Planar Chiral Rhodium Complexes of 1,4-Benzoquinones

Diene rhodium complexes are important catalysts in modern organic synthesis. Herein, we report a new approach to such complexes with the uncommon planar chirality. The synthesis is achieved by face-selective coordination of the prochiral 2,5-disubstituted-1,4-benzoquinones (R₂-Q) with rhodium precursors containing the chiral auxiliary ligand S-salicyl-oxazoline (S-Salox). Such coordination leads to the formation of (R,R-R₂-Q)Rh(S-Salox) complexes in high yields and with exceptional diastereoselectivity (d. r.>20 : 1). Subsequent replacement of the auxiliary ligand provides various benzoquinone rhodium complexes with retention of the planar chirality. Combined theoretical and experimental studies show that due to their electron-withdrawing nature benzoquinones bind metals stronger than the related 1,4-cyclohexadiene, but weaker than other common diene ligands, such as cyclooctadiene.     

The 1H and 13C NMR chemical shifts of Strychnos alkaloids revisited at the DFT level

The density functional theory calculation of ¹H and ¹³C NMR chemical shifts in a series of ten 10 classically known Strychnos alkaloids with a strychnine skeleton was performed at the PBE0/pcSseg-2//pcseg-2 level. It was found that calculated ¹H and ¹³C NMR chemical shifts provided a markedly good correlation with experiment characterized by a mean absolute error of 0.08 ppm in the range of 7 ppm for protons and 1.67 ppm in the range of 150 ppm for carbons, so that a mean absolute percentage error was as small as ~1% in both cases.     

Synthesis and antimycobacterial activity of purine conjugates with (S)-lysine and (S)-ornithine

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Identification of pyrrolo-pyridine derivatives as novel class of antibacterials

Molecular Diversity - A series of 5-oxo-4H-pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyridine derivatives was identified as novel class of highly potent antibacterial agents during an extensive large-scale high-throughput...     

Influence of the Degree of Deacetylation of Chitosan and BMP-2 Concentration on Biocompatibility and Osteogenic Properties of BMP-2/PLA Granule-Loaded Chitosan/β-Glycerophosphate Hydrogels

Compositions based on chitosan/β-glycerophosphate hydrogels with highly porous polylactide granules can be used to obtain moldable bone graft materials that have osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties. To eliminate the influence of such characteristics as chain length, degree of purification, and molecular weight on a designed material, the one-stock chitosan sample was reacetylated to degrees of deacetylation (DD%) of 19.5, 39, 49, 55, and 56. A study of the chitosan/β-glycerophosphate hydrogel with chitosan of a reduced DD% showed that a low degree of deacetylation increased the MSCs (multipotent stromal cells) viability rate in vitro and reduced the leukocyte infiltration in subcutaneous implantation to Wistar rats in vivo. The addition of 12 wt% polylactide granules resulted in optimal composite mechanical and moldable properties, and increased the modulus of elasticity of the hydrogel-based material by approximately 100 times. Excessive filling of the material with PLA (polylactide) granules (more than 20%) led to material destruction at a ~10% strain. Osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties of the chitosan hydrogel-based material with reacetylated chitosan (39 DD%) and highly porous polylactide granules impregnated with BMP-2 (bone morphogenetic protein-2) have been demonstrated in models of orthotopic and ectopic bone formation. When implanted into a critical-size calvarial defect in rats, the optimal concentration of BMP-2 was 10 μg/mL: bone tissue areas filled the entire material’s thickness. Implantation of the material with 50 μg/mL BMP-2 was accompanied with excessive growth of bone tissue and material displacement beyond the defect. Significant osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties of the material with 10 μg/mL of BMP-2 were also shown in subcutaneous implantation.     

Study of all stages of the Diels–Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene with 2,3-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone and monoadducts: Kinetics,thermochemistry, and high pressure effect

The kinetic parameters and enthalpies of the Diels–Alder reactions between cyclopentadiene and 2,3-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone leading to the formation of two different monoadducts and bisadduct were determined. The stability of adducts is compared. Monoadduct appears to be thermodynamically more stable than the bisadduct. Comparison with the other Diels–Alder reactions studied previously allows us to conclude that the heat effects upon formation of the considered Diels–Alder adducts are the lowest in comparison with all the studied dienophiles.