Distorted Phthalocyanines by Click Chemistry: Photoacoustic,Photothermal, and Surface-Enhanced Resonance Raman Studies

Distortion of nominally planar phthalocyanine macrocycles affects the excited state dynamics in that most of the excited-state energy decays through internal conversion. A click-type annulation reaction on a perfluorophthalocyanine platform appending a seven-membered ring to the β-positions on one or more of the isoindoles distorts the macrocycle and modulates solubility. The distorted derivative enables photoacoustic imaging, photothermal effects, and strong surface-enhanced resonance Raman signals.     

Glycopeptides by Linch-Pin C−H Activations for Peptide-Carbohydrate Conjugation by Manganese(I)-Catalysis

Late-stage C−H glycosylations of structurally complex amino acids and peptides were accomplished by means of racemization-free manganese(I)-catalyzed C−H activation. Thus, glycosylative modifications proved to be viable by a linch-pin approach, featuring chemo- and site-selective C−H transformations. The peptide–saccharide conjugation provided modular access to structurally complex glycopeptides, likewise enabling the assembly of fluorescent-labelled glycopeptides.     

Stereoselective Synthesis of (Z)-Perfluoroalkyl-1-iodo-1-triisopropyl Silylalkenes: A Convenient Route to Perfluoroalkyl-Substituted Unsaturated Synthons

The quantitative and fully stereoselective synthesis of (Z)-perfluoroalkyl-1-iodo-1-triisopropylsilylalkenes and their easy, high-yielding transformation into the corresponding 1-iodo-2-perfluoroacetylenes and (Z)-2-perfluoroalkyl-1-iodo-1-alkenes, compounds of interest as synthons for classical organometallic chemistry or for metal-catalyzed coupling reactions, are discussed.     

A Reductive 1,2 Transposition of Acyclic Ketones

Earlier we noted that the hydroboration of the trimethylsilyl enol ether of an acyclic ketone results in an elimination of a trimethylsiloxyborane moiety with the subsequent formation of an olefin.^1,2 The olefin formed then undergoes hydroboration giving a monoalcohol upon oxidation. (eq 1) We wish to report here on the utility of this sequence, illustrated in eq 1, in the reductive 1,2 transposition of acyclic ketones.³     

Unravelling the Time Scale of Conformational Plasticity and Allostery in Glycan Recognition by Human Galectin-1

The interaction of human galectin-1 with a variety of oligosaccharides, from di-(N-acetyllactosamine) to tetra-saccharides (blood B type-II antigen) has been scrutinized by using a combined approach of different NMR experiments, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and isothermal titration calorimetry. Ligand- and receptor-based NMR experiments assisted by computational methods allowed proposing three-dimensional structures for the different complexes, which explained the lack of enthalpy gain when increasing the chemical complexity of the glycan. Interestingly, and independently of the glycan ligand, the entropy term does not oppose the binding event, a rather unusual feature for protein-sugar interactions. CLEANEX-PM and relaxation dispersion experiments revealed that sugar binding affected residues far from the binding site and described significant changes in the dynamics of the protein. In particular, motions in the microsecond-millisecond timescale in residues at the protein dimer interface were identified in the presence of high affinity ligands. The dynamic process was further explored by extensive MD simulations, which provided additional support for the existence of allostery in glycan recognition by human galectin-1.     

High iso Aldehyde Selectivity in the Hydroformylation of Short‐Chain Alkenes

The hydroformylation of propene to give predominantly iso‐butanal has been achieved; class‐leading selectivity is possible even at higher temperatures that deliver fast conversion. Racemic rhodium complexes of bidentate phospholane phosphites derived from tropos‐biphenols and unusual solvent systems are the key to the selectivity observed.