Insights into the Mechanism and Catalysis of Oxime Coupling Chemistry at Physiological pH

The dynamic covalent‐coupling reaction involving α‐effect nucleophiles has revolutionized bioconjugation approaches, due to its ease and high efficiency. Key to its success is the discovery of aniline as a nucleophilic catalyst, which made this reaction feasible under physiological conditions. Aniline however, is not so effective for keto substrates. Here, we investigate the mechanism of aniline activation in the oxime reaction with aldehyde and keto substrates. We also present carboxylates as activating agents that can promote the oxime reaction with both aldehyde and keto substrates at physiological pH. This rate enhancement circumvents the influence of α‐effect by forming H‐bonds with the rate‐limiting intermediate, which drives the reaction to completion. The combination of aniline and carboxylates had a synergistic effect, resulting in a ～14–31‐fold increase in reaction rate at pD 7.4 with keto substrates. The biocompatibility and efficiency of carboxylate as an activating agent is demonstrated by performing cell‐surface oxime labeling at physiological pH using acetate, which showed promising results that were comparable with aniline.     

Facile synthesis of dopa‐functional polycarbonates via thiol‐Ene‐coupling chemistry towards self‐healing gels

Since extraction of the naturally occurring mussel‐foot proteins is expensive and time‐consuming, routes towards synthetic analogues are continuously being explored. Often, these methods involve several protection and deprotection steps, making the synthesis of synthetic analogues time‐consuming and expensive as well. Herein, we show that UV‐initiated thiol‐ene coupling between a thiol‐functional dopamine derivative and an allyl‐functional aliphatic polycarbonate can be used as a fast and facile route to dopa‐functional materials. Different thiol‐to‐allyl ratios and irradiation protocols were used and it was found that nearly 50% of the allyl groups could be functionalized with dopa within short reaction times, without the need of protecting the catechol. It is also demonstrated herein that the dopa‐functional polymers can be used to form self‐healing gels through complexation with Fe³⁺ ions at increased pH. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 2370–2378     

Efficient Synthesis of Diaryl Ketones by Nickel‐Catalyzed Negishi Cross‐Coupling of Amides by Carbon–Nitrogen Bond Cleavage at Room Temperature Accelerated by a Solvent Effect

The first Negishi cross‐coupling of amides for the synthesis of versatile diaryl ketones by selective C?N bond activation under exceedingly mild conditions is reported. The cross‐coupling was accomplished with bench‐stable, inexpensive precatalyst [Ni(PPh₃)₂Cl₂] that shows high functional‐group tolerance and enables the synthesis of highly functionalized diaryl ketone motifs. The coupling occurred with excellent chemoselectivity favoring the ketone (cf. biaryl) products. Notably, this process represents the mildest conditions for amide N?C bond activation accomplished to date (room temperature, <10 min). Considering the versatile role of polyfunctional biaryl ketone linchpins in modern organic synthesis, availability, and excellent functional‐group tolerance of organozinc reagents, this strategy provides a new platform for amide N?C bond/organozinc cross‐coupling under mild conditions.     

Nucleophilic and Electrophilic Activation of Non‐Heteroaromatic Amides in Atom‐Economical Asymmetric Catalysis

Recent advances in catalytic asymmetric carbon–carbon bond‐forming reactions of non‐heteroaromatic amide substrates are highlighted. Among carbonyl compounds, amides have received limited attention in catalytic asymmetric transformations mainly owing to their lower reactivity. Amides are reluctant to form enolates for nucleophilic addition, and α,β‐unsaturated amides exhibit diminished electrophilicity at the β‐carbon. Recent advances in asymmetric catalysis rendered these amides amenable to enantioselective reactions with perfect atom economy, producing synthetically useful chiral building blocks. This Minireview summarizes recent developments in the field.     

Investigation of two‐ and three‐bond carbon–hydrogen coupling constants in cinnamic acid based compounds

Two‐ and three‐bond coupling constants (²J_HC and ³J_HC) were determined for a series of 12 substituted cinnamic acids using a selective 2D inphase/antiphase (IPAP)‐single quantum multiple bond correlation (HSQMBC) and 1D proton coupled ¹³C NMR experiments. The coupling constants from two methods were compared and found to give very similar values. The results showed coupling constant values ranging from 1.7 to 9.7 Hz and 1.0 to 9.6 Hz for the IPAP‐HSQMBC and the direct ¹³C NMR experiments, respectively. The experimental values of the coupling constants were compared with discrete density functional theory (DFT) calculated values and were found to be in good agreement for the ³J_HC. However, the DFT method under estimated the ²J_HC coupling constants. Knowing the limitations of the measurement and calculation of these multibond coupling constants will add confidence to the assignment of conformation or stereochemical aspects of complex molecules like natural products. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electronic Structure Modulation in an Exceptionally Stable Non‐Heme Nitrosyl Iron(II) Spin‐Crossover Complex

The highly stable nitrosyl iron(II) mononuclear complex [Fe(bztpen)(NO)](PF₆)₂ (bztpen=N‐benzyl‐N,N′,N′‐tris(2‐pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine) displays an S=1/2?S=3/2 spin crossover (SCO) behavior (T_1/2=370 K, ΔH=12.48 kJ mol^?1, ΔS=33 J K^?1 mol^?1) stemming from strong magnetic coupling between the NO radical (S=1/2) and thermally interconverted (S=0?S=2) ferrous spin states. The crystal structure of this robust complex has been investigated in the temperature range 120–420 K affording a detailed picture of how the electronic distribution of the t_2g–e_g orbitals modulates the structure of the {FeNO}⁷ bond, providing valuable magneto–structural and spectroscopic correlations and DFT analysis.     

Synthesis and Single Crystal X-ray Studies of 3-(3,5-Bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl) Quinoline and 3-(4-Fluoro-3-methylphenyl) Quinoline

The title compounds 3-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)quinoline(1) and 3-(4-fluoro-3-methylphenyl)quinoline(2) were synthesized through Suzuki-Miyaura Cross coupling reaction of 3-bromoquinoloine with aryl boronic acids.The title compounds were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction,1H NMR,13C NMR,EI-MS,elemental analysis and IR.The crystals of 3-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)quinoline(C17H9F6N,Mr = 341.25) belongs to the monoclinic system,space group P21n,a = 12.3072(13),b = 4.9378(6),c = 24.493(2) ,V = 1473.1(3) 3,Z = 4,Dc = 1.539 Mg m-3,λ = 0.71073 ,μ = 0.144 mm-1,F(000) = 688,the final R = 0.0715 and wR = 0.1873 for 1875 observed reflections with I 2σ(I) and the crystal of 3-(4-fluoro-3-methylphenyl)quinoline(C16H12FN,Mr = 237.27) belongs to the orthorhombic system,space group Pca21,a = 23.794(2),b = 3.9094(3),c = 25.669(2) ,V = 2387.7(4) 3,Z = 8,Dc = 1.320 Mg m-3,λ = 0.71073 ,μ = 0.088 mm-1,F(000) = 992,the final R = 0.0534 and wR = 0.1188 for 2270 observed reflections with I 2σ(I).     

Polytriacetylenes bearing directly attached functional groups with tunable physical and electronic properties

We report the synthesis and characterization of a unique class of conjugated polymers, polytriacetyelenes (PTAs), from a set of trans‐enediyne (EDY) monomers bearing alkyl and aromatic substituents. Two different methods, i.e., Glaser‐Hay coupling and Pd‐catalyzed oxidative coupling, were employed depending on the nature of the side‐chains. Our methodology is highly versatile in that it allows direct attachment of aromatic substituents to the PTA main‐chains, allowing enhanced tunability in polymer electronic properties, which has not been achievable through previously reported methods. The newly synthesized PTAs displayed strong ability of quenching the fluorescence of poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT), a prototypical conjugated polymer in organic solar cells, indicating possible applications of these PTAs in optoelectronic devices. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1391‐1395     

Salt‐Free Reduction of Nonprecious Transition‐Metal Compounds: Generation of Amorphous Ni Nanoparticles for Catalytic C–C Bond Formation

A salt‐free procedure for the generation of a wide variety of metal(0) particles, including Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, was achieved using 2,3,5,6‐tetramethyl‐1,4‐bis(trimethylsilyl)‐1,4‐diaza‐2,5‐cyclohexadiene ( 1 ), which reduced the corresponding metal precursors under mild conditions. Notably, Ni particles formed in situ from the treatment of Ni(acac)₂ (acac=acetylacetonate) with 1 in toluene exhibited significant catalytic activity for reductive C? C bond‐forming reactions of aryl halides in the presence of excess amounts of 1 . By examination of high‐magnification transmission electron microscopy images and electron diffraction patterns, we concluded that amorphous Ni nanoparticles (Ni aNPs) were essential for the high catalytic activity.