A combinatorial approach toward the generation of ambiphilic peptide-based inhibitors of protein:geranylgeranyl transferase-1

A combinatorial synthesis of oligopeptide analogues and their evaluation as protein:geranylgeranyl transferase inhibitors is presented. The combinatorial strategy is based on the random mutation, in each new generation, of one of any of the four amino acid building blocks of which the most effective compounds of the previous generation are assembled. In this way, a progressive improvement of the average inhibitory activity was observed until the fifth generation. The most active inhibitors were found to inhibit PGGT-1 in the low micromolar range (IC(50): 3.8-8.1 microM).     

Rigid bis-zinc(II) salphen building blocks for the formation of template-assisted bidentate ligands and their application in catalysis

The template-induced formation of chelating bidentate ligands by the selective self-assembly of two monodentate pyridyl phosphorus ligands on a rigid bis-zinc(II) salphen template with two identical binding sites was studied. Using UV-vis, NMR-spectroscopy and X-ray analysis the formed structures were unambiguously proven. The application of these templated bidentate ligands in transition metal catalysis showed, in most cases, typical bidentate character. Compared to previous work based on a more flexible bis-zinc(II) porphyrin template, the current catalytic data suggest that the rigidity of the template is not an important factor for the improvement of the regio- and enantioselectivity under the applied reaction conditions.     

Nachbargruppeneffekte bei massenspektrometrischen Fragmentierungsreaktionen: substituierte 1,3-Diaminopropan-Derivate. 17. Mitteilung über das massenspektrometrische Verhalten von Stickstoffverbindungen

The mass spectrometric behaviour of the 1,3-diaminopropane derivative 4a (3,7-diacetyl-3,7-diazadodecane) was investigated with regard to the fragmentation reactions of N, N′, N″-triacetylspermidine ( 1 ), as model for the 1,3-diaminopropane part. It was established that the degradation reactions in 4a and 1 are essentially the same and mainly due to the interaction of two N-acetyl groups. Thereby it is established that the most important mass spectrometric fragmentation reactions of spermidine derivatives take place within the 1,3-diaminopropane unit and are independent of the influence of further N-atoms in the molecule. An ion (m/e 143) was found in the fragmentation pattern of N, N′, N″-triacetylspermidine whose formation can be explained by interaction of all three N-acetyl groups. The corresponding ion was not found, in the spectrum of 4a , with only two N-acetyl groups, thereby confirming the earlier hypothesis.     

Simultanapproximationen

Ohne Zusammenfassung Vorgelegt von L. Collatz     

Reaktionen von Glutaminsäuredimethylester im Massenspektrometer. 21. Mitteilung über das massenspektrometrische Verhalten von Stickstoffverbindungen

The mass spectral fragmentation of dimethyl glutamate ( 1 ) and its deuterated derivatives 1a , 1b and 1c has been investigated. By loss of a methoxycarbonyl group from the molecular ion an ion of m/e 116 is generated. The latter splits off methanol (m*), the resulting fragment of m/e 84 giving raise to the base peak of the spectrum. Only part of the hydrogen transferred to the leaving group originates from thc amino group, as was suggested earlier [2] [3]. Basing on experiments with deuterated compounds we propose an additional mechanism for the reaction, i.e. hydrogen transfer from C(3) to methoxyl. The fragment generated by both processes is most likely to be a pyrrolinonium ion. Thermal side reactions in the mass spectrometer (formation of pyroglutamic acid ester) followed by fragmentation may lead to the same ion. – The mechanisms discussed are supported by the mass spectral fragmentation of N-acetyl-glutamic acid diesters 3 , 3a , 3b and 3d and of the N, N-dimethyl derivatives 4 and 4a . – The fragmentation reactions investigated are similar to some of 1,3-trimethylenediamine derivatives [7]. This means that there are parallels in the mass spectral fragmentation of difunctional compounds irrespective of the nature of the functional groups.     

Template-induced formation of heterobidentate ligands and their application in the asymmetric hydroformylation of styrene

We report the template-induced formation of chelating heterobidentate ligands by the selective self-assembly of two different monodentate ligands on a rigid bis-zinc(II)-salphen template with two identical binding sites; these templated heterobidentate ligands induce much higher enantioselectivities (up to 72% ee) in the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydroformylation of styrene than any of the corresponding homobidentate ligands or non-templated mixed ligand combinations (up to 13% ee).     

Comparison of carbene and imidazole bonding to a copper(I) center

The bonding of (1,4,7-trithiacyclononane)copper(I) to N-methylimidazole and to N,N′-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene (IMe) as its pseudo-tautomer has been compared by crystallography, spectroscopy, and electrochemical analyses. In the solid state, a shorter Cu-L bond is observed for L = carbene than for L = imidazole, which indicates that electronic effects override potential steric hindrance in this pair of complexes. The oxidation potential difference reveals that the imidazole is a substantially stronger donor than the carbene ligand, and it allowed for estimating the Lever electronic parameter for the carbene ligand, E_IMe = +0.30 V.