Direct asymmetric organocatalytic Michael reactions of alpha,alpha-disubstituted aldehydes with beta-nitrostyrenes for the synthesis of quaternary carbon-containing products

[reaction: see text] Direct asymmetric catalytic Michael reactions have been performed using chiral-amine/acid bifunctional catalysts. Performed with 0.3 equiv of (S)-(+)-1-(2-pyrrolidinylmethyl)pyrrolidine and 0.3 equiv of trifluoroacetic acid as the catalyst, the reaction of alpha,alpha-dialkylaldehydes with (E)-beta-nitrostyrene provided the alpha,alpha-dialkyl Michael products in up to 96% yield with up to 91% ee. With respect to enantioselectivity, l-proline was a poor catalyst of this class of Michael reactions.     

Chiral amplification in macromolecular helicity assisted by noncovalent interaction with achiral amines and memory of the helical chirality

Poly[(4-carboxyphenyl)acetylene] (poly-1) exhibits an intense induced circular dichroism (ICD) in the UV-visible region upon complexation with excess (R)-1-(1-naphthyl)ethylamine ((R)-2), owing to the formation of a predominantly single-handed helical conformation of the polymer backbone. In the presence of a small amount of (R)-2, poly-1 showed a very weak ICD due to the lack of a single-handed helical conformation. However, we have found that the co-addition of the excess bulky, achiral 1-naphthylmethylamine (5) with a small amount of (R)-2 caused a dramatic increase in the ICD magnitude, comparable to the full ICD induced by excess (R)-2. This indicates that an almost single-handed helix can be induced on poly-1 upon complexation with a small amount of (R)-2 assisted by achiral 5. Furthermore, the induced single-handed helical poly-1 could be successfully memorized by the replacement of (R)-2 and 5 with achiral 2-aminoethanol or n-butylamine.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of psi[(E)-CH=CMe]- and psi[(Z)-CH=CMe]-type dipeptide isosteres by organocopper-mediated anti-S(N)2' reaction

[reaction: see text] Acyclic psi[(E)-CH=CMe]- and psi[(Z)-CH=CMe]-type dipeptide isosteres were efficiently synthesized. In a key reaction, alpha-alkylation of gamma-mesyloxy-beta-methyl-alpha,beta-unsaturated esters with organocyanocuprates in diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran preferentially afforded the psi[(E)-CH=CMe]- or psi[(Z)-CH=CMe]-isomer, respectively, via anti-S(N)2' mechanism.     

High modulus polyimide/polyimide molecular composite films that utilize acetylene unit as a crosslink site

Polyimide/polyimide molecular composite (MC) films comprised of a rigid polyimide derived from biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and p-phenylenediamine (PDA) and a flexible polyimide derived from BPDA and bis (3,3'-diaminodiphenyl) acetylene (intA) and/or oxydianiline (ODA) were prepared by blending the polyamic acid solutions in 7 : 3 weight ratio, and then imidizing the blend films. Acetylene content in the flexible polyimide backbone was controlled by the ratio of intA and ODA. Cold-drawing of the blend polyamic acid films, followed by imidization, gives high modulus polyimide/polyimide MC films. The modulus of the MC films increased almost linearly with the draw ratio, reaching 25.5 GPa for the 40% drawn film. Acetylene groups in the flexible polyimide can be thermally cured to crosslink. The onset of exotherm appeared at 340°C on DSC, reaching maximum at 398°C. After the thermal crosslinking, the MC films maintained the high modulus, though elongation became small. Taking advantage of the crosslinkable acetylene units, two MC films were laminated and processed at 400°C for 20 min under 100 kg/cm² to give a good-quality laminate film. The interface of the two films was strongly bonded through the crosslinking of acetylene groups. Laminate films maintained the high modulus afforded by the cold-drawing. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

An improvement in the bending ability of a hinged trisaccharide with the assistance of a sugar-sugar interaction

Hinged di- and trisaccharides incorporating 2,4-diamino-beta-D-xylopyranoside as a hinge unit (Hin) were synthesized. Bridging of the diamino group of Hin by carbonylation or chelation to a metal ion results in a conformational change from (4)C1 to (1)C4, which in turn causes a bending of the oligosaccharides. In this study, the bending abilities of the hinged oligosaccharides were compared, in terms of the reactivities toward carbonylation and chelation. Di- or trisaccharides containing a 6-O-glycosylated mannopyranoside or galactopyranoside at their reducing ends had bending abilities similar to that of the Hin monosaccharide, probably because there were neither attractive nor repulsive interactions between the reducing and nonreducing ends. However, when Hin was attached at O2 of methyl mannopyranoside (Man alphaMe), the bending ability was dependent on the nonreducing sugar and the reaction conditions. Typically, a disaccharide--Hin beta(1,2)Man alphaMe--was difficult to bend under all the tested reaction conditions, and the bent population in the presence of Zn(II) was only 4%. On the other hand, a trisaccharide--Man alpha(1,3)Hin beta(1,2)Man alphaMe--was bent immediately after the addition of Zn(II) or Hg(II), and the bent population reached 75%, much larger than those of all the other hinged trisaccharides ever tested (<40%). This excellent bending ability suggests an attractive interaction between the reducing and nonreducing ends. The extended conformation was recovered by the addition of triethylenetetramine, a metal ion chelator. Reversible, quick, and efficient bending of the hinged trisaccharide was thus achieved.     

Effect of compression on interaction between 1,4-dihydropyridine compounds and lactose monohydrate

Manidipine dihydrochloride or benidipine hydrochloride will change to hydrate form in part, when differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) measurement is carried out together with lactose monohydrate. This interaction was accelerated by compressing their mixture. It can be suggested that the interaction may cause by the disruption of crystal structure of lactose monohydrate due to compression to set free of water molecules. A new DSC peak at 170 degrees C, which was not observed in each component, appeared in DSC measurement of a mixture. This will be based on hydrate formed by the interaction, i.e., movement of water molecules. The profile of the plotting of the DSC peak area ratio before and after compression against the compression force changed by the molar ratio of lactose monohydrate in a mixture. In the case of low molar ratio of lactose monohydrate, profiles for manidipine dihydrochloride and benidipine hydrochloride differed from each other. This will be because manidipine dihydrochloride is stickier than benidipine hydrochloride. The profile for manidipine dihydrochloride became more gradual and showed lag compression force region when the amount of addition of the lubricant, magnesium stearate in a mixture increased. The endothermic peak area at 170 degrees C for manidipine dihydrochloride was larger than that for benidipine hydrochloride. It should be suggested that benidipine hydrochloride is easier to be transformed to its hydrate than manidipine dihydrochloride.     

Synthesis of thromboxane A2 analog DL-(9,11), (11,12)-dideoxa-(9,11)-epithio-(11,12)-methylene-thromboxane A2

A synthesis of the thromboxane A₂ analog, $\text{dl}$-(9,11), (11,12)-dideoxa-(9,11)-epithio-(11,12)-methylene-thromboxane A₂ is described.     

Planar chiral cyclic ether: asymmetric resolution and chirality transformation

Remarkably stable planar chirality was found in a nine-membered diallylic cyclic ether. Enantiomerically enriched ether was prepared by a kinetic resolution of a racemic one, which is valuable as a novel type of chiral building block.     

Melting behavior of highly stretched isotactic polypropylene film

Isotactic polypropylene film was stretched in poly(ethylene glycol) at 140°C and its melting behavior was investigated by using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC-1B). The shape of the melting curve depends largely on the stretching ratio, v. A sample stretched to moderate extension (1 < v < 3.5–4) has only a single melting peak (163°C) in the thermogram. When the sample is stretched beyond v = 3.5–4, the thermogram becomes more and more complex with increase of v, and some peaks appear when stretched to 10 < v < 13. The lowest peak which is considered to be the melting peak of the intermolecular crystals produced by the unfolding of chain molecules in the lamellae develops gradually with increase of v. In the thermogram for v = 18 the lowest temperature peak is most pronounced, in contrast to the highest temperature peak which decreases markedly in intensity. The phenomenon shows that large amounts of lamellar crystals are converted to intermolecular crystals in this region. On further stretching (v > 20) a very sharp high temperature peak appears, whose half-width is about 1°C. Qualitatively similar results were obtained for the samples stretched in poly(ethylene glycol) at 150°C and in air at 140 and 150°C.