Cyclopropanation of Terminal Alkenes through Sequential Atom‐Transfer Radical Addition/1,3‐Elimination

An operationally simple method to affect an atom‐transfer radical addition of commercially available ICH₂Bpin to terminal alkenes has been developed. The intermediate iodide can be transformed in a one‐pot process into the corresponding cyclopropane upon treatment with a fluoride source. This method is highly selective for the cyclopropanation of unactivated terminal alkenes over non‐terminal alkenes and electron‐deficient alkenes. Due to the mildness of the procedure, a wide range of functional groups such as esters, amides, alcohols, ketones, and vinylic cyclopropanes are well tolerated.     

Enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions with N-hydroxy-N-phenylacrylamide

[reaction: see text] The use of hydroxamic acids as templates for Lewis acid catalyzed enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions has been examined. A very simple chiral Lewis acid, prepared by mixing optically pure binaphthol with 3 equiv of trimethylaluminum, catalyzes the [4 + 2] cycloaddition of N-hydroxy-N-phenylacrylamide with cyclopentadiene at 0 degrees C in high yield (>96%) and with a fairly good level of enantioselectivity (91% ee). Facile conversion of the products to the corresponding alcohols or aldehydes makes the hydroxamic acid intermediates particularly useful.     

A quantitative determination of the polymerization of benzoxazine thin coatings by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

Phenol-paraphenylenediamine (P-pPDA) benzoxazines exhibit excellent barrier properties, adequate to protect aluminum alloys from corrosion, and constitute interesting candidates to replace chromate-containing coatings in the aeronautical industry. For the successful application of P-pPDA coatings, it is necessary to decrease the curing temperature to avoid the delamination of the coating while preserving the mechanical properties of the alloy, as well as the barrier properties of the coating. However, decreasing the curing temperature leads to less polymerized films, the extent of which requires a quantitative assessment. While the conversion rate of the polymerization reaction is commonly evaluated for bulk samples using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), a tool for its evaluation in thin films is missing. Therefore, a new approach was developed for that matter using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The relation between the SIMS data integrated from inside thin films and the DSC results obtained on bulk samples with the same curing cycle allowed to calibrate the SIMS data. With this preliminary calibration of the technique, the polymerization of P-pPDA coatings can be locally determined, at the surface and along the depth of the coating, using dual-beam depth profiling with large argon cluster beam sputtering.     

Synthesis of 3′-deoxy-3′-iminodiacetic acid and 3′-deoxy-3′-aminodiethanol thymidine analogues and NMR study of their complexation with boronic acids

The iminodiacetic acid and aminodiethanol moieties are known for their ability to generate with boronic acids bicyclic structures having a strong intramolecular NB coordination. We describe here the convergent synthesis of 3′-deoxy-3′-iminodiacetic acid and 3′-deoxy-3′-aminodiethanol thymidine analogues. The abilities of these compounds to form boronate complexes with aliphatic or aromatic boronic acids were established by 1D and 2D ¹H and ¹³C NMR. Moreover, conformational analysis of the newly synthesized compounds revealed a marked preference for an N-type sugar puckering.     

Apertureless near field optical microscopy: a contribution to the understanding of the signal detected in the presence of a background field

Apertureless scanning near field optical microscopy techniques have become a common way of studying surface samples. By using a nano-probe that scatters the electromagnetic non-propagative waves emerging from a given sample, this microscopy provides optical images with a resolution beyond the diffraction limit. Despite a great diversity of works covering a wide variety of physical domains, the formation of the images obtained is not yet fully understood. The purpose of this letter is to assess the influence of the tip position and imposed oscillation of the tip in apertureless SNOM when a background field is added to the scattered near field. We propose a simple analytical model which enables us to account for the experimental results and explains how, depending on the experimental conditions, the near field signal can totally disappear or, on the contrary, be greatly enhanced.     

Polyimide-based microfluidic devices

This paper describes the development of polyimide-based microfluidic devices. A layer transfer and lamination technique is used to fabricate flexible microfluidic channels in various shapes and with a wide range of dimensions. High bond strengths can be achieved by cure cycle adaptation and surface treatment of the polyimide layers prior to bonding. The polyimide microchannels can be combined with metallization layers to fabricate electrodes inside and outside channels. The resulting devices can be used for flexible fluidic and electrical connectors, implantable fluid delivery devices, microelectrodes with embedded fluidic channels, chip-based flow cytometry and for a great variety of other applications in medical, chemical or biological research.     

Highly stereoselective radical cyclization of haloacetals controlled by the acetal center

A systematic investigation of radical haloacetal cyclizations (Ueno-Stork reaction) where the acetal center is the unique stereogenic element is reported. This highly diastereoselective reaction can be used for the preparation of polysubstituted tetrahydrofurans and gamma-lactones. We report herein the full experimental details of reactions where up to three new chiral centers are created. To demonstrate the potential of this approach, short syntheses of (+)-eldanolide and of tricyclic acetals related to biologically active lignans have been achieved.     

N-alkoxyacrylamides as substrates for enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions

[reaction: see text] The use of N-alkoxyacrylamides as substrates for Lewis acid catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions has been examined. Enantioselectivities up to 92% ee have been achieved using very simple chiral Lewis acids prepared from triisobutylaluminum and 2,2-dimethyl-alpha,alpha,alpha',alpha'-tetra-1-naphthalenyl-TADDOL (1-NaphtTADDOL). The use of Yamamoto's Zn-BINOL, easily prepared from Et2Zn and 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL), proved to be even more efficient, and enantioselectivities up to 96% ee were achieved.