Trehalose-based cyclodextrin analogs: cyclotrehalans (CTs)

A new concept for the de novo synthesis of artificial glyconanocavities is presented. The use of alternating α,α′-trehalose building blocks and (thio)urea segments allows the efficient synthesis of a new family of cyclooligosaccharides, namely cyclotrehalans (CTs), featuring a convex-shaped cavity with an apolar environment. CTs are designed to exhibit molecular inclusion abilities similar to that of cyclodextrins (CDs). Contrary to CDs, CTs expose the monosaccharide β-face to the inner cavity, while the (thio)urea tethers provides some conformational adaptability. High-yielding syntheses of a series of CTs and a preliminary evaluation of their inclusion properties are reported.     

UV index experimental values during the years 2000 and 2001 from the Spanish broadband UV-B radiometric network

An analysis is made of experimental ultraviolet erythemal solar radiation data measured during the years 2000 and 2001 by the Spanish UV-B radiation evaluation and prediction network. This network consists of 16 Robertson-Berger type pyranometers for evaluating solar erythemal radiation and five Brewer spectroradiometers for evaluating the stratospheric ozone. On the basis of these data the Ultraviolet Index (UVI) was evaluated for the measuring stations that are located either in coastal regions or in the more densely populated regions inland on the Iberian Peninsula. It has been checked that in most cases the maximum irradiance values corresponded to solar noon, although there were exceptions that could be explained by cloudiness. The maximum experimental values of the UVI were around 9 during the summer, though frequently passing this value at the inland measurement stations. The annual accumulated dose of irradiation on a horizontal plane has also been studied, as well as the evolution through the year in units of energy, standard erythemal doses and minimum erythemal doses, according to different phototypes.     

Useful dual Diels-Alder behavior of 2-azetidinone-tethered aryl imines as azadienophiles or azadienes: a beta-lactam-based stereocontrolled access to optically pure highly functionalized indolizidine systems

Imines derived from 4-oxoazetidine-2-carbaldehydes have been found to be versatile Diels-Alder reagents in that they exhibit two reactivity patterns. 2-Azetidinone-tethered imines undergo diastereoselective reaction with Danishefsky's diene in the presence of different Lewis acids. The effect of the amount of catalyst on the conversion rate as well as on the product ratio has been studied. Under standard reaction conditions, indium(III) chloride and zinc(II) iodide provided the best yields, and indium(III) triflate the highest diastereoselectivity in the Lewis acid promoted aza-Diels-Alder cycloaddition. Treatment of the aforementioned imines with cyclopentadiene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene or 3,4-dihydro-2 H-pyran led to cycloadducts arising from inverse electron-demand condensation involving the beta-lactam-tethered aryl imine as the heterodiene component. In addition, the first methodology for preparing indolizidines from beta-lactams has been developed. This process involves amide bond cleavage of the beta-lactam ring in the aza-Diels-Alder cycloadducts with concomitant cyclization. Full chirality transfer occurs when the reaction is performed with an enantiomerically pure substrate.     

A convenient synthesis of novel pyrido(1′,2′:1,2)imidazo[5,4‐d]‐1,2,3‐triazinones from imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines

The imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine system was investigated as a synthon for the building of very attractive fused triazines, a planar, angular tri‐heterocycle with potential biological activity. Thus ethyl 3‐nitroimidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine‐2‐carboxylate was treated with ammonia or with an excess of primary amines to generate the corresponding substituted nitro carboxamidoimidazopyridines. The nitro substituent in the latter products, was reduced to yield 3‐amino‐2‐carboxamidoimidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine derivatives, which in turn were treated with nitrous acid to furnish 1‐oxo‐2‐substituted pyrido(1′,2′:1,2)imidazo[5,4‐d]‐1,2,3‐triazines.     

Organocatalytic ring expansion of beta-lactams to gamma-lactams through a novel N1-C4 bond cleavage. direct synthesis of enantiopure succinimide derivatives

Tetrabutylammonium cyanide (20 mol %) catalyzes ring expansion of 4-(arylimino)methylazetidin-2-ones 2 to 5-aryliminopyrrolidin-2-ones 3 through a novel N1-C4 bond cleavage of the beta-lactam nucleus. New, efficient one-pot protocols to enantiopure succinimide derivatives 3 and 4 from beta-lactam aldehydes 1 have also been developed. [reaction: see text]     

Changes in the reactivity of the fluorescent reagents carbazole-9-carbonyl chloride and 9-carbazolylacetic acid in the presence of cyclodextrins

Carbazole-9-carbonyl chloride (C9CC) and 9-carbazolylacetic acid (9CAA) were selected as model fluorescent reagents. The effect of different chemically modified cyclodextrins (CDs) added to the aqueous solutions of these reagents was studied in water and in buffered aqueous solutions at pH 4.5 and 8.8. The CDs employed were 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-βCD), 2,3-di-O-methyl-β-cyclodextrin (DM-βCD) and 2,3,6-tri-O-methyl-β-cyclodextrin (TM-βCD). The inclusion of these reagents inside the cavities of the CDs was verified and this process can affect the derivatization reaction because CDs can modify the reactivity of the guest molecules. The basic conditions necessary for the derivatization reaction between C9CC and amines lead to the formation of carbazole anion through hydrolysis followed by decarboxylation. In the presence of CDs, the hydrolysis-decarboxylation of carbazole-9-carbonyl chloride is faster than in buffered aqueous homogeneous solutions. The behaviour observed for these reagents in aqueous solutions of CDs was compared to the one observed in basic ethanolic solutions. These changes are particularly noticeable in the case of 2,3-di-O-methyl-β-CD and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-CD. The characteristics of the fluorescent reagents are compared to carbazole and 9-methylcarbazole as model compounds. This paper was presented at XIIIth International Cyclodextrin Symposium. Torino, Italy, May 14–17, 2006.     

Determination of promethazine hydrochloride with bromophenol blue by a turbidimetric method and flow injection analysis

A flow injection analysis procedure for the turbidimetric determination of promethazine is proposed. The sample solution is injected directly into the carrier reagent stream, which is composed of 1.16 × 10⁻³M bromophenol blue at pH 1.20. The calibration graph is linear over the range 25–197 ppm of promethazine. The influence of some foreign substances was also investigated. The method is applied to promethazine determination in a pharmaceutical formulation.     

Homoclinic motions in the vibrational spectra of floppy systems: the LiCN molecule

Recent experimental and theoretical methods allowed the efficient investigation of highly excited rovibrational states of molecular systems. At these levels of excitation the correspondence principle holds, and then classical mechanics can provide intuitive views of the involved processes. In this respect, we have recently shown that for completely hyperbolic systems, homoclinic motions, which are known to organize the classical chaotic region in Hamiltonian systems, imprint a clear signature in the corresponding highly excited quantum spectra. In this Communication we show that this result also holds in mixed systems, by considering an application to the floppy LiNCLiCN molecular system.     

The role of β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin in the secondary chemical equilibria associated to the separation of β-carbolines by HPLC

The use of cyclodextrins (CDs) in HPLC as mobile phase additives provides a flexible alternative for the separation of chemically related compounds because these separations can be performed on conventional columns and are economically advantageous over the use of chiral stationary phases. The present paper describes the influence of the presence of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβ-CD) on the separation of the β-carboline alkaloids norharmane, harmane and harmine. The nature of the stationary phase (reverse phases C₁ and C₁₈) affects the chromatographic separations and also the stability of the inclusion complexes that are developed. The changes in the proportion of the organic solvents at constant concentration of CDs (3 mM for β-CD and 15 mM for HPβ-CD) modify the retention factors (k′) for all alkaloids studied. The nature of the organic solvent in the mobile phase also changes the chromatographic parameters. The logarithm of the capacity factor (k′) is linearly increased with the proportion of water in the hydro-organic mobile phase (ethanolic or methanolic) but the slopes obtained vary depending on the CD added to the mobile phase. The role of competitive equilibria, i.e., chromatographic distribution and inclusion complexes formation is discussed. This paper was presented at XIIIth International Cyclodextrin Symposium. Torino, Italy, May, 14–17, 2006