Intermolecular hydroamination and hydroarylation reactions of alkenes in ionic liquids

Intermolecular hydroamination or hydroarylation reactions of norbornene and cyclohexadiene performed with catalytic amounts of Brönsted or Lewis acid in ionic liquids were found to provide higher selectivity and yields than those performed in classical organic solvents. The ionic liquid increases the acidity of the media and stabilizes ionic intermediates through the formation of supramolecular aggregates.     

Automated linkage of proteins and payloads producing monodisperse conjugates

Controlled protein functionalization holds great promise for a wide variety of applications. However, despite intensive research, the stoichiometry of the functionalization reaction remains difficult to control due to the inherent stochasticity of the conjugation process. Classical approaches that exploit peculiar structural features of specific protein substrates, or introduce reactive handles via mutagenesis, are by essence limited in scope or require substantial protein reengineering. We herein present equimolar native chemical tagging (ENACT), which precisely controls the stoichiometry of inherently random conjugation reactions by combining iterative low-conversion chemical modification, process automation, and bioorthogonal trans-tagging. We discuss the broad applicability of this conjugation process to a variety of protein substrates and payloads.

Controlled protein functionalization holds great promise for a wide variety of applications.

Applications of protein conjugates are limitless, including imaging, diagnostics, drug delivery, and sensing.^1–4 In many of these applications, it is crucial that the conjugates are homogeneous.⁵ The site-selectivity of the conjugation process and the number of functional labels per biomolecule, known as the degree of conjugation (DoC), are crucial parameters that define the composition of the obtained products and are often the limiting factors to achieving adequate performance of the conjugates. For instance, immuno-PCR, an extremely sensitive detection technique, requires rigorous control of the average number of oligonucleotide labels per biomolecule (its DoC) in order to achieve high sensitivity.⁶ In optical imaging, the performance of many super-resolution microscopy techniques is directly defined by the DoC of fluorescent tags.⁷ For therapeutics, an even more striking example is provided by antibody–drug conjugates, which are prescribed for the treatment of an increasing range of cancer indications.⁸ A growing body of evidence from clinical trials indicates that bioconjugation parameters, DoC and DoC distribution, directly influence the therapeutic index of these targeted agents and hence must be tightly controlled.⁹Standard bioconjugation techniques, which rely on nucleophile–electrophile reactions, result in a broad distribution of different DoC species (Fig. 1a), which have different biophysical parameters, and consequently different functional properties.¹⁰Open in a separate windowFig. 1Schematic representation of the types of protein conjugates.To address this key issue and achieve better DoC selectivity, a number of site-specific conjugation approaches have been developed (Fig. 1b). These techniques rely on protein engineering for the introduction of specific motifs (e.g., free cysteines,¹¹ selenocysteines,¹² non-natural amino acids,^13,14 peptide tags recognized by specific enzymes^15,16) with distinct reactivity compared to the reactivity of the amino acids present in the native protein. These motifs are used to simultaneously control the DoC (via chemo-selective reactions) and the site of payload attachment. Both parameters are known to influence the biological and biophysical parameters of the conjugates,¹¹ but so far there has been no way of evaluating their impact separately.The influence of DoC is more straightforward, with a lower DoC allowing the minimization of the influence of payload conjugation on the properties of the protein substrate. The lowest DoC that can be achieved for an individual conjugate is 1 (corresponding to one payload attached per biomolecule). It is noteworthy that DoC 1 is often difficult to achieve through site-specific conjugation techniques due to the symmetry of many protein substrates (e.g., antibodies). Site selection is a more intricate process, which usually relies on a systematic screening of conjugation sites for some specific criteria, such as stability or reactivity.¹⁷Herein, we introduce a method of accessing an entirely new class of protein conjugates with multiple conjugation sites but strictly homogenous DoCs (Fig. 1c). To achieve this, we combined (a) iterative low conversion chemical modification, (b) process automation, and (c) bioorthogonal trans-tagging in one workflow.The method has been exemplified for protein substrates, but it is applicable to virtually any native bio-macromolecule and payload. Importantly, this method allows for the first time the disentangling of the effects of homogeneous DoC and site-specificity on conjugate properties, which is especially intriguing in the light of recent publications revealing the complexity of the interplay between payload conjugation sites and DoC for in vivo efficacy of therapeutic bioconjugates.¹⁸ Finally, it is noteworthy that this method can be readily combined with an emerging class of site-selective bioconjugation reagents to produce site-specific DoC 1 conjugates, thus further expanding their potential for biotechnology applications.¹⁹     

Organocatalytic Michael addition, a convenient tool in total synthesis. First asymmetric synthesis of (−)-botryodiplodin

The asymmetric Michael addition of propionaldehyde to (2E)-(3-nitro-but-2-enyloxymethyl)-benzene 8, catalyzed by the chiral diamine (S,S)-N-iPr-2,2′-bipyrrolidine, afforded, with 93% ee, a precursor 9 of (−)-botryodiplodin. The nitro functionality of 9 was converted to a ketone via a Nef reaction to give, after a few steps, the enantiomerically enriched (−)-botryodiplodin.     

Stereochemistry of contiguous cyclopropane formation from cascade cyclization of a skipped dienyl homoallyl triflate

Solvolysis of asymmetric homoallylic triflates bearing a terminal stannyl substituent gives disubstituted cyclopropanes and bicyclopropanes bearing differentiated termini in high enantiopurity.     

New butenolides in plantlets of Virola surinamensis (Myristicaceae)

A phytochemical investigation in plantlets of the Brazilian medicinal tree Virola surinamensis resulted in the isolation and structural determination of four new compounds: 3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-(11'-piperonyl-n-undecyl)-butenolide; 3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-(7'-piperonyl-n-heptyl)-butanolide; 9'-(3,4-methylenedioxy-phenyl)-nonanoic acid and 13'-(3,4-methylene-dioxyphenyl)-tridecanoic acid. Thirteen compounds previously isolated from seeds and adult plants were also reported.     

Nucleation theory: Fisher's droplet picture and microscopic surface tension

Fisher's droplet picture is used to define a “microscopic” surface tension for small droplets. The nucleation rate is then calculated. Excellent agreement between experiments and our calculations has been found for H₂O, CH₃OH, C₂H₅OH, NH₃, C₆H₆, CHCl₃ and CCl₃F.     

Hydrogel networks of poly(ethylene oxide) star-molecules supported by expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membranes: characterization, biocompatibility evaluation and glucose diffusion characteristics

The present work discusses the grafting by electron beam irradiation of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) star-shaped polymers onto porous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (EXPTFE) surfaces. The resulting materials are intended to combine the good biocompatible properties of PEO with the outstanding mechanical properties of PTFE. The star-shaped PEOs were synthesized via anionic polymerization. 3 Mev electron beam irradiation was applied to graft these PEO stars onto porous EXPTFE surfaces. The hydrophobic EXPTFE surface had to be pre-modified with N-vinylpyrrolidone. ESCA was used to quantify the amount of grafted star-shaped PEO. Unmodified EXPTFE surfaces are well known, when implanted in a body, to be rapidly covered by a layer of cells and fibrin. The EXPTFE coated with PEO were implanted in the peritoneal cavity of rats (or under the back skin). This implantation did not induce any inflammation reactions and SEM analysis had attested the absence of adsorbed cells and fibrin. The glucose diffusion properties of these membranes were studied by a lag time analysis method and compared to those of pure PEO hydrogels. As expected, glucose diffuses through the hydrogel coated membrane and diffusion is not affected by the presence of the EXPTFE membrane.     

Intra- vs intermolecular photoinduced electron transfer reactions of a macrocyclic donor-acceptor dyad

The synthesis, structural characterization, and photophysical behavior of a 14-membered tetraazamacrocycle with pendant 4-dimethylaminobenzyl (DMAB) and 9-anthracenylmethyl groups is reported (L3, 6-((9-anthracenylmethyl)amino)-trans-6,13-dimethyl-13-((4-dimethylaminobenzyl)amino)-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane). In its free base form, this compound displays rapid intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer (PET) quenching of the anthracene emission, with both the secondary amines and the DMAB group capable of acting as electron donors. When complexed with Zn(II), the characteristic fluorescence of the anthracene chromophore is restored as the former of these pathways is deactivated by coordination. Importantly, it is shown that the DMAB group, which remains uncoordinated and PET active, acts only very weakly to quench emission, by comparison to the behavior of a model Zn complex lacking the pendant DMAB group, [ZnL2]2+ (Chart 1). By contrast, Stern-Volmer analysis of intermolecular quenching of [ZnL2]2+ by N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA) has shown that this reaction is diffusion limited. Hence, the pivotal role of the bridge in influencing intramolecular PET is highlighted.