A Mechanistically and Operationally Simple Route to Metal–N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) Complexes

We have been puzzled by the involvement of weak organic and inorganic bases in the synthesis of metal–N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes. Such bases are insufficiently strong to permit the presumed required deprotonation of the azolium salt (the carbene precursor) prior to metal binding. Experimental and computational studies provide support for a base-assisted concerted process that does not require free NHC formation. The synthetic protocol was found applicable to a number of transition-metal- and main-group-centered NHC compounds and could become the synthetic route of choice to form M–NHC bonds.     

Group 6 Oxyfluoro-Anion Salts of [XeF5]+ and [Xe2F11]+: Syntheses and Structures of [XeF5][M2O2F9] (M=Mo,W), [Xe2F11][M′OF5] (M′=Cr,Mo, W), [XeF5][HF2]⋅CrOF4, and [XeF5][WOF5]⋅XeOF4

The reactions of the fluoride-ion donor, XeF₆, with the fluoride-ion acceptors, M′OF₄ (M′=Cr, Mo, W), yield [XeF₅]⁺ and [Xe₂F₁₁]⁺ salts of [M′OF₅]⁻ and [M₂O₂F₉]⁻ (M=Mo, W). Xenon hexafluoride and MOF₄ react in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (aHF) to give equilibrium mixtures of [Xe₂F₁₁]⁺, [XeF₅]⁺, [(HF)_nF]⁻, [MOF₅]⁻, and [M₂O₂F₉]⁻ from which the title salts were crystallized. The [XeF₅][CrOF₅] and [Xe₂F₁₁][CrOF₅] salts could not be formed from mixtures of CrOF₄ and XeF₆ in aHF at low temperature (LT) owing to the low fluoride-ion affinity of CrOF₄, but yielded [XeF₅][HF₂]⋅CrOF₄ instead. In contrast, MoOF₄ and WOF₄ are sufficiently Lewis acidic to abstract F⁻ ion from [(HF)_nF]⁻ in aHF to give the [MOF₅]⁻ and [M₂O₂F₉]⁻ salts of [XeF₅]⁺ and [Xe₂F₁₁]⁺. To circumvent [(HF)_nF]⁻ formation, [Xe₂F₁₁][CrOF₅] was synthesized at LT in CF₂ClCF₂Cl solvent. The salts were characterized by LT Raman spectroscopy and LT single-crystal X-ray diffraction, which provided the first X-ray crystal structure of the [CrOF₅]⁻ anion and high-precision geometric parameters for [MOF₅]⁻ and [M₂O₂F₉]⁻. Hydrolysis of [Xe₂F₁₁][WOF₅] by water contaminant in HF solvent yielded [XeF₅][WOF₅]⋅XeOF₄. Quantum-chemical calculations were carried out for M′OF₄, [M′OF₅]⁻, [M′₂O₂F₉]⁻, {[Xe₂F₁₁][CrOF₅]}₂, [Xe₂F₁₁][MOF₅], and {[XeF₅][M₂O₂F₉]}₂ to obtain their gas-phase geometries and vibrational frequencies to aid in their vibrational mode assignments and to assess chemical bonding.     

Potent Anticancer Efficacy of First-In-Class CuII and AuIII Metaled Phosphorus Dendrons with Distinct Cell Death Pathways

First-in-class Cu^II and Au^III metaled phosphorus dendrons were synthesized and showed significant antiproliferative activity against several aggressive breast cancer cell lines. The data suggest that the cytotoxicity increases with reducing length of the alkyl chains, whereas the replacement of Cu^II with Au^III considerably increases the antiproliferative activity of metaled phosphorus dendrons. Very interestingly, we found that the cell death pathway is related to the nature of the metal complexed by the plain dendrons. Cu^II metaled dendrons showed a potent caspase-independent cell death pathway, whereas Au^III metaled dendrons displayed a caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway. The complexation of plain dendrons with Au^III increased the cellular lethality versus dendrons with Cu^II and promoted the translocation of Bax into the mitochondria and the release of Cytochrome C (Cyto C).     

Late-Stage Functionalization by Chan–Lam Amination: Rapid Access to Potent and Selective Integrin Inhibitors

A late-stage functionalization of the aromatic ring in amino acid derivatives is described. The key step is a copper-catalysed diversification of a boronate ester by amination (Chan–Lam reaction) that can be carried out on a complex β-aryl-β-amino acid scaffold. This not only considerably extends the substrate scope of amination partners, but also delivers an array of potent and selective integrin inhibitors as potential treatment agents of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This versatile chemical strategy, which is amenable to high-throughput-array protocols, allows the installation of pharmaceutically valuable heteroaromatic fragments at a late stage by direct coupling to NH heterocycles, leading to compounds with drug-like attributes. It thus constitutes a useful addition to the medicinal chemist's repertoire.     

Enantioselective Synthesis of α-Thiocarboxylic Acids by Nitrilase Biocatalysed Dynamic Kinetic Resolution of α-Thionitriles

The enantioselective synthesis of α-thiocarboxylic acids by biocatalytic dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) of nitrile precursors exploiting nitrilase enzymes is described. A panel of 35 nitrilase biocatalysts were screened and enzymes Nit27 and Nit34 were found to catalyse the DKR of racemic α-thionitriles under mild conditions, affording the corresponding carboxylic acids with high conversions and good-to-excellent ee. The ammonia produced in situ during the biocatalytic transformation favours the racemization of the nitrile enantiomers and, in turn, the DKR without the need of any external additive base.     

Stereoselective Formation of Facial Tris-Cyclometalated PtIV Complexes: Dual Phosphorescence from Heteroleptic Derivatives

A stereoselective synthetic route to homo- and heteroleptic facial tris-cyclometalated Pt^IV complexes is reported, involving the oxidative addition of 2-(2-pyridyl)- or 2-(1-isoquinolinyl)benzenediazonium salts to cis-[Pt(C^N)₂] precursors, with C^N=cyclometalated 2-(p-tolyl)pyridine (tpy), 2-phenylquinoline (pq), 2-(2-thienyl)pyridine or 1-phenylisoquinoline (piq), to produce labile diazenide intermediates that undergo photochemical or thermal elimination of N₂. The method allows the preparation of derivatives bearing cyclometalated ligands of low π–π* transition energies. The new complexes exhibit phosphorescence in fluid solution at room temperature arising from triplet ligand-centered (³LC) excited states, which, in the cases of the heteroleptic derivatives, involve the ligand with the lowest π–π* gap. The heteroleptic piq derivatives exhibit fluorescence and dual phosphorescence from different ligand-centered excited states in rigid media, demonstrating the potential of cyclometalated Pt^IV complexes as multi-emissive materials.     

Heavy-Atom Tunneling in Semibullvalenes: How Driving Force,Substituents, and Environment Influence the Tunneling Rates

The Cope rearrangement of selectively deuterated isotopomers of 1,5-dimethylsemibullvalene 2 a and 3,7-dicyano-1,5-dimethylsemibullvalene 2 b were studied in cryogenic matrices. In both semibullvalenes the Cope rearrangement is governed by heavy-atom tunneling. The driving force for the rearrangements is the small difference in the zero-point vibrational energies of the isotopomers. To evaluate the effect of the driving force on the tunneling probability in 2 a and 2 b , two different pairs of isotopomers were studied for each of the semibullvalenes. The reaction rates for the rearrangement of 2 b in cryogenic matrices were found to be smaller than the ones of 2 a under similar conditions, whereas differences in the driving force do not influence the rates. Small curvature tunneling (SCT) calculations suggest that the reduced tunneling rate of 2 b compared to that of 2 a results from a change in the shape of the potential energy barrier. The tunneling probability of the semibullvalenes strongly depends on the matrix environment; however, for 2 a in a qualitatively different way than for 2 b .     

Trifluorosulfonylation Cascade in Allenols: Stereocontrolled Synthesis of Bis(triflyl)enones

Herein, we report investigations embodying the first example of reversal of the native regioselectivity in the reaction of allenols with electrophiles. The effortlessness of C−C bond formation, mild reaction conditions, neither catalysts nor light irradiation, and exquisite selectivity, both in terms of functional-group tolerance and chemo-, site-, and stereo-selectivity, converts this trifluorosulfonylation-rearrangement sequence into an appealing protocol for the preparation of novel functionalized enones. The synthetic utility of this method has been validated by the conversion of the initially prepared bis(triflyl)enones into a variety of bis(triflyl)-functionalized molecules such as 1,3-dienes, allylic alcohols, pyrroles, pyrazoles, and chromenes. Besides, DFT calculations have provided a reliable understanding of observed selectivity.     

Boosting Conjugate Addition to Nitroolefins Using Lithium Tetraorganozincates: Synthetic Strategies and Structural Insights

We report the first transition metal catalyst- and ligand-free conjugate addition of lithium tetraorganozincates (R₄ZnLi₂) to nitroolefins. Displaying enhanced nucleophilicity combined with unique chemoselectivity and functional group tolerance, homoleptic aliphatic and aromatic R₄ZnLi₂ provide access to valuable nitroalkanes in up to 98 % yield under mild conditions (0 °C) and short reaction time (30 min). This is particularly remarkable when employing β-nitroacrylates and β-nitroenones, where despite the presence of other electrophilic groups, selective 1,4 addition to the C=C is preferred. Structural and spectroscopic studies confirmed the formation of tetraorganozincate species in solution, the nature of which has been a long debated issue, and allowed to unveil the key role played by donor additives on the aggregation and structure of these reagents. Thus, while chelating N,N,N’,N’-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) and (R,R)-N,N,N’,N’-tetramethyl-1,2-diaminocyclohexane (TMCDA) favour the formation of contacted-ion pair zincates, macrocyclic Lewis donor 12-crown-4 triggers an immediate disproportionation process of Et₄ZnLi₂ into equimolar amounts of solvent-separated Et₃ZnLi and EtLi.     

Three-Component Reaction for the Synthesis of Highly Functionalized Propargyl Ethers

Multicomponent reactions provide efficient means to access molecular complexity. Herein, we report a copper-catalyzed three-component reaction of diazo compounds, alcohols and ethynyl benziodoxole (EBX) reagents for the synthesis of propargyl ethers. Extensive variations of the three partners of the reaction is possible, leading to highly functionalized and structurally diverse products under mild conditions. Alkynylation of a copper ylide intermediate is postulated as key step for this transformation.