Palladium‐Catalyzed 2‐Phenylethenylation of Codeine: 8‐[(1E)‐2‐Phenylethenyl]codeinone Dimethyl Ketal as the Unexpected ‘Masked’ Diene for the Preparation of 19‐Substituted Diels–Alder Adducts of Thebaine

In a search for starting materials for the preparation of 7,8‐fused morphine alkaloid derivatives, 8‐[(1E‐2‐phenylethenyl]codeinone dimethyl ketal ( 4 ) and 8‐[(1E‐2‐phenylethenyl]codeine ( 5 ) were prepared. These dienes were used as substrates in the Diels–Alder reactions. Compound 5 formed the ‘normal’ adduct 12 with N‐phenylmaleimide, while compound 4 behaved in reactions with dienophiles as the ‘masked’ diene 11 , a 8‐[(1E)‐2‐phenylethenyl]‐substituted thebaine, yielding the corresponding 19‐substituted 6,14‐endo‐etheno‐6,7,8,14‐tetrahydrothebaines. Specifically, reaction of 4 with methyl vinyl ketone gave rise to 19‐[(1E)‐phenylethenyl]thevinone ( 14 ) whose structure was elucidated by an X‐ray diffraction analysis. The thebaine derivative 11 was also prepared from 4 .     

The molecular geometries of some cyclic nitramines in the gas phase

The structural parameters of 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX), (CH₂NNO₂)₃, 1,3-dinitro-1,3-diazacyclopentane (DDCP), CH₂(CH₂NNO₂)₂, andN-nitropyrrolidine (NP), (CH₂)₄NNO₂, have been determined by electron diffraction.The six-membered ring of RDX has a chair form with axial positions of the nitro groups and close to planar bond geometry of the amine nitrogen atoms. The overallC ₃ symmetry of the molecule is in agreement with the experimental data.The conformation of the five-membered ring in DDCP is a half-chair ofC ₂ symmetry, while that in NP is an envelope ofC _S symmetry. The nitro groups are in equatorial positions in both molecules. The conformations of pyrrolidine and imidazolidine cycles show interesting features.The pyramidal geometry of the amine nitrogen atom bonds flattens in going from pyrrolidine andN-chloropyrrolidine to NP and DDCP and then to RDX and to dimethylnitramine (DMNA), (CH₃)₂NNO₂.     

Molecular Structure and Conformational Composition of 1-[(Methylthio)methyl]-2-nitrobenzene (MTMNB): A Theoretical and Experimental Study

The conformational composition of gaseous MTMNB and the molecular structures of the rotational forms have been studied by electron diffraction at 130^∘C aided by results from ab initio and density functional theory calculations. The conformational potential energy surface has been investigated by using the B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) method. As a result, six minimum-energy conformers have been identified. Geometries of all conformers were optimized using MP2/6-31G(d,p), B3LYP/6-31G(d,p), and B3LYP/cc-pVTZ methods. These calculations resulted in accurate geometries, relative energies, and harmonic vibrational frequencies for all conformers. The B3LYP/cc-pVTZ energies were then used to calculate the Boltzmann distribution of conformers. The best fit of the electron diffraction data to calculated values was obtained for the six conformer model, in agreement with the theoretical predictions. Average parameter values (r_a in angstroms, angle α in degrees, and estimated total errors given in parentheses) weighted for the mixture of six conformers are r(C–C) = 1.507(5), r(C–C)_{ring, av} = 1.397(3), r(C–S)_av = 1.814(4), r(C–N) = 1.495(4), r(N–O)_av = 1.223(3), ∠(C–C–C)_ring = 116.0–122.5, ∠ C6–C4–C7 = 118.2(4), ∠ C–C–S = 113.6(6), ∠ C–S–C = 98.5(12), ∠ N–C–C4 = 121.9(3), ∠(O–N–C)_av = 116.8(3), ∠ O–N–O = 127.0(4). Torsional angles could not be refined. Theoretical B3LYP/cc-pVTZ torsional angles for the rotation about C–N bond, φ_C−N, were found to be 30.5–36.5^∘ for different conformers. As to internal rotation about C–C and C–S bonds, values of φ_C−C = 68–118^∘ and φ_C−S = 66–71^∘ were obtained for the three most stable conformers with gauche orientation with respect to these bonds. Some conclusions of this work were presented in a short communication in Russ. J. Phys. Chem. 2005, 79, 1701.     

The ξ-compensator method in hydrodynamics

Some aspects of the Hamiltonian formalism for the dynamics of an inhomogeneous incompressible fluid relating to methods of calculating the Poisson brackets in definite problems are considered. As an example, the Poisson bracket of local velocities is calculated. The computational technique is based on the method of -compensators. It is shown that a previously established expression for this Poisson bracket can indeed be obtained from the general expression for {F, G} by the -compensator method.I. V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, Moscow. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 91, No. 3, pp. 440–451, June, 1992.     

Thermal characteristics of paratellurite single crystals by the rectangular thermal wave method

The study of the thermal characteristics of bulk nonferroelectric materials with low heat conductivity coefficient by the pyroelectrical rectangular thermal wave is shown to need the solution of the problem of the thermal conductivity for a three-layer system. The thermal characteristics of a paratellurite crystal with various crystallographic directions were studied. The heat conductivity coefficient is found to depend on the crystallographic direction.     

Tritium planigraphy as a tool for studying the structural organization nanobiocomplexes

The tritium planigraphy method is based on the nonselective substitution of radioactive isotope tritium for hydrogen in hydrocarbon fragments of molecules by means of a chemical reaction involving hot tritium atoms. Data on the steric accessibility of the system components (macromolecules in the complex, amino acid residues, and even individual atomic groups of macromolecules) characterize the structure of the object. The method, applicable to substances in different phase states, has no restrictions on the molecular weight of the target. Tritium planigraphy, used equally successfully in both crystals and solutions, makes it possible to study fine changes in the structure. The main results of studies of the structure of nanosized biocompexes by tritium planigraphy are presented.