Photolysis of bromo- and chloro-substituted benzyl derivatives. Competition between ionic and radical pathways

Photolysis of 1-fluoro-2-halo-1,2-diphenylethanes was studied in solutions of tetrahydrofuran, acetonitrile, and cyclohexane. The effect of free radical inhibitor and metal hydrides on products formation as well as their ratio was analyzed to elucidate the reaction pathway. In the first step homolytic C-X bond cleavage occurs from a single excited state, resulting in a biradical pair. Further reaction path depends on the type of the halogen bonded and on the solvent polarity. Electron transfer within the radical pair cage is apparently more rapid for bromides than for chlorides and is opposite as expected on the basis of the relative electronegativities of chlorine and bromine. As radicals approach each other, they fall into ionic or radical product channels. This is influenced by solvent polarity, resulting in the larger yield of ionic products in the case of acetonitrile as in the case of less polar cyclohexane.     

Evaluation of the enantiomeric resolution of 7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]-pyrene and its 6-fluoro and 6-bromo derivatives on polysaccharide-derived stationary phases

The enantiomeric resolution and the elution order of (+/-)-trans-7,8-dihydrodiols of benzo[a]pyrene and its 6-fluoro and 6-bromo derivatives were analyzed on three polysaccharide-based columns: Daicel Chiralcel CA-I (cellulose triacetate), OF, and OG [cellulose tris(4-chloro- and 4-methylphenylcarbamate)]. For comparison, the separation of (+/-)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol was evaluated on the OG and OF columns. Possibly similar interactions of (S)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol and (7S,8S)-isomers of 6-halo-7,8-dihydroxy-7,8-dihydrobenzo[a]pyrene with the chiral sorbent are suggested.     

Primary photoreactions of the 3',5'-dimethoxybenzoin cage and determination of the release rate in polar media

3',5'-dimethoxybenzoin (DMB) is an important photoremovable protecting group. The primary photoreactions of DMB acetate and fluoride following photoexcitation by a subpicosecond laser flash were investigated by pump-probe spectroscopy. The primary photoproduct is identified as a preoxetane biradical intermediate that decays by different pathways depending on solvent polarity. In polar solvents (acetonitrile, water), the biradical decays by releasing acetate or fluoride with a lifetime of about 2 ns. Thus, DMB is an excellent protecting group for the investigation of fast processes such as protein folding.     

Concise and diversity-oriented synthesis of ligand arm-functionalized azoamides

Azoamides, previously established as bioactive intracellular GSH-depleting agents, were decorated with a terminal alkyne moiety to 4 and then were transformed, by copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), into different ligand-arm functionalized azoamides 6. Azides 5 having ligand-arms amenable for binding to platinum(II) were selected for this study. Because, for the fragile azoamides 4, the typically employed reaction conditions for CuAAC failed, several alternative solvents and copper catalysts were tested. Excellent results were obtained with copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate/metallic copper and especially with heterogeneous catalysts, such as copper-in-charcoal, cupric oxide, and cuprous oxide. The heterogeneous catalysts were employed to obtain the desired products in almost quantitative yields by a simple three-step "stir-filter-evaporate" protocol with no or negligible contamination with copper impurities. This is of particular importance because compounds 6 have been designed for coordination.     

Formation and structure elucidation of two novel spiro[2H-indol]-3(1H)-ones

The molecular structures of two byproducts 1,1'-diphenyl-3',4'-dihydrodispiro[indole-2,2'-furan-5',2'-indole]-3,3'(1H, 1'H)-dione (3) and 1,5'-diphenyl-4',5'-dihydro-3'H-spiro[indole-2,2'-pyrano[3,2-b]indol]-3(1H)-one (4), which accompanied the rearrangement of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenylquinoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione (1) to 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-3H-indol-3-one (2), have been elucidated by NMR, MS, and X-ray diffraction.     

Catalytic regioselective sulfonylation of alpha-chelatable alcohols: scope and mechanistic insight

This paper describes a convenient protocol for the regioselective sulfonylation of alpha-chelatable alcohols. Typically, the reaction of alpha-heterosubstituted alcohols with 1 equiv of p-TsCl and 1 equiv of Et(3)N in the presence of 2 mol % of Bu(2)SnO leads to rapid, regioselective, and exclusive monotosylation. The pK(a) of the amine was correlated to the reaction rate. A plausible mechanism for this reaction has been proposed on the basis of (119)Sn NMR studies.     

Novel tandem hydration/cyclodehydration of alpha-thiocyanatoketones to 2-oxo-3-thiazolines. Application to thiazolo[5,4-c]quinoline-2,4(3aH,5H)-dione synthesis

Novel tandem hydration of alpha-thiocyanatoketones to thiocarbamates followed by in situ cyclodehydration to fused 2-oxo-3-thiazolines is described. The reaction is applied to the synthesis of [1,3]thiazolo[5,4-c]quinoline-2,4(3aH,5H)-diones (4). Concentrated sulfuric acid was found to be critical for the reaction as both corresponding 2,3-dioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-3-yl thiocyanates (2) and S-(2,4-dioxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolin-3-yl) thiocarbamates (3) rapidly hydrolyze in the presence of water to 4-hydroxyquinolin-2(1H)-ones (1).     

Unfunctionalized,alpha-epimerizable nonracemic ketones and aldehydes can be accessed by crystallization-induced dynamic resolution of imines

This paper describes an operationally simple deracemization process of aldehydes and ketones. This new crystallization-induced dynamic resolution (CIDR) protocol allows for nearly complete conversion of the racemic mixture into one enantiomer. Crystallization of imines derived from racemic ketones or aldehydes 1 and trans-(1R,2R)-1-amino-6-nitroindan-2-ol (2) afforded diastereomerically pure, crystalline imines 3. Biphasic hydrolysis of 3 then affords recovered 2 and enantiomerically enriched 1 in high yield and er (substrate, yield/ee: 2-methylcyclohexanone, 97%/92; 2-ethylhexanal, 94%/98; 2-methylcyclopentanone, 94%/98; 2-cyclohexylcyclohexanone, ND/98; 3-methyl-2-pentanone, ND/76). The scope, limitations, and industrial perspective of this process are discussed. This highly effective CIDR process is likely due to pi-stacking of 2 and a hydrogen bonding of the imine with the free hydroxyl of 2 in the solid state.     

Photocyclization of 2-chloro-substituted 1,3-diarylpropan-1,3-diones to flavones

The photochemical behavior of 2-halo-substituted 1,3-diarylpropan-1,3-dione strongly depends on the nature of the halogen atom bonded and the presence of electron-donor groups on the phenyl ring. In the case of 2-chloro-1,3-diphenylpropan-1,3-dione and 1-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-3-phenylpropan-1,3-dione, cyclization to flavones was the sole reaction pathway, whereas in the case of 2-chloro-1,3-di(4-methoxyphenyl)propan-1,3-dione, only products derived from alpha-cleavage were observed. 2-Fluoro derivatives of 1,3-diarylpropan-1,3-diones were photostable; on the other hand, 2-chloro-2-fluoro derivates resulted in 3-fluoroflavones.     

Novel ring contraction of 3-hydroxy-2,4(1H,3H)-quinolinediones in aqueous alkali. The first convenient route to 2-hydroxyindoxyls

Ring contraction of 3-hydroxy-2,4(1H,3H)-quinolinediones (1) in aqueous potassium hydroxide resulted in the formation of 2-hydroxyindoxyls and/or dioxindoles. The choice of N-substituent and the reaction conditions govern the chemoselectivity of the reaction. N-Phenyl-substituted derivatives 1 give 2-hydroxyindoxyls, while N-alkyl- and N-benzyl-substituted derivatives afford the corresponding dioxindols. On the basis of byproduct analysis, as well as independent experiments, the most plausible reaction mechanism is proposed.