Trapping phosphodiester-quinone methide adducts through in situ lactonization

The goal of in situ modification of DNA via phosphodiester alkylation has led to our design of quinone methide derivatives capable of alkylating dialkyl phosphates. A series of catechol derivatives were investigated to trap the phosphodiester-quinone methide alkylation adduct through in situ lactonization. The catechol derivatives were uniquely capable of characterizable p-quinone methide formation for mechanistic clarity. These investigations revealed that with a highly reactive lactonization group (phenyl ester), lactonization competed with quinone methide formation. Lactone-forming groups of lower reactivity (methyl ester, n-propyl ester, and dimethyl amide) allowed quinone methide formation followed by phosphodiester alkylation; however, they were ineffective at in situ lactonization to drain the phosphodiester alkylation equilibrium to the desired phosphotriester product. The derivatives tethered with lactone-forming functionality of intermediate reactivity (chloro-, trichloro-, and trifluoroethyl esters), allowed quinone methide formation, phosphodiester alkylation, and in situ lactonization to efficiently afford the trapped phosphotriester adduct.     

Quinone methide phosphodiester alkylations under aqueous conditions

A detailed analysis of the alkylation of phosphodiesters with a p-quinone methide under aqueous conditions has been accomplished. The relative rates of phosphodiester alkylation and hydrolysis have been examined by (1)H NMR analysis of the reaction of 2,6-dimethyl-p-quinone methide in a buffered diethyl phosphate/acetonitrile solution (1:9 v/v, pH 4.0). The rate of hydrolysis of the quinone methide was confirmed by UV analysis in 28.5% solutions of aqueous inorganic phosphate in acetonitrile at pH 4.0 and 7.0. Similarly, the rate of phosphodiester alkylations by the quinone methide was also confirmed by UV analysis in 28.5% solutions of aqueous dibenzyl, dibutyl, or diethyl phosphate in acetonitrile at pH 4.0 and 7.0. These kinetic studies further establish that the phosphodiester alkylation reactions are acid-catalyzed, second-order processes. The rate constant for phosphodiester alkylation was found to range from approximately 370-3700 times the rate constant of quinone methide hydrolysis with diethyl and dibenzyl phosphate, respectively (pH 4.0, 28.5% aqueous acetonitrile).     

Synthesis of 1,4-naphthoquinone methides via acid-catalyzed cascade cyclizations of benzannulated enediynyl alcohols

Treatment of benzannulated enediynyl alcohols with trifluoroacetic acid at room temperature promoted a cascade sequence of cyclization reactions, leading to 1,4-naphthoquinone methides. The transformation involved an unusual two-carbon ring expansion from the cyclic alcohols and the construction of the p-quinone methide ring from an acyclic system along the reaction pathway.     

端炔与对亚甲基苯醌的1,6-加成

为了合成selaginellin家族天然产物,我们开发了炔锂和对亚甲基苯醌的1,6-加成反应。研究了此反应的反应条件及底物适用范围和限制。结果表明,对亚甲基苯醌苯环上的取代基对反应速率和产率有显著的影响:吸电子基团增加其亲电性,使反应变快,并且可以得到较高的产率;与此相反,给电子基团则降低了对亚甲基苯醌的亲电性,反应变慢,并且表现出可逆性,产率变低。端炔对反应影响很小,均能得到高产率的产物。本方法可用于快速构建selaginellin家族天然产物的骨架结构。     

Applications of ortho-quinone methide intermediates in catalysis and asymmetric synthesis

Ortho-quinone methides are important synthetic intermediates and widely implicated in biological processes. In this Synopsis, recent advances concerning the synthesis and utility of these intermediates are discussed with a particular emphasis on metal-catalyzed formation of quinone methide intermediates. Additionally, applications of these intermediates as partners in asymmetric synthesis will be discussed including methods we have developed that involve the enantioselective Pd-catalyzed formation of ortho-quinone methides and the trapping of aforementioned intermediates with diverse nucleophiles.     

Substituent effects on carbocation stability: the pK(R) for p-quinone methide

A value of k(H) = 1.5 x 10(-)(3) M(-)(1) s(-)(1) has been determined for the generation of simple p-quinone methide by the acid-catalyzed cleavage of 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol in water at 25 degrees C and I = 1.0 (NaClO(4)). This was combined with k(s) = 5.8 x 10(6) s(-)(1) for the reverse addition of solvent water to the 4-hydroxybenzyl carbocation [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 6349-6356] to give pK(R) = -9.6 as the Lewis acidity constant of O-protonated p-quinone methide. Values of pK(R) = 2.3 for the Lewis acidity constant of neutral p-quinone methide and pK(add) = -7.6 for the overall addition of solvent water to p-quinone methide to form 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol are also reported. The thermodynamic driving force for transfer of the elements of water from formaldehyde hydrate to p-quinone methide to form formaldehyde and p-(hydroxymethyl)phenol (4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol) is determined as 6 kcal/mol. This relatively small driving force represents the balance between the much stronger chemical bonds to oxygen at the reactant formaldehyde hydrate than at the product p-(hydroxymethyl)phenol and the large stabilization of product arising from the aromatization that accompanies solvent addition to p-quinone methide. The Marcus intrinsic barrier for nucleophilic addition of solvent water to the "extended" carbonyl group at p-quinone methide is estimated to be 4.5 kcal/mol larger than that for the addition of water to the simple carbonyl group of formaldehyde. O-Alkylation of p-quinone methide to give the 4-methoxybenzyl carbocation and of formaldehyde to give a simple oxocarbenium ion results in very little change in the relative Marcus intrinsic barriers for the addition of solvent water to these electrophiles.     

Flash photolytic generation and study of p-quinone methide in aqueous solution. An estimate of rate and equilibrium constants for heterolysis of the carbon-bromine bond in p-hydroxybenzyl bromide

Flash photolysis of p-hydroxybenzyl acetate in aqueous perchloric acid solution and formic acid, acetic acid, biphosphate ion, and tris(hydroxymethyl)methylammonium ion buffers produced p-quinone methide as a short-lived species that underwent hydration to p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol in hydronium ion catalyzed (k(H(+)) = 5.28 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1)) and uncatalyzed (k(uc) = 3.33 s(-1)) processes. The inverse nature of the solvent isotope effect on the hydronium ion-catalyzed reaction, k(H(+))/k(D(+)) = 0.41, indicates that this process occurs by rapid and reversible protonation of the quinone methide on its carbonyl carbon atom, followed by rate-determining capture of the p-hydroxybenzyl carbocation so produced by water, while the magnitude of the rate constant on the uncatalyzed process indicates that this reaction occurs by simple nucleophilic addition of water to the methylene group of the quinone methide. p-Quinone methide also underwent hydronium ion-catalyzed and uncatalyzed nucleophilic addition reactions with chloride ion, bromide ion, thiocyanate ion, and thiourea. The solvent isotope effects on the hydronium ion-catalyzed processes again indicate that these reactions occurred by preequilibrium mechanisms involving a p-hydroxybenzyl carbocation intermediate, and assignment of a diffusion-controlled value to the rate constant for reaction of this cation with thiocyanate ion led to K(SH) = 110 M as the acidity constant of oxygen-protonated p-quinone methide. In a certain perchloric acid concentration range, the bromide ion reaction became biphasic, and least-squares analysis of the kinetic data using a double-exponential function provided k(Br(-)) = 3.8 x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1) as the rate constant for nucleophilic capture of the p-hydroxybenzyl carbocation by bromide ion, k(ionz) = 8.5 x 10(2) s(-1) for ionization of the carbon-bromine bond of p-hydroxybenzyl bromide, and K = 4.5 x 10(5) M(-1) as the equilibrium constant for the carbocation-bromide ion combination reaction, all in aqueous solution at 25 degrees C. Comparisons are made of the reactivity of p-quinone methide with p-quinone alpha,alpha-bis(trifluoromethyl)methide as well as p-quinone methide with o-quinone methide.     

Synthesis of (+/-)-brazilin using IBX

[reaction: see text] A short synthesis of (+/-)-brazilin is reported. This synthesis uses several interesting and underutilized transformations including a regioselective dirhodium-catalyzed aryl C-H insertion, a regioselective IBX phenol --> o-quinone oxidation, a tautomerization of an o-quinone to a p-quinone methide, and an intramolecular aryl cyclization with a p-quinone methide.     

Stable Quinome Methides: Regioselective Para-Oxidation of a 2,4-Bisalkylthiomethenol and Addition Reaction Reaction to Quinonemethides

Abstract

The 2.4-bisfunctionalized phenol 1, a commercial antioxidant, is dehydrogenated regioselectively with potassium ferricyanide. affording the corresponding p-quinone methide 2. 1,6-Addition of nucleophiles e.g. thiols to 2 gives rise to the corresponding addition products e.g. the dithioacetals 4 of the corresponding substituted benzaldehyde. On the other hand, treatment of 2 with αα′-azoisobutyronitrile at 90°C leads to compounds 5a-b and 6, addition products of the cyanopropyl radical to the quinone methide 2. The structures of all products are confirmed mainly by ¹H-NMR-and ¹³C-NMR-spectroscopy and the mode of their formation is discussed.     

Synthesis and oxidation behavior of 2,4,5,7,8-pentamethyl-4H-1,3-benzodioxin-6-ol,a multifunctional oxatocopherol-type antioxidant

2,4,5,7,8-Pentamethyl-4H-1,3-benzodioxin-6-ol (PBD, 1) is a novel 3-oxa-tocopherol-type stabilizer, which is obtained as a mixture of two diastereomers by condensation of trimethylhydroquinone with acetaldehyde in an acid-catalyzed reaction. The oxidation behavior of 1 is governed by the amount of water available. In aqueous media, 1 is oxidized by one oxidation equivalent to 2,5-dihydroxy-3,4,6-trimethylacetophenone (3) via 2-(1-hydroxyethyl)-3,5,6-trimethylbenzo-1,4-quinone (2). The acid-catalyzed conversion of 2 into 3 proceeds in solution with first-order kinetics with regard to 2 but works also in solid phase. Oxidation in the presence of just 1 equiv of water produces acetophenone 3 as well, but according to a different mechanism involving o-quinone methide 5 and styrene derivative 6, from which finally acetaldehyde is released. A [1,5]-sigmatropic proton shift from the C-4a methyl group to the exocyclic methylene group in 5 causes formation of 6, as demonstrated by labeling experiments. In addition, the presence of both intermediates was proven by hetero-Diels-Alder trapping reactions. In the absence of water, oxidation of 1 produces chromenone 10 via the intermediates 5 and 6 and chromanone 9, and oxidation of 9 to 10 is preferred to oxidation of starting material 1. When the formation of an exocyclic methylene group at C-4 is impossible as a result of structural prerequisites, as in the diphenyl derivative 12, the initially generated o-quinone methide 5 cannot form 6 but undergoes dimerization to spiro-compounds. The transformation of p-quinone 2 into acetophenone 3 might contribute to the chemistry of tocopherols oxidized at C-4, i.e., 4-hydroxy-alpha-tocopherol and 4-oxo-alpha-tocopherol, which have been proposed as precursors of natural vitamin E metabolites.     

Binol quinone methides as bisalkylating and DNA cross-linking agents

The photogeneration and detection of new binol quinone methides undergoing mono- and bisalkylation of free nucleophiles was investigated by product distribution analysis and laser flash photolysis in water solution using binol quaternary ammonium derivatives 2 and 12 as photoactivated precursors. The alkylation processes of N and S nucleophiles are strongly competitive with the hydration reaction. DNA cross-linking potency of the water-soluble binol quaternary ammonium salt 2 was investigated as a pH function and compared to that of other quaternary ammonium salts capable of benzo-QM (QM = quinone methide) photogeneration by gel electrophoresis. DFT calculations in the gas phase and in water bulk on the binol and benzo quaternary ammonium salts 2 and 4 evidence structural and electrostatic features of the binol derivative which might offer a rationalization of its promising high photo-cross-linking efficiency.     

Total syntheses of ent-heliespirones A and C

Stereodivergent total syntheses of ent-heliespirone A and C were both completed in 11 vessels and ～24% combined overall yield (A + C). These syntheses employed an identical inverse demand Diels-Alder reaction between a surrogate for an extendedly conjugated γ-δ unsaturated ortho-quinone methide and L-lactic-acid-derived exocyclic enol ether. Novel reactions of special note include a diastereoselective reduction of a chroman spiroketal by combination of borontrifluoride etherate and triethyl silane, along with oxidative rupture of a chroman etherial ring into the corresponding p-quinone by argentic oxide (AgO). In addition, an unusual intramolecular etherification of a 3° alcohol caused by cerium ammonium nitrate was observed.     

铑催化合成气转化为乙醇反应中甲酰基中间体的化学捕获

本文采用化学捕获法对铑基催化剂上合成气转化反应中的甲酰基中间体进行了化学捕获,在CO+2D_2反应后,用CH_3I进行的化学捕获反应中生成了CH_3CHO、CH_3CDO两种形式的乙醛;补充的Ar吹扫实验显示DCO的甲基化反应对生成的CH_3CDO有重要贡献。因此,甲酰基的确是合成气反应中的C_1含氧中间体。根据这一结果,初步探讨了合成气反应中CH_x物种的生成途径。     

Synthesis of analogue structures of the p-quinone methide moiety of kendomycin

[reaction: see text] The synthesis of two model p-quinone methide ring systems of the antibiotic and antiosteoporotic compound kendomycin is reported. Two approaches were examined in detail, and the two-step (i) demethylation and (ii) DMDO oxidation were found to be reliable and generally applicable. Additionally, it was found that oxidation of a benzofuran by NaIO(4) on silica produced a long-lived semiquinone radical.     

On the alcohol- and water-catalyzed tautomerization of vitamins K1- and K2-derived quinone methide intermediates

Rates of conversion of 1,3-quinone methides into the corresponding 1,2-quinone methide tautomers, formed upon laser-flash excitation of vitamins K(1) and K(2) in CH(3)CN solutions, were determined in the presence of hydroxylic solvents (ROH; R = H, alkyl). In all cases, the tautomerization process is accelerated in the presence of ROH, and the corresponding observed rate constants show a cubed dependence on ROH concentration. This high-order dependency is attributed to a proton-relay transfer involving 3 equiv of ROH in each case.     

Synthetic Approaches to cularines. III. Nucleophilic addition and substitution

Attempts to induce the formation of the dibenzoxepine ring of cularine compounds by generating an electron-deficient system in ring C of an 8-hydroxybenzylisoquinoline met with failure. Attack by C-8 phenol on a “p-quinone methide” intermediate afforded benzofurans 16 , which it has been suggested are intermediates in the biogenesis of quettamines. Among the nucleophilic substitution reactions tried, only that based on a phenoxide attack on a benzyne intermediate (generated by dimsyl sodium treatment of a 2′-bromo-8-hydroxybenzylisoquinoline) afforded the dibenzoxepine nucleus of tetradehydrocularines 25 and 27. Competing N-attack afforded the indolizine skeleton present in 24 and 26. From compounds 25 and 27 , the corresponding cularines, cularimines and oxocularines were obtained.     

New data on the reaction of trialkyl trithiophosphites with alkyl halides

Conclusions The major pathway for the reaction of trialkyl trithiophosphites with alkyl halides is alkylation of the phosphorus atom with the formation of alkylthionephosphonates.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1871–1873, August, 1987.     

A New Route to Some Novel Phosphole Derivatives

Abstract

Previous work has shown that the unstable five co-ordinate phospholes (1; R=alkoxy, R′=alkyl) produced in the reaction of trialkyl phosphites with a two molar equivalent of dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate can be converted into the novel phospholes (2; R=alkoxy) by treatment with hydrogen bromide at low temperature. We have now shown that a similar approach can be used to generate the phospholes (2; R=alkyl, aryl) by using dialkyl alkylphosphonites or dialkyl arylphosphonites rather than trialkyl phosphites. However, the reduced stability of the phosphorane intermediates (1; R=alkyl, aryl, R′=alkyl) relative to those produced in the trialkyl phosphite reactions means that these trapping reactions are difficult to carry out successfully.     

Mild and rapid method for the generation of ortho-(naphtho)quinone methide intermediates

A new mild method has been devised for generating o-(naphtho)quinone methides via fluoride-induced desilylation of silyl derivatives of o-hydroxybenzyl(or 1-naphthylmethyl) nitrate. The reactive o-(naphtho)quinone methide intermediates were trapped by C, O, N, and S nucleophiles and underwent "inverse electron-demand" hetero-Diels-Alder reaction with dienophiles to give stable adducts. The method has useful potential application in natural product synthesis and drug research.     

Conformational effects on the electronic structure and chemical reactivity of lignin modelp-quinone methides and benzyl cations

The electronic structure and its dependence on the conformation in typical lignin model intermediates, β-arylethericp-quinone methide {2-methoxy-4-[2-(2-methoxyphenoxy)]propylidene-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one} and related benzyl cation has been determined on the basis of semi-empirical quantum chemical calculations. Electrostatic but not frontier orbital characteristics of lignin intermediates were demonstrated to be dependent on the conformation. Conformationally induced electrostatic non-equivalence of two possible routes of nucleophile approach to the reaction center may be the main cause of stereoselectivity of the reactions of quinone methides (but not related cations) with nucleophiles. Quinone methides and related cations also differ in their intramolecular charge transfer properties.