Microwave-assisted, regioselective, Petasis olefination of unsymmetrical oxalates. Formation of pyruvate-based enol ethers and enamines

The Petasis olefination of unsymmetrical oxalates and oxalate monoesters/monoamides (tert-BuO₂CC(O)X, where X = OR, NR₂) is highly regioselective and provides pyruvate-based enol ether and enamine derivatives. The olefination step occurs under conventional thermal conditions, but is dramatically improved--shorter reaction times and higher yields--when promoted by microwave irradiation.     

Diastereoselective Petasis Mannich reactions accelerated by hexafluoroisopropanol: a pyrrolidine-derived arylglycine synthesis

A diastereoselective synthesis of pyrrolidine-derived arylglycines has been developed using the Petasis boronic acid Mannich reaction. High diastereoselectivities in the reactions of chiral amines, aryl boronic acids, and glyoxylic acid monohydrate have been demonstrated for the first time. Key to the implementation of this method is the discovery that hexafluoroisopropanol accelerates the Petasis process, reducing reaction times from multiple days to less than 24 h.     

Continuous system with microwave irradiation to obtain alkyl benzoates

In this study, a continuous linear alcohol derivatization is developed. Reaction of alcohol group (ROH) with benzoyl chloride (BC) is carried out in an on-line system with UV detection. All reaction conditions, as flow rate (FR), ROH/BC molar ratio, wavelength, temperature, microwave (MW) irradiation and reaction coil size (internal diameter and length) were optimized. 0.5 mL min⁻¹, 2.49 [BC]/[ROH], 230 nm, 60 °C or medium power (225 W) when MW irradiation was used and a reactor coil of 159 μL (0.5 mm × 810 mm) were the optimum conditions. The on-line system with microwave irradiation was more efficient than the one with a water bath heating. The developed system reduces analysis time consumption, reagent amounts and this system was used to evaluate the composition of commercial samples of alcohols polyethoxylated (surfactants).     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of 2-aminonicotinic acids by reacting 2-chloronicotinic acid with amines

2-(Methylamino)nicotinic acid was readily prepared in high yield by reacting 2-chloronicotinic acid with 40% aq MeNH₂ under microwave irradiation either at 120 °C for 2 h or at 140 °C for 1.5 h. Subsequently, we found that a range of 2-aminonicotinic acids could be obtained under microwave heating. The optimal reaction conditions involved the use of 3 equiv of amine, water as the solvent and heating at 200 °C for 2 h in the presence of diisopropylethylamine (3 equiv).     

Microwave-assisted amination of 3-bromo-2-chloropyridine with various substituted aminoethanols

A simple method for microwave-assisted amination of 3-bromo-2-chloropyridine with various substituted aminoethanols is described. The reaction was carried out under microwave irradiation conditions (at 180 °C for 1-2 h) and the result was superior in terms of conversion and yield when compared to that of the corresponding conventional heating conditions.     

Synthesis of α-aminonitriles under mild catalytic,metal-free conditions

α-Aminonitriles have been synthesized by a Strecker synthesis from aldehydes and ketones under mild catalytic, metal-free conditions. Aromatic aldehydes (1 equiv) were reacted with aromatic and 1° or 2° aliphatic amines (1 equiv) in EtOH containing 3 mol % of NH₄Cl to give high yields of α-aminonitriles. An alternative to adding NH₄Cl as a catalyst involved the use of excess TMSCN (1 equiv) and to promote the process. The reaction was also successful under microwave conditions using excess TMSCN with no solvent. Ketones similarly reacted with aromatic amines and excess TMSCN under conventional and microwave heating, but 30 mol % of added NH₄Cl was required for optimum conversion.     

Simple access to pentacyclic oxazinoisoquinolines via an unexpected transformation of aminomethylnaphthols

Unexpected reactions between 1-α-aminobenzyl-2-naphthol, 1-aminomethyl-2-naphthol, N-benzyl-1-α-aminobenzyl-2-naphthol and 6,7-dimethoxy-3,4-dihydroisoquinoline to furnish naphth[1,2-e][1,3]oxazino[2,3-a]isoquinolines are reported. The reaction conditions involved classical heating at 80 °C in MeCN for 22 h (57-62%), or the use of microwave conditions (100 °C), which allowed a reduction of the reaction time to 90 min and resulted in somewhat higher yields (73-82%).     

An evaluation of microwave-assisted derivatization procedures using hyphenated mass spectrometric techniques

The potential of microwave-assisted derivatization techniques in systematic toxicological analysis using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was evaluated. Special emphasis was placed on the use of dedicated microwave reactors incorporating online temperature and pressure control. The use of such equipment allowed a detailed analysis of several microwave-assisted derivatization protocols comparing the efficiency of microwave and conventional heating methods utilizing a combination of GC–MS and liquid chromatography coupled with mass detection (LC–MS and LC–MS/MS) techniques. These studies revealed that for standard derivatization protocols such as acetylation (exemplified for codeine and morphine), pentafluoropropionylation (for 6-monoacetylmorphine) and trimethylsilylation (for Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol) a reaction time of 5 min at 100 °C in a microwave reactor was sufficient to allow for an effective derivatization. Control experiments using standard operating procedures (30 min at 60 °C conventional heating) indicated that the faster derivatization under microwave irradiation is a consequence of the higher reaction temperatures that can rapidly be attained in a sealed vessel and the more efficient heat transfer to the reaction mixture applying direct in core microwave dielectric heating. The results suggest that microwave derivatization procedures can significantly reduce the overall analysis time and increase sample throughput for GC–MS-based analytical methods.     

Microwave-assisted on-line derivatization for sensitive flow injection fluorometric determination of formaldehyde in some foods

A rapid and sensitive flow injection fluorometry has been developed for the determination of formaldehyde based on the microwave on-line accelerating its Hantzsch reaction with cyclohexane-1,3-dione. Under the optimized conditions, the fluorescent intensity is proportional to formaldehyde content in the range from 0.05 ng/mL to 2.000 μg/mL. The detection limit (S/N = 3) is 0.02 ng/mL and the analytical frequency is 28 injections per hour. The relative standard deviations are 2.2% and 3.1% for eleven injections of 0.100 and 0.001 μg/mL of formaldehyde, respectively. With the assistance of microwave irradiation, a best sensitive fluorometry was established for the determination of formaldehyde at a high analytical frequency. This method was successfully applied to food analysis without requiring any sample pretreatment, and the determination results were correlated well with those obtained by the standard method with a sample pretreatment of steam distillation.     

Copper-catalyzed rearrangement of oximes into primary amides

The atom-efficient and cost-effective rearrangement of oximes into primary amides is catalyzed by simple copper salts. The use of homogeneous Cu(OAc)₂ (1-2 mol %) was found to be effective for this transformation at 80 °C. The reaction was successful with either conventional or microwave heating. CuO and CuO/ZnO on activated carbon provided a competent reuseable heterogeneous catalyst which could be used in a batch process or in flow. Copper salts are much cheaper than the precious metals previously used for this rearrangement, and the reaction conditions are milder than those reported.     

Microwave assisted ecofriendly recycling of poly (ethylene terephthalate) bottle waste

Glycolysis of poly (ethylene terephthalate) bottle waste was carried out using microwave energy. A domestic microwave oven of 800 W was used with suitable modification for carrying out the reaction under reflux. The catalysts used for the depolymerization in ethylene glycol (EG) were zinc acetate and some simple laboratory chemicals such as sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate and barium hydroxide. Comparison of results was made from the point of view of the yield of bis (2-hydroxyethylene) terephthalate (BHET) and the time taken for depolymerization. It was observed that under identical conditions of catalyst concentration and PET:EG ratio, the yield of BHET was nearly same as that obtained earlier by conventional electric heating. However, the time taken for completion of reaction was reduced drastically from 8 h to 35 min. This has led to substantial saving in energy.     

Preliminary analysis to BIIR recovery using the microwave process

This paper shows the results of preliminary assessment to devulcanize and recover the bromobutyl rubber (BIIR) using the microwave process. In this work, a heat generating system with high microwave frequency (2.45 GHz) was used. Samples of BIIR (about 0.250 kg) such as rubber caps production leftovers and materials that had not been approved in the quality tests were irradiated, at powers of 1000 W, 2000 W and 3000 W. Various heating times were used: 540 s (9  min) up to 1500 s (25 min). The standard test specimens of non-irradiated and irradiated samples were characterized by rheometric analysis, Shore A hardness measurement and ash test. The best operation conditions were obtained at 780 s and 2000 W. The results showed that the microwave process caused an expressive effect in the BIIR recovery. Some samples presented the tendency to vulcanize again, hence there is a great expectancy for reusing and recycling the devulcanized BIIR, without using any chemical agent in the microwave process.     

Microwave assisted Diels-Alder cycloaddition of 2-fluoro-3-methoxy-1,3-butadiene

The title fluorodiene (2) reacts with several dienophiles in moderate yields (20-65%, 0.5 h to 3d) when thermal activation is used. When 100 W microwave radiation is used the reaction yields (70-90%, 5-25 min) are greatly improved and the reaction times are much shorter. A microwave procedure is also used for the hydrolysis of vinyl ether cycloadducts to alpha-fluoroketones.     

Microwave-initiated living free radical polymerization: optimization of the preparative scale synthesis of Rasta resins

Microwave heating of high-loading TEMPO-methyl resin with functionalized styrenyl monomers in an ADVANCER™ preparative scale microwave synthesizer affords larger resin beads (>375 μm) via living free radical polymerization (LFRP). Unlike homogeneous MAOS reactions, the heterogeneous LFRP reaction is not directly scalable and required significant optimization. Under modified conditions, high-loading Rasta resins (>3.8 mmol/g) are reproducibly obtained in 40-100 g quantities.     

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography: an application for the simultaneous determination of suspected fragrance allergens in rinse-off products

The feasibility of microwave-accelerated derivatization for capillary electrophoresis (CE) with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection was evaluated. The derivatization reaction was performed in a domestic microwave oven. Histidine (His), 1-methylhistidine (1-MH) and 3-methylhistidine (3-MH) were selected as test analytes and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was chosen as a fluorescent derivatizing reagent. Parameters that may affect the derivatization reaction and/or subsequent CE separation were systematically investigated. Under optimized conditions, the microwave-accelerated derivatization reaction was successfully completed within 150 s, compared to 4-24 h in a conventional water-bath derivatization process. This will remarkably reduce the overall analysis time and increase sample throughput of CE-LIF. The detection limits of this method were found to be 0.023 ng/mL for His, 0.023 ng/mL for 1-MH, and 0.034 ng/mL for 3-MH, respectively, comparable to those obtained using traditional derivatization protocols. The proposed method was characterized in terms of precision, linearity, accuracy and successfully applied for rapid and sensitive determination of these analytes in human urine.     

Copper-catalyzed alkyne-aryne coupling reaction under microwave conditions: preparation of unsymmetric and symmetric di-substituted alkynes

Several unsymmetric and symmetric alkynes were prepared excellent to modest yields by generating benzyne from the reaction of 2-(trimethylsilyl)phenyl triflate with CsF in the presence of CuI and terminal alkyne under microwave heating for 30 min at 150 °C. Using conventional heating, the reactions required 24 h reaction time.     

Palladium-phosphinous acid-catalyzed cross-coupling of aliphatic and aromatic acyl chlorides with boronic acids

The cross-coupling of aromatic and aliphatic acyl chlorides with arylboronic acids in the presence of 2.5 mol % of (t-Bu₂POH)₂PdCl₂ (POPd) provides rapid access to ketones that are obtained in up to 93% yield. This palladium-phosphinous acid-catalyzed reaction is completed within 10 min when microwave irradiation is used, and it overcomes typical drawbacks of Friedel-Crafts acylation procedures such as harsh reaction conditions, untunable regiocontrol, and low substrate scope.     

Microwave-assisted high-throughput derivatization techniques utilizing silicon carbide microtiter platforms

Parallel microwave-assisted gas chromatography (GC) derivatization protocols utilizing a silicon carbide (SiC)-based microtiter plate platform fitted with screw-capped GC vials were developed. For three selected standard derivatization protocols such as acetylation (exemplified for morphine), pentafluoropropionylation (for 6-monoacetylmorphine) and trimethylsilylation (for Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol) complete derivatization was achieved within 5 min at 100 °C in a dedicated multimode microwave instrument using online temperature monitoring. Microwave irradiation leads to rapid and homogeneous heating of the strongly microwave-absorbing SiC plate, with minimal deviations in the temperature recorded at different positions of the plate. The current platform allows the simultaneous derivatization of 80 reaction mixtures under strictly controlled temperature conditions. Similar results can also be obtained using a standard hotplate as heating source, although heating to the target temperature of 100 °C is slightly slower. The results demonstrate that parallel microwave derivatization procedures can significantly reduce the overall analysis time and increase sample throughput for GC–MS-based analytical methods.     

Continuous determination of total flavonoids in Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco by dynamic microwave-assisted extraction coupled with on-line derivatization and ultraviolet-visible detection

This paper describes a new method for the determination of total flavonoids in Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco. The method was based on dynamic microwave-assisted extraction (DMAE) coupled with on-line derivatization and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) detection. The influence of the experimental conditions was tested. Maximum extraction yield was achieved using 80% aqueous methanol of extraction solvent; 80 W of microwave output power; 5 min of extraction time; 1.0 mL min⁻¹ of extraction solvent flow rate. The derivatization reaction between aluminium chloride and flavonoid is one of the most sensitive and selective reactions for total flavonoids determination. The optimized derivatization conditions are as follows: derivatization reagent 1.5% aluminium chloride methanol solution; reaction coil length 100 cm; derivatization reagent flow rate 1.5 mL min⁻¹. The detection and quantification limits obtained are 0.28 and 0.92 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precisions (R.S.D.) obtained are 1.5% and 4.6%, respectively. Mean recovery is 98.5%. This method was successfully applied to the determination of total flavonoids in P. orientalis (L.) Franco and compared with heat reflux extraction. The results showed that the higher extraction yield of total flavonoids was obtained by DMAE with shorter extraction time (5 min) and small quantity of extraction solvent (5 mL).     

Microwave plasma growth and high spatial resolution cathodoluminescent spectrum of tetrapod ZnO nanostructures

A novel microwave plasma assisted by tube furnace heating system is designed to grow tetrapod ZnO nanostructures. Under optimal reaction conditions, Zn powder is oxidated to form the tetrapod ZnO with straight and uniform four legs (nanorods), bearing diameters ranging from 10 to 25 nm and lengths up to 160 nm. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy analyses reveals that the tetrapod ZnO nanostructures are perfect crystalloid. High spatial resolution cathodoluminescent spectrum for individual tetrapod ZnO nanostructure shows only a strong ultraviolet emission at 385 nm.