Perchloric Acid–Silica (HClO4⋅SiO2)‐Catalyzed Synthesis of 14‐Alkyl‐ or 14‐Aryl‐14H‐dibenzo[a,j]xanthenes and N‐[(2‐Hydroxynaphthalen‐1‐yl)methyl]amides

The synthesis of 14‐aryl‐ or 14‐alkyl‐14H‐dibenzo[a,j]xanthenes 3 involving the treatment of naphthalen‐2‐ol ( 1 ) with arenecarboxaldehydes or alkanals 2 in the presence of HClO₄?SiO₂ as a heterogeneous catalyst was achieved (Table 1), and this reaction was extended to the preparation of N‐[(2‐hydroxynaphthalen‐1‐yl)methyl]amides 5 by a three‐component reaction with urea ( 4a ) or an amide 4b – d as a third reactant (Table 2).     

Mixed Boron(III) and Phosphorous(V) Complexes of meso‐Triaryl 25‐Oxasmaragdyrins

Two unprecedented mixed B^III/P^V complexes of meso‐triaryl 25‐oxasmaragdyrins were synthesized in appreciable yields under mild reaction conditions. These unusual 25‐oxasmaragdyrin complexes containing one or two seven‐membered heterocyclic rings comprised of five different atoms (B, C, N, O, and P) were prepared by reacting B(OH)(Ph)‐smaragdyrin and B(OH)₂‐smaragdyrin complexes, respectively, with POCl₃ in toluene at reflux temperature. The products were characterized by HRMS and 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR spectroscopy. X‐ray crystallography of one of the mixed B^III/P^V smaragdyrin complexes indicated that the macrocycle is significantly distorted and contains a stable seven‐membered heterocyclic ring within the macrocycle. The bands in the absorption and emission spectra were bathochromically shifted with reduced quantum yields and singlet‐state lifetimes relative to the free base, meso‐triaryl 25‐oxasmaragdyrin. The mixed B^III/P^V complexes were difficult to oxidize but easier to reduce than the free base. The DFT‐optimized structure of the 25‐oxasmaragdyrin complex with two seven‐membered heterocycles indicated that it was a bicyclic spiro compound with two half‐chair‐like conformers. This was in contrast to the chair‐like conformation of the complex with a single seven‐membered heterocyclic ring. Moreover, incorporation of a second phosphate group in the former case stabilized the bonding geometry and resulted in higher stability, which was reflected in the bathochromic shift of the absorption spectra, more‐positive oxidation potential, and less‐negative reduction potential.     

Crowned Macrocycles Containing Two Pyrrolo[1,2-a] Indoles Created By Intramolecular Fusion

Heterocyclic fused-ring systems are of utmost importance because of their presence in many natural products with biological activity. Pyrroloindoles are tricyclic heterocycles that are present in various bioactive and medicinally valuable compounds. Herein, we report the synthesis of phenylene-bridged bis-pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole crowned macrocycles 1 – 3 in which the pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole moieties were formed via intramolecular fusion. The macrocycles were thoroughly characterized by 1D and 2D NMR, HRMS and X-ray crystallographic studies. The X-ray structure revealed that the two pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole moieties were parallel to each other, and one pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole unit was deviated by an angle of 9.54° while the other pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole unit was deviated by an angle of 12.0° from the mean plane defined by 28 core atoms. The macrocycles 1 – 3 absorb in the visible region and readily undergo oxidations because of their electron rich nature. The macrocycles 1 – 3 upon treatment with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) generates the corresponding cation radicals 1 – 3 ^.+ which were stable in the open air for a week. The cation radicals 1 – 3 ^.+ absorb strongly in the NIR region and the experimental observations on crowned macrocycles 1 – 3 were corroborated by DFT and TD-DFT studies.     

A new bis-andrographolide ether from Andrographis paniculata nees and evaluation of anti-HIV activity

Novel bis-andrographolide ether (1) and six known compounds andrographolide, 14-deoxy-11,12-didehydroandrographolide, andrograpanin, 14-deoxyandrographolide, (+/-)-5-hydroxy-7,8-dimethoxyflavanone, and 5-hydroxy-7,8-dimethoxyflavone have been isolated from the aerial parts of Andrographis paniculata and their structures were established by spectral data. All the isolates were tested for the anti-HIV and cytotoxic activity.     

TLC Based Method for Standardization of Pongamia pinnata (Karanj) Using Karanjin as Marker

Pongamia pinnata Linn. (Papilionaceae) seeds have gained great commercial and industrial importance owing to their high oil content. Presently, there is no appropriate TLC based method available for standardization of P. pinnata. A simple, robust and reproducible TLC method for the determination of Karanjin is reported in the seeds of P. pinnata. The method involves separation of components by TLC on pre-coated silica gel G 60 F₂₅₄ plates developed on toluene: ethyl acetate (7:3 v/v) and detection at 260 nm in absorbance mode. The sensitivity of the method was found to be 100 ng. The linearity range was 50–300 ng. Four samples of P. pinnata from different geographical locations were tested for their karanjin content using the developed method. The proposed method was found to be robust, precise, and accurate, it therefore holds potential for detection, monitoring and quantification of karanjin in Pongamia pinnata.

     

Two New Pseudoguaianolides from the Flowers of Parthenium hysterophorus

Chemical investigation on two samples of the flowers of Parthenium hysterophorus afforded two new pseudoguaianolides (one from each sample) together with several known constituents. The structures of the new compounds were established by extensive spectroscopic (1D‐ and 2D‐NMR) studies. The X‐ray crystallographic analysis of one of these compounds was also accomplished.     

Core-modified porphyrin based assemblies

Core-modified porphyrins, resulting from the replacement of one or two pyrrolic nitrogens with other hetero atoms such as O, S, Se, and Te possess very interesting and distinct properties compared to tetrapyrrolic porphyrins. Specially, the singlet state energy levels can be fine tuned with suitable modification of porphyrin core by substituting pyrrolic “N” with hetero atoms such as “O” and “S”. In this review, we discuss the synthesis of various core-modified porphyrin building blocks containing one, two, three and four functional groups by following various synthetic methodologies developed in the past decade and the use of these core-modified porphyrin building blocks in the construction of several covalently and non-covalently linked hetero porphyrin dyads, triads, tetrads and pentads containing one or more different types of porphyrin sub-units. The photophysical studies are also described to show the possibility of singlet–singlet energy transfer from one porphyrin sub-unit to another in these hetero porphyrin arrays.     

Synthesis of BF2 complexes of prodigiosin type oligopyrroles

We developed a simple, facile route for the synthesis of BF(2) complexes of prodigiosin type oligopyrroles and their cholesterol conjugates. This route gives an access to synthesize any desired meso-aryl-substituted 3-pyrrolyl BODIPYs which were not easily accessible earlier.     

Liquid-chromatographic separation and determination of process-related impurities, including a regio-specific isomer of celecoxib on reversed-phase C18 column dynamically coated with hexamethyldisilazane.

A simple and rapid reversed-phase high-performance liquid-chromatographic method for the separation and determination of process-related impurities of celecoxib (CXB) in bulk drugs and pharmaceuticals was developed. The separation of impurities viz., 4-methylacetophenone (I), 1-(4-methylphenyl)-4,4,4-trifluorobutane-1,3-dione (II), 4-hydrazinobenzene sulfonamide (III) and a regio-specific isomer [3-(4-methylphenyl)-5-trifluoromethyl-1H-pyrazole-1-yl]-benzenesulfonamide (IV), was accomplished on an Inertsil ODS-3 column dynamically coated with 0.1% hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) in acetonitrile:water (55:45 v/v) as a mobile phase and detection at 242 nm using PDA at ambient temperature. The chromatographic conditions were optimized by studying the effects of HMDS, an organic modifier, time of silanization and column temperature. The method was validated and found to be suitable not only for monitoring the synthetic reactions, but also to evaluate the quality of CXB.