Facile synthesis of 4-arylidene-5-imidazolinones as synthetic analogs of fluorescent protein chromophore

A facile and effective synthesis for a wide variety of 4-arylidene-5-imidazolinone derivatives was developed. 4-Arylidene-5-oxazolinones were prepared by Erlenmeyer azlactone synthesis from N-acylglycines and arylaldehydes. The ring-opening reactions of the 4-arylidene-5-oxazolinones with primary amines afforded 2-acylamino-3-arylacrylamides in excellent yields. A new dehydrative cyclization of the 2-acylamino-3-arylacrylamides in pyridine under reflux furnished the corresponding 4-arylidene-5-imidazolinones in good yields.     

Synthesis of oxindole-3-acetates through iron-catalyzed oxidative arylalkoxycarbonylation of activated alkenes

An iron-catalyzed alkoxycarbonylation/cyclization reaction of N-arylacrylamides with carbazates has been developed. This new alkene difunctionalization reaction provides an efficient and straightforward method to obtain various ester-containing oxindoles.     

5-Cyanoacetylpyrimidines as intermediates for 7-aryl-6-cyanopyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-5-ones

The reactions of N⁴- and 5-cyanoacetyl derivates of 4-aminopyrimidines with aromatic aldehydes have yielded the N-(pyrimidin-4-yl)-3-arylacrylamides and the dihydropyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines, respectively. The first reaction was a Claisen-Schmidt reaction catalyzed by base, and the second one proceeded via thermal cyclocondensation.     

Metal-free synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted oxindoles via 1,2-alkylarylation of activated alkenes with alcohols

Metal-free synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted oxindoles utilizing N-arylacrylamides and simple alcohols is developed. It provides an efficient method for preparing a series of hydroxyl-containing oxindole derivatives. This reaction is proposed to proceed through oxidative radical cyclization mechanism. The remarkable features of the reaction are metal-free condition and excellent functional group tolerance.     

Iron-catalyzed carbonylation–arylation of N-arylacrylamides for synthesis of oxindole derivatives

An efficient method for oxindole synthesis is established by iron-catalyzed carbonylation–arylation of N-arylacrylamides with aldehydes. 3-Functionalized oxindoles are synthesized smoothly using FeCl₃ as catalyst and TBHP as oxidant. The obtained oxindoles can be used for further transformations to give diverse indole alkaloid structure motifs.     

An efficient copper-catalyzed N-arylation of amides: synthesis of N-arylacrylamides and 4-amido-N-phenylbenzamides

Copper-catalyzed intermolecular C–N bond-forming reactions between aryl iodides and amides are described using sodium ascorbate, which is both cheap and nontoxic, as the additive. A variety of functionalized amides including some practical, unique secondary amides, such as N-arylacrylamides and 4-amido-N-phenylbenzamides, which are difficult to obtain by the classical methods, are prepared. Furthermore, some tertiary amides are prepared by using copper thiophenecarboxylate.     

Competing processes in condensation of 3,3-bis(methylthio)-2-cyano-<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-arylacrylamides with cyanoacetanilides

Reaction of cyanoacetanilides with 3,3-bis(methylthio)-2-cyano-N-arylacrylamides proceeds to form isomeric N,1-diaryl-1,6-dihydropyridine-3-carboxamides. A single crystal consisting of 2-amino-4-methylthio-N-(2-methoxyphenyl)-6-oxo-1-phenyl-5-cyano-1,6-dihydropyridine-3-carboxamide and 2-amino-4-methylthio-1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-6-oxo-N-phenyl-5-cyano-1,6-dihydropyridine-3-carboxamide was studied by XRD.     

A Journey from June 2018 to October 2021 with N,N-Dimethylformamide and N,N-Dimethylacetamide as Reactants

A rich array of reactions occur using N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) or N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as reactants, these two amides being able to deliver their own H, C, N, and O atoms for the synthesis of a variety of compounds. This account highlights the literature published since June 2018, completing previous reviews by the author.     

Synthesis and structural characterization of a sterically crowded acylguanidinate: RFC(O)NC(NMe2)2 (RF  2,4,6-tris(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)

The title compound R_FC(O)NC(NMe₂)₂ (2) was prepared in virtually quantitative yield by reacting R_FC(O)Cl with two equivalents of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylguanidine and structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. Due to severe steric crowding, the carbonyl group approaches a perpendicular arrangement (torsion angle of 70.1(2)°) with respect to the phenyl ring.     

DDQ-promoted direct C–H amination of ethers with N-alkoxyamides under visible-light irradiation and metal-free conditions

A C(sp³)–N bond forming reaction between N-alkoxyamides and simple ethers has been developed. In the presence of commercially available 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-p-benzoquinone (DDQ), a variety of N-methoxyamides and ethers undergo this transformation smoothly to deliver the corresponding products in good yields under visible-light irradiation and metal-free conditions at room temperature.     

A new convenient method for the synthesis of [2-C]thymine utilizing [C]phosgene

β-(N-Benzoylamino)methacrylamide, a key intermediate for the preparation of [2-¹¹C]thymine, was synthesized in three steps from ethyl α-formylpropionate and NH₃. Reaction of the alkali metal salts of β-(N-benzoylamino)methacrylamide with [¹¹C]phosgene gave [2-¹¹C]thymine. The yield of [2-¹¹C]thymine was 362 ± 53 MBq at EOS (n = 3) (18 MeV proton beam; 10 μA, 10 min). The total synthesis was accomplished in just 16 min from the end of bombardment.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Methyl (3)5-(N-Boc-piperidinyl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylates

Series of methyl 3- and 5-(N-Boc-piperidinyl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylates were developed and regioselectively synthesized as novel heterocyclic amino acids in their N-Boc protected ester form for achiral and chiral building blocks. In the first stage of the synthesis, piperidine-4-carboxylic and (R)- and (S)-piperidine-3-carboxylic acids were converted to the corresponding β-keto esters, which were then treated with N,N-dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal. The subsequent reaction of β-enamine diketones with various N-mono-substituted hydrazines afforded the target 5-(N-Boc-piperidinyl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylates as major products, and tautomeric NH-pyrazoles prepared from hydrazine hydrate were further N-alkylated with alkyl halides to give 3-(N-Boc-piperidinyl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxylates. The structures of the novel heterocyclic compounds were confirmed by ¹H-, ¹³C-, and ¹⁵N-NMR spectroscopy and HRMS investigation.     

Substrate engineering: Effects of different N-protecting groups in the CAL-B-catalysed asymmetric O-acylation of 1-hydroxymethyl-tetrahydro-β-carbolines

In the frame of substrate engineering, the steric effect of different N-protecting groups on the enantioselectivity and reaction rate of CAL-B-catalysed (S)-selective O-acylation of N-protected 1-hydroxymethyl-tetrahydro-β-carbolines was investigated. Excellent enantioselectivities (E?>?200) were observed when the acylation of N-Boc [(±)-1], N-Cbz [(±)-3], and N-Fmoc-protected [(±)-4] substrates was performed with the use of CAL-B and acetic anhydride in toluene at 60?°C. The resolution of N-acetyl-protected substrate (±)-2 showed excellent E (>200) after 30?min, but as the reaction progressed, E started decreasing after 2 days, because of N→O and O→N acyl migrations. Preparative resolutions of (±)-3 and (±)-4 resulted in unreacted amino alcohols (R)-3 and (R)-4 and esters (S)-7a and (S)-8a with good enantiomeric excesses (≥88%) and high yields (≥44%).     

Oxidation of α-amino acids promoted by the phthalimide N-oxyl radical: A kinetic and product study

A kinetic study of the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reaction from a series of N-Boc- or N-Acetyl-protected amino acids to the phthalimide N-oxyl radical (PINO) was carried out to obtain information about reactivity and selectivity patterns. With amino acids containing aliphatic side chains, the 2nd order rate constants are of the same order of magnitude, in agreement with a HAT process involving the Cα?H bond. Proline is the most reactive substrate suggesting that HAT process involves the C_δ?H bond instead of C_α?H bond. These results are confirmed by the product analysis of the aerobic oxidations of the corresponding N-Boc and N-Ac protected amino acids methyl esters promoted by N-hydroxyphthalimide. Comparison of our results with those reported for HAT reactions to other radical species indicates that PINO displays electrophilic characteristics that are intermediate between those observed for the more stable Br radical and the more reactive cumyloxyl radical.     

Trihaloacetaldehyde N,O-acetals: useful building blocks for dihalomethylene compounds

The reaction of trifluoroacetaldehyde N,O-acetals with more than 2 equiv of alkyllithiums at −78 °C resulted in regiospecific defluorinative alkylation with unusual regioselectivity to give α,α-difluoroketone N,O-acetals in excellent yield. In contrast, under similar conditions, trichloroacetaldehyde N,O-acetals gave simple mono-dechlorinated product without the alkyl transfer reaction from alkyllithiums to the generated intermediates.     

Recent Progress on Synthesis of N,N′-Chelate Organoboron Derivatives

N,N′-chelate organoboron compounds have been successfully applied in bioimaging, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), functional polymer, photocatalyst, electroluminescent (EL) devices, and other science and technology areas. However, the concise and efficient synthetic methods become more and more significant for material science, biomedical research, or other practical science. Here, we summarized the organoboron-N,N′-chelate derivatives and showed the different routes of their syntheses. Traditional methods to synthesize N,N′-chelate organoboron compounds were mainly using bidentate ligand containing nitrogen reacting with trivalent boron reagents. In this review, we described a series of bidentate ligands, such as bipyridine, 2-(pyridin-2-yl)-1H-indole, 2-(5-methyl-1H-pyrrol-2-yl)quinoline, N-(quinolin-8-yl)acetamide, 1,10-phenanthroline, and diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP).     

Reduction of chromano–piperidine-fused isoxazolidines: Tandem intramolecular rearrangements leading to 2-(methylamino)-4-oxo-N-phenyl-N-propyl-4H-chromene-3-carboxamide

Reductive ring opening of isoxazolidine moiety of chromano–piperidine-fused isoxazolidines (3a–c) with HCOONH₄ and 10% Pd/C in a mixture of solvents (THF/MeOH) at ambient temperature, affords novel 2-(methylamino)-4-oxo-N-phenyl-N-propyl-4H-chromene-3-carboxamide (4), which is apparently derived from reductive NO bond cleavage followed by tandem intramolecular rearrangements. Plausible mechanistic rationale for the formation of compound 4 is proffered.     

Symmetry analysis of periodicity and internal torsional conformers around a single bond

A simple formula to predict the number of equivalent conformations upon internal rotation around a single bond is derived. If the separate parts A and B, of a single bonded molecule A-B, possess N_a and N_b symmetry planes that contain the single bond, the number of symmetrical conformations is found to be Z = N_aN_b/J, where J is the number of these planes which are common. The energy potential for internal rotation then has a period of 2π/Z. Unsymmetrical conformations are infinite in number, but are shown to occur in infinite sets, each set with 2N_aN_b/J equivalent conformations. Extension to three-center molecules is also made.     

Synthesis,Structure and Electrochemical Properties of Acetamide- and Caprolactam-Containing Silicon Catecholates

Hexacoordinated heteroligand silicon catecholates, although being prospective as easily soluble compounds with high hydrolytic stability and diverse redox properties, have been insufficiently studied. The transesterification of 1-(trimethoxysilylmethyl)-2-oxohexahydroaze or N-methyl-N-(trimethoxysilylmethyl)acetamide by two equivalents of catechol derivatives in the presence of dicyclohexylamine afforded a series of target compounds in good yield. The complexes were characterized using elemental analysis, FTIR, ¹H, ¹³C and ²⁹Si NMR spectra, X-ray crystallography and cyclic voltammetry. X-ray diffraction confirmed that the silicon atom possesses the octahedral geometry of the SiCO₅ polyhedron that remains unchanged in solution as it follows from ²⁹Si NMR data. The compounds demonstrated up to three oxidation waves; and the reduction profile strongly depended on the nature of the substituents on a catecholate anion.     

An integrated sample pretreatment platform for quantitative N-glycoproteome analysis with combination of on-line glycopeptide enrichment,deglycosylation and dimethyl labeling

Relative quantification of N-glycoproteomes shows great promise for the discovery of candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The traditional protocol for quantitative analysis of glycoproteomes is usually off-line performed, and suffers from long sample preparation time, and the risk of sample loss or contamination due to manual manipulation. In this study, a novel integrated sample preparation platform for quantitative N-glycoproteome analysis was established, with combination of online N-glycopeptide capture by a HILIC column, sample buffer exchange by a N₂-assisted HILIC–RPLC interface, deglycosylation by a hydrophilic PNGase F immobilized enzymatic reactor (hIMER) and solid dimethyl labeling on a C18 precolumn. To evaluate the performance of such a platform, two equal aliquots of immunoglobulin G (IgG) digests were sequentially pretreated, followed by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. The signal intensity ratio of heavy/light (H/L) labeled deglycosylated peptides with the equal aliquots was 1.00 (RSD = 6.2%, n = 3), much better than those obtained by the offline protocol, with H/L ratio as 0.76 (RSD = 11.6%, n = 3). Additionally, the total on-line sample preparation time was greatly shortened to 160 min, much faster than that of offline approach (24 h). Furthermore, such an integrated pretreatment platform was successfully applied to analyze the two kinds of hepatocarcinoma ascites syngeneic cell lines with high (Hca-F) and low (Hca-P) lymph node metastasis rates. For H/L labeled Hca-P lysates with the equal aliquots, 99.6% of log 2 ratios (H/L) of quantified glycopeptides ranged from −1 to 1, demonstrating high accuracy of the developed sample preparation strategy. By triplicated analysis of glycopeptides and non-glycopeptides of Hca-F and Hca-P lysates, 43 up-regulated and 30 down-regulated (Hca-F/P) N-glycosylation sites, and 11 significantly changed N-glycoproteins were successfully quantified, and most of them were related to tumorigenesis and tumor metastasis. All these results demonstrate the developed integrated N-glycoprotein pretreatment platform is of great power for the accurate, precise and high-throughput analysis of N-glycoproteomes.