Konzertierte nukleophile aromatische Substitutionen

Jüngste Entwicklungen in der experimentellen und theoretischen Chemie haben zur Identifizierung einer schnell wachsenden Klasse von nukleophilen aromatischen Substitutionsreaktionen geführt, die einem konzertierten Mechanismus (cS_NAr) folgen, und nicht dem klassischen, zweistufigen S_NAr‐Mechanismus. Während klassische S_NAr‐Reaktionen auf die substantielle Aktivierung des aromatischen Ringes durch elektronenziehende Substituenten angewiesen sind, ist eine solche Aktivierung für den konzertierten Reaktionsverlauf nicht zwingend nötig.     

Controlled Reduction of Carboxamides to Alcohols or Amines by Zinc Hydrides

New protocols for controlled reduction of carboxamides to either alcohols or amines were established using a combination of sodium hydride (NaH) and zinc halides (ZnX₂). Use of a different halide on ZnX₂ dictates the selectivity, wherein the NaH‐ZnI₂ system delivers alcohols and NaH‐ZnCl₂ gives amines. Extensive mechanistic studies by experimental and theoretical approaches imply that polymeric zinc hydride (ZnH₂)_∞ is responsible for alcohol formation, whereas dimeric zinc chloride hydride (H?Zn?Cl)₂ is the key species for the production of amines.     

Force-field parametrization based on radial and energy distribution functions

We propose a novel force-field-parametrization procedure that fits the parameters of potential functions in a manner that the pair distribution function (DF) of molecules derived from candidate parameters can reproduce the given target DF. Conventionally, approaches to minimize the difference between the candidate and target DFs employ radial DFs (RDF). RDF itself has been reported to be insufficient for uniquely identifying the parameters of a molecule. To overcome the weakness, we introduce energy DF (EDF) as a target DF, which describes the distribution of the pairwise energy of molecules. We found that the EDF responds more sensitively to a small perturbation in the pairwise potential parameters and provides better fitting accuracy compared to that of RDF. These findings provide valuable insights into a wide range of coarse graining methods, which determine parameters using information obtained from a higher-level calculation than that of the developed force field. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Computational Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Pd‐initiated polymerization of diazo compounds bearing dialkoxyphosphinyl group and hydrolysis of the resulting polymers and oligomers to afford phosphonic acid‐containing products

Pd‐initiated polymerization and oligomerization of diazo compounds containing a dialkoxyphosphinyl group are described. Polymerization of 2‐dialkoxyphosphinylethyl diazoacetates with π‐allylPdCl‐based initiating systems afforded C? C main chain polymers bearing phosphonate on each main chain carbon atom. The quantitative transformation of the side chain phosphonate to phosphonic acid resulted in the formation of water soluble polymers having the acid groups accumulated around their main chains, although the carbonyl ester linkage in the side chain was cleaved via intramolecular acid‐assisted hydrolysis in water at 80 °C. Pd‐initiated oligomerization of diethyl diazomethylphosphonate yielded an oligomeric product bearing diethoxyphosphiny groups directly attached to its main chain carbons, with unexpected incorporation of azo group in the main chain framework. Hydrolysis of the phosphonate of the oligomer afforded a water‐soluble product, which was revealed to show higher proton conductivity than poly(vinylphosphonic acid) under certain conditions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1742–1751     

Preparation of cellulosic soft and composite materials using ionic liquid media and ion gels

Cellulose - Ionic liquids (ILs) are powerful media for the modification and functionalization of cellulose. This review article discusses the preparation of cellulosic soft and composite materials...     

Synthesis of C12-Keto Saxitoxin Derivatives with Unusual Inhibitory Activity Against Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels

A novel series of C12-keto-type saxitoxin (STX) derivatives bearing an unusual nonhydrated form of the ketone at C12 has been synthesized, and their Na_V-inhibitory activity has been evaluated in a cell-based assay as well as whole-cell patch-clamp recording. Among these compounds, 11-benzylidene STX ( 3 a ) showed potent inhibitory activity against neuroblastoma Neuro 2A in both cell-based and electrophysiological analyses, with EC₅₀ and IC₅₀ values of 8.5 and 30.7 nm , respectively. Interestingly, the compound showed potent inhibitory activity against tetrodotoxin-resistant subtype of Na_V1.5, with an IC₅₀ value of 94.1 nm . Derivatives 3 a – d and 3 f showed low recovery rates from Na_V1.2 subtype (ca 45–79 %) compared to natural dcSTX ( 2 ), strongly suggesting an irreversible mode of interaction. We propose an interaction model for the C12-keto derivatives with Na_V in which the enone moiety in the STX derivatives 3 works as Michael acceptor for the carboxylate of Asp¹⁷¹⁷.     

One-Pot Synthesis of Enantioenriched β-Amino Secondary Amides via an Enantioselective [4+2] Cycloaddition Reaction of Vinyl Azides with N-Acyl Imines Catalyzed by a Chiral Brønsted Acid

A catalytic enantioselective synthesis of β-amino secondary amides was achieved using vinyl azides as the enamine-type nucleophile and chiral N-Tf phosphoramide as the chiral Brønsted acid catalyst through a five-step sequential transformation in one pot. The established sequential transformation involves an enantioselective [4+2] cycloaddition reaction of vinyl azides with N-acyl imines as the key stereo-determining step that is efficiently accelerated by a chiral N-Tf phosphoramide catalyst in a highly enantioselective manner in most cases. Further generation of the iminodiazonium ion intermediate through ring opening of the cycloaddition product and subsequent skeletal rearrangement involving Schmidt-type 1,2-aryl group migration followed by recyclization of the resulting nitrilium ion were also initiated by the same acid catalyst. Final acid hydrolysis of the recyclized products in the same pot gave rise to enantioenriched β-amino amides through C−C bond formation at the α-position of the secondary amides.