Synthesis of γγγ-trifluorocarbonyl compounds

γγγ-Trifluorocarbonyl compounds are easily obtained in a good yield by introduction of the 1,1,1-trifluoroethyl moiety (CF₃-CH₂-) on the -methylene group of a ketone.     

Syntheses of stereodefined β-alkylidene-γ-lactones and substituted β, γ-unsaturated δ-lactones

1-Trimethylsilyl-1,3-diyne derived trans-bis(trimethylstannyl) enynes undergo stepwise transmetallation with methyllithium to furnish the corresponding enynyllithium reagents. The application, in various orders, of a sequence of transmetallation-protonation-alkylation-hydroxyalkylation-hydroboration-oxidation reactions provides a novel approach to stereo-defined β-alkylidene γ-lactones and β, γ-unsaturated δ-lactones.     

γ,δ‐ and δ,ε‐Unsaturated Aldehydes from γ‐ and δ‐Lactones in One Step. Preliminary Communication

A one‐step transformation of γ‐ and δ‐(spiro)lactones into γ,δ‐ and δ,ε‐unsaturated aldehydes with an excess of formic acid in the vapor phase over a supported manganese catalyst is described for the first time. The scope and limitations of this new reaction are shown with different lactones as substrate, and a mechanistic rationale is proposed.     

Enantioselective synthesis of β,β-dialkyl α-hydroxy γ-butyrolactones

An ephedrine-derived morpholine dione is employed in the synthesis of chiral alkylidene morpholinones that are efficiently converted to β-substituted α,γ-dihydroxy butyramides, precursors of the corresponding butyrolactones. Enantioselective synthesis of a spiro analog of pantolactone as well as a naturally occurring pantolactone homolog is achieved with this protocol.     

Carbon Magnetic Resonance Spectra of α, β, γ, δ- and α, β, α′, β′- Unsaturated Ketones

Carbon-13 spectra of a series of 26 unsaturated ketones (ortho- and para-cyclo-hexadienones and corresponding open-chain analogues) have been measured by Fourier-transform. Pulse spectroscopy. A complete analysis has been achieved by means of double resonance experiments using noise-modulated and coherent off-resonance proton irradiation and with the aid of non-decoupled spectra. Chemical shifts are interpreted in terms of charge distribution in the dienone system and of methyl substituent effects. Carbon chemical shifts were also obtained for O-protonated ortho- and para-cyclohexadienones. One-bond and long-range carbon-proton and carbon-fluorine spin coupling constants are reported for several compounds.     

A novel synthesis of α-hydroxy- and α,α′-dihydroxyketone from α-iodo and α,α′-diiodo ketone using photoirradiation

A novel reaction of α-iodo ketone (α-iodocycloalkanone, α-iodo-β-alkoxy ester, and α-iodoacyclicketone) with irradiation under a high-pressure mercury lamp gave the corresponding α-hydroxyketone in good yields. In the case of α,α′-diiodo ketone, α,α′-dihydroxyketone which little has been reported until now was obtained. This reaction affords a new, clean and convenient synthetic method for α-hydroxy- and α,α′-dihydroxyketone.     

Synthese von diastereo- und enantio-selektiv deuterierten β,ε-, β,β-, β,γ- und γ,γ-Carotinen

Synthesis of Diastereo- and Enantioselectively Deuterated β,ε-, β,β-, β,γ- and γ,γ-Carotenes We describe the synthesis of (1′R, 6′S)-[16′, 16′, 16′-²H₃]-β, εcarotene, (1R, 1′R)-[16, 16, 16, 16′, 16′, 16′-²H₆]-β, β-carotene, (1′R, 6′S)-[16′, 16′, 16′-²H₃]-γ, γ-carotene and (1R, 1′R, 6S, 6′S)-[16, 16, 16, 16′, 16′, 16′-²H₆]-γ, γ-carotene by a multistep degradation of (4R, 5S, 10S)-[18, 18, 18-²H₃]-didehydroabietane to optically active deuterated β-, ε- and γ-C₁₁-endgroups and subsequent building up according to schemes \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}${\rm C}_{11} \to {\rm C}_{14}^{C_{\mathop {26}\limits_ \to }} \to {\rm C}_{40} $\end{document} and C₁₁ → C₁₄; C₁₄+C₁₂+C₁₄→C₄₀. NMR.- and chiroptical data allow the identification of the geminal methyl groups in all these compounds. The optical activity of all-(E)-[²H₆]-β,β-carotene, which is solely due to the isotopically different substituent not directly attached to the chiral centres, is demonstrated by a significant CD.-effect at low temperature. Therefore, if an enzymatic cyclization of [17, 17, 17, 17′, 17′, 17′-²H₆]lycopine can be achieved, the steric course of the cyclization step would be derivable from NMR.- and CD.-spectra with very small samples of the isolated cyclic carotenes. A general scheme for the possible course of the cyclization steps is presented.     

Synthesis and Antitumor Activity Evaluation of γ-Monofluorinated and γ,γ-Difluorinated Goniothalamin Analogues

A series of novel γ,γ‐difluorinated Goniothalamin analogues 4a – 4i and 6a – 6i were synthesized. The key steps included the construction of C‐5 stereocenter adjacent to gem‐difluoromethylene group by way of lipase AK catalyzed kinetic resolution, the introduction of aryl group via Stille coupling, and lactonization by 1,5‐oxidative cyclization. These γ,γ‐difluorinated Goniothalamin analogues 4a – 4i and their enantiomers 6a – 6i , together with several corresponding γ‐monofluorinated Goniothalamin analogues were biologically evaluated against four different cancer cell lines. Compound 7h showed a nearly equivalent potency as the parent (R)‐Goniothalamin in the micromolar range. The different fluorine effects between fluoromethylene and gem‐difluoromethylene on antitumor activity were discussed through the analysis of bioassay data.     

Concise Synthesis of α‐Methylene‐β‐hydroxy‐γ‐carboxy‐γ‐lactams

A concise protocol for the synthesis of α‐methylene‐β‐hydroxy‐γ‐carboxy‐γ‐lactams has been described via alkylation of amino acid derived iminoesters with α‐bromomethylmethacrylate, followed by allylic hydroxylation. All the synthesized compounds have been evaluated for their cytotoxicity on multiple myeloma cancer cell lines.     

Preparation of Protected β2‐ and β3‐Homocysteine, β2‐ and β3‐Homohistidine,and β2‐Homoserine for Solid‐Phase Syntheses

The Ser, Cys, and His side chains play decisive roles in the syntheses, structures, and functions of proteins and enzymes. For our structural and biomedical investigations of β‐peptides consisting of amino acids with proteinogenic side chains, we needed to have reliable preparative access to the title compounds. The two β³‐homoamino acid derivatives were obtained by Arndt–Eistert methodology from Boc‐His(Ts)‐OH and Fmoc‐Cys(PMB)‐OH (Schemes 2–4), with the side‐chain functional groups' reactivities requiring special precautions. The β²‐homoamino acids were prepared with the help of the chiral oxazolidinone auxiliary DIOZ by diastereoselective aldol additions of suitable Ti‐enolates to formaldehyde (generated in situ from trioxane) and subsequent functional‐group manipulations. These include OH→O^tBu etherification (for β²hSer; Schemes 5 and 6), OH→STrt replacement (for β²hCys; Scheme 7), and CH₂OH→CH₂N₃→CH₂NH₂ transformations (for β²hHis; Schemes 9–11). Including protection/deprotection/re‐protection reactions, it takes up to ten steps to obtain the enantiomerically pure target compounds from commercial precursors. Unsuccessful approaches, pitfalls, and optimization procedures are also discussed. The final products and the intermediate compounds are fully characterized by retention times (t_R), melting points, optical rotations, HPLC on chiral columns, IR, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, elemental analyses, and (in some cases) by X‐ray crystal‐structure analysis.     

A Novel Synthesis of γ,δ‐Unsaturated Aldehydes from α‐Formyl‐γ‐lactones

A preparatively useful one‐step transformation of γ,γ‐disubstituted α‐formyl‐γ‐lactones into trisubstituted γ,δ‐unsaturated aldehydes is described, by means of catalytic amounts of either AcOH or AcOEt in the vapor phase over a glass support. A mechanistic rationale is proposed.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of α-hydroxy ketone and α-diketone and pyrazine derivatives from α-halo and α,α′-dibromo ketone

A novel reaction of α-halo ketone (α-bromo and α-chloro ketone) with irradiation under microwave gave the corresponding α-hydroxyketone and pyrazine derivative in good yields. In the case of α,α′-dibromo ketone, α-diketone was obtained. This reaction affords a new, clean and convenient synthetic method for α-hydroxyketone, α-diketone, α-chloro ketone and pyrazine derivative.     

Differentiation of Boc‐protected α,δ‐/δ,α‐ and β,δ‐/δ,β‐hybrid peptide positional isomers by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Two new series of Boc‐N‐α,δ‐/δ,α‐ and β,δ‐/δ,β‐hybrid peptides containing repeats of L ‐Ala‐δ⁵‐Caa/δ⁵‐Caa‐L ‐Ala and β³‐Caa‐δ⁵‐Caa/δ⁵‐Caa‐β³‐Caa (L ‐Ala = L ‐alanine, Caa = C‐linked carbo amino acid derived from D ‐xylose) have been differentiated by both positive and negative ion electrospray ionization (ESI) ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). MSⁿ spectra of protonated isomeric peptides produce characteristic fragmentation involving the peptide backbone, the Boc‐group, and the side chain. The dipeptide positional isomers are differentiated by the collision‐induced dissociation (CID) of the protonated peptides. The loss of 2‐methylprop‐1‐ene is more pronounced for Boc‐NH‐L ‐Ala‐δ‐Caa‐OCH₃ (1), whereas it is totally absent for its positional isomer Boc‐NH‐δ‐Caa‐L ‐Ala‐OCH₃ (7), instead it shows significant loss of t‐butanol. On the other hand, second isomeric pair shows significant loss of t‐butanol and loss of acetone for Boc‐NH‐δ‐Caa‐β‐Caa‐OCH₃ (18), whereas these are insignificant for its positional isomer Boc‐NH‐β‐Caa‐δ‐Caa‐OCH₃ (13). The tetra‐ and hexapeptide positional isomers also show significant differences in MS² and MS³ CID spectra. It is observed that ‘b’ ions are abundant when oxazolone structures are formed through five‐membered cyclic transition state and cyclization process for larger ‘b’ ions led to its insignificant abundance. However, b₁⁺ ion is formed in case of δ,α‐dipeptide that may have a six‐membered substituted piperidone ion structure. Furthermore, ESI negative ion MS/MS has also been found to be useful for differentiating these isomeric peptide acids. Thus, the results of MS/MS of pairs of di‐, tetra‐, and hexapeptide positional isomers provide peptide sequencing information and distinguish the positional isomers. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.