substituted Furans and Pyrroles

In this lecture, I would like to present efficient synthetic routes towards the total synthesis of syringolide 1 (2)^1,2 and secosyrin 1 (3),¹ employing 2,4-disubstituted furan 1 as a common precursor. A modified total synthesis of prehispanolone (6)³ from (S)-(+)-Wieland-Miescher ketone (4) via hispanolone (5) will also be discussed. Our methodology for the synthesis of 3,4-disubstituted-lH-pyrroles⁴ and for the generation of 3,4-didehydrothiophene⁵ has also guided us to the successful identification of 1-tert-butoxycarbonyl-3,4-didehydro-1H-pyrrole (7),which is presumably the most strained heterocyclic cumulene ever recorded.     

Investigation of the crystal structure of two amphiphilic diols

The crystal and molecular structures of (R)-4'-(2,3-dihydroxypropyloxy)-4-cyanobiphenyl, 1 and 4'-(cis-cis-3,5-dihydroxycyclohexyloxy)-4-cyanobiphenyl, 5 have been determined. The packing of compound 1 occurs in sheets, with a dense hydrogen bonding network within the layer of one sheet and to the next sheet, whereby the cyano groups are incorporated into the hydrogen bonding network. The hydrogen bonding scheme of compound 5 involves a water molecule; there is some disorder with regard to the hydrogen atoms bound to the water molecules.     

Crystal structures of ferro- and antiferroelectric mesogens with a 1-methylalkoxycarbonyl group

Crystal structures have been determined for 4-[(S)-1-methylpentyloxycarbonyl]phenyl, 4-([S)-1-methylhexyloxycarbonyl]phenyl 4'-octyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylates (1 and 2, respectively) and (R)-1-methylheptyl 4-(4'-octyloxybiphenyl-4-yloxymethylene)benzoate (3), which have S_CA*, S_C* and S_CA* phases, respectively. All the crystals have a common packing mode with the previously determined structure of 4-(1-methylheptyloxycarbonyl)phenyl 4'-octyloxybiphenyl-4-carboxylate (MHPOBC). Each crystal forms a smectic-like layer structure composed of largely bent molecules with the long alkyl chain of the chiral group almost perpendicular to the core moiety. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the crystals of 1, 2, and MHPOBC, which have a carbonyloxy group as the central linkage between the biphenyl and phenylene moieties, transform to higher temperature solid phases in a similar temperature range (around 60°C). For 3, which has an oxymethylene linkage between the biphenyl and phenylene moieties, three kinds of solids were distinguished.     

Anionic Cyclization Approach to Hexahydrobenzo[b] furan-3-one and Hexahydro-1H-3-indolone:Application to Total Syntheses of Natural Products

Hexahydrobenzo[b]furan-3-one(3) and hexahydro-1H-3-indolone (4) are potentially useful intermediates for total synthesis of natural products, such as the hexahydrobenzofuran unit (5) of avermectins and pancracine (6). Anionic cyclization approach toward (3) and (4) have been developed. Their application to the total synthesis of (5) and (6) will be presented.     

Pyrazolo[1, 2-a]pyrazoliumolates as novel structure elements in liquid crystals [1]

A series of pyrazolo[1, 2-a]pyrazoliumolates of type 3, 4, and 5 was prepared. Compound 4(R³ = CH₃) shows liquid crystalline properties (C 158.5 N 162 I).     

ENE REACTION WITH PUMMERER-TYPE REACTION INTERMEDIATE OF α-(METHYLTHIO)ACETIC ACID PYRROLIDIDE:SYNTHESIS OF ACHILLEA AMIDE AND TRICHONINE

The dienamide group is an important structural feature of a number of natural products, which have been reported to be biologically active, especially as insecticides. Several methods for their synthesis have appeared involving Wittig reaction, elimination reaction, and amidation of corresponding dienoic acids or esters. Achillea amide [(E,E)-2,4-tetradecadienoic acid pyrrolidide] and Trichonine [(E,E)-2,4-eicosadienoic acid pyrrolidide)] which are naturally occurring insecticides isolated from Achillea nana and P. trichostachyon leaves, respectively. Severál methods have reported successful syntheses of unsaturated pyrrolidine amides. In this work we wish to report that the Pummerer-type reaction intermediate 2 derived from α-(methylthio)acetic acid pyrrolidide (1) and phenyliodine(Ⅲ) bis(trifluoroacetate) (PIFA) undergoes an ene reaction with 1-alkenes to give the ene adducts 3. Also reported is its application to the synthesis of Achillea amide (4) and Trichonine (5).     

Polymeric complex micelle loaded with axially substituted silicon（IV） phthalocyanine

A novel axially substituted silicon(IV) phthalocyanine, namely di-pyridyloxy axially substituted silicon(IV) phthalocyanine 2 was synthesized and characterized by UV/vis, IR, elemental analysis, MS as well as ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Hydrophobic 2 was encapsulated by amphiphilic triblock copolymer poly[N^ε-(benzyloxycarbonyl-lysine]-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly[N^ε-(benzyl oxycarbonyl) (PLL(Z)-b-PEG-b-PLL(Z)) to form hydrophobic 2-loaded polymeric complex micelle (PIC) (2-loaded PIC). Atom force microscopy (AFM) image showed that 2-loaded PIC formed a spherical nanocarrier with approximately 35-50 nm in diameter. The fluorescence intensity and lifetime of 2-loaded PIC was significantly enhanced by the incorporation 2 into PIC nanocarrier.     

Regioselective Synthesis of Two Novel 2-geranyloxyacetophenones

The phenols containing geranyl units¹ are a large group of interesting natural products exhibited many physiological actions as antiflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidative activities². Two novel acetophenones 1 and 2 were recently isolated from the fruits of Evodia merrillii, a small folk medicinal tree widely distributed in Taiwan³. Their structures were elucidated as 2-(1'-geranyl)-4,6-dihydroxyacetophenone 1 and 2-(1'-geranyloxy)-2,6,α-trihydroxyacetophenone 2 by means of spectroscopic data. So far as we know, the total synthesis of them have not been reported yet. Herein, we wish to report the first total synthesis of 1 and 2,starting from 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone.     

First Total Synthesis of (-)-4-O-(6'-Hydroxy-7'(9')-Dehydro-6',7,-Dihydrogeranyl)-Coniferyl Alcohol

Some Ligularia species have long used as folk remedies due to their antibiotic, antiphlogistic and antitumor activities.¹ Compound 1,² a novel coniferyl alcohol, was isolated from ligularia duciformis(Compoitae). The geometrical structure of 1,determined by spectroscopic techniques, was corresponded to 4-o-(6,-hydroxy-7'(9')-dehydro-6',7'-dihydrogeranyl)-coniferyl alcohol. But its absolute configuration at C-₆,has not yet been determined. Herein, we report the total synthesis of (6'S)-(-)-1 from Geraniol 2 through 9 steps (Scheme 1).