Zur lokalisierung funktioneller gruppen mit hilfe der massenspektrometrie—VIII : 6-hydroxy-androstan-3,17-dione und 6,17β-dihydroxy-androstan-3-one

5β-androstan-3-ones carrying a 6α-OH group show in their mass spectra a key-ion indicating the loss of water and C-1 to C-4 as C₄H₅O? particle. 6β-OH isomers lose instead C-1 to C-4 in form of C₄H₇O?.In 6α-hydroxy-androstan-3-ones differentiation between the connection of the A/B-ring system is possible, because in 5α-isomers the loss of C-3 to C-7 occurs as a C₅H₆O₂ particle, while the 5β-isomers lose the same C atoms as a C₅H₇O? unit.Compounds with a 6β-OH group in an A/B trans connected ring system show a tendency for thermal water elimination. After rearrangement of the double bond in 4,5 position the typical fragments for 3-keto-Δ⁴-steroids are obtained.Occasionally a strong influence of a 6-OH group on fragmentation reactions in the D-ring system is observed: The presence of a 6α-OH group in an androstan-3,17-dione enhances the loss of C-16 and C-17 in the form of acetaldehydenol. Also the connection of the A/B-ring system may have a considerable influence on this type of reaction: In 6,17β-dihydroxy-androstan-3-ones only by trans connection of the A/B-ring system, C-16 and C-17 are lost with high probability after water elimination.     

Zur lokalisierung funktioneller gruppen in steroiden mit hilfe der massenspektrometrie—VII : 3,11-Dihydroxypregnan-20-one

The mass spectrometric degradation reactions of 3,11-dihydroxypregnan-20-ones concern mainly cleavage reactions in the D ring. Characteristic fragments are the ions of mass 43 combined with ions of mass 84 and 85. Equally, after single and double loss of water CH₃CO? is eliminated, as well as C 15–17, C20 and C21.All spectra of 3,11-dihydroxypregnan-20-ones are characterised by a key fragment of mass 190 produced by cleavage of bonds in the B ring.Ions with an 11α-OH group show important ions of mass 124 which are dominating if the A/B ring system is cis connected. In contrast the configuration of an OH group in position 3 can hardly be deduced by the spectra.     

Spectral analysis of naringenin deprotonation in aqueous ethanol solutions

The deprotonation of 5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)chroman-4-one (naringenin) was studied in aqueous solutions of ethanol and 0.1 mol L^?1 sodium perchlorate at 25°C. The chemical species that contributed to deprotonation were evaluated together with their pure spectral characteristics and concentration profiles by some chemometric methods. The deprotonation constants assigned by pK ₁, pK ₂, and pK ₃ were determined by multivariate curve analysis of spectral data at different pcH values. The pure spectral analysis concordant with the theoretical prediction of deprotonation constants indicates that the acidity of hydroxyl groups in naringenin decreases in the order: 7-OH, 4′-OH, 5-OH. The effects of the solvent on deprotonation were analysed in terms of the linear solvation energy relationships using the model of Kamlet, Abboud, and Taft (KAT). Multiple linear regressions were aimed towards correlating the deprotonation constants with the microscopic parameters containing hydrogen-bond acidity (α), dipolarity/polarisability (π*), and hydrogen-bond basicity (β). The most significant parameter was found to be the hydrogen-bond acidity of binary mixtures.     

Synthesis of α,α-disubstituted 4-phosphonophenylalanine analogues as conformationally-constrained phosphotyrosyl mimetics

Syntheses of N-Boc (S)-4-(diethylphosphono)-(α-methyl)phenylalanine [Boc-(α-Me)Phe(4-PO₃Et₂)-OH] (9) and N-Boc (S)-2-amino-6-(diethylphosphono)tetralin-2-carboxylic acid [Boc-Atc(6-PO₃Et₂)-OH] (18) are reported as conformationally-constrained phosphotyrosyl mimetics suitably protected for peptide synthesis. Both syntheses proceeded through chiral arylhalides that are converted to arylphosphonates by palladium-catalyzed cross coupling with diethylphosphite. These amino acid analogues may be useful in the study of cellular signal transduction processes.     

Steroids and steroidases—XIX : Comparison of diazomethane and tiffeneau-demjanov homologations of 5α-3-oxosteroids. Evidence for predominant equatorial approach of the C-3 carbonyl group by diazomethane

Quantitative comparisons of the product ratios of the mechanistically similar diazomethane and Tiffeneau-Demjanov homologations of 17β-hydroxy-5α-androstan-3-one and 5α-cholestan-3-one have shown that equatorial approach of diazomethane to the C-3 CO group predominates to the extent of 70–79%. The data for both the C-17β-OH and -C₈H₁₇ substituted steroids are in close agreement thereby confirming that the C-17 substituents do not exert any significant long range effect on the reactions studied.     

Fourier transform 13C nuclear magnetic resonance studies of steroids—II : Derivatives of 17β-(2,5-dihydro-5-oxo-3-furyl)-3β,5α,6-trihydroxyandrostane

The natural abundance ¹³C NMR spectra of derivatives of 17β-(2,5-dihydro-5-oxo-3-furyl)-3β,5α,6-trihydroxy androstane have been measured and completely assigned. The substituent chemical shifts (S.C.S's) for 11α- and 17α-OH substitution are evaluated. The magnitude and sign of the S.C.S.'s are discussed and compared with previous results from the literature.     

‘Bis-ornithine’ (2,2-bis(aminopropyl)glycine): a new tetravalent template for assembling different functional peptides

Synthesis of bis-ornithine, a new C^α,α-disubstituted α-amino acid bearing orthogonally protected α and δ amine groups is reported. Bis-ornithine (bisOrn) and dipeptides containing bis-ornithine have been synthesized in solution up to multigram scale. As a first example, one of these compounds Boc-βAla-bisOrn(Alloc)₂-OH has been attached to a solid support and used as template for the synthesis of a symmetrical assemblage of peptides.     

One-Step Chemo-, Regio- and Stereoselective Reduction of Ketosteroids to Hydroxysteroids over Zr-Containing MOF-808 Metal-Organic Frameworks

Zr-containing MOF-808 is a very promising heterogeneous catalyst for the selective reduction of ketosteroids to the corresponding hydroxysteroids through a Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reaction. Interestingly, the process leads to the diastereoselective synthesis of elusive 17α-hydroxy derivatives in one step, whereas most chemical and biological transformations produce the 17β-OH compounds, or they require several additional steps to convert 17β-OH into 17α-OH by inverting the configuration of the 17 center. Moreover, MOF-808 is found to be stable and reusable; it is also chemoselective (only keto groups are reduced, even in the presence of other reducible groups such as C=C bonds) and regioselective (in 3,17-diketosteroids only the keto group in position 17 is reduced, while the 3-keto group remains almost intact). The kinetic rate constant and thermodynamic parameters of estrone reduction to estradiol have been obtained by a detailed temperature-dependent kinetic analysis. The results evidence a major contribution of the entropic term, thus suggesting that the diastereoselectivity of the process is controlled by the confinement of the reaction inside the MOF cavities, where the Zr⁴⁺ active sites are located.     

Solanopubamine,a rare steroidal alkaloid from Solanum schimperianum: Synthesis of some new alkyl and acyl derivatives,their anticancer and antimicrobial evaluation

Solanopubamine (3β-amino-5α, 22αH, 25βH-solanidan-23β-ol), a steroidal alkaloid was isolated from the alkaloidal fraction of Solanum schimperianum in significant yield. Its structure was established by IR, positive ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR. The presence of -3β-NH₂ and -23β-OH groups was achieved through methylation, acetylation or coupling with octadecanoic and undec-11-enoic acids to produce six derivatives (2–7). Their structures were confirmed by spectroscopic analyses. Solanopubamine and semi-synthetic analogs are investigated for their in vitro cytotoxicity against a panel of human cancer cell lines and anti-microbial activity. Solanopubamine showed good antifungal activity only against Candida albicans and C. tenuis with MIC of 12.5 μg/mL. Semi-synthesized compounds (2–7) have failed to show anti-tumor and anti-microbial activities.     

Thioester-assisted α-sialylation reaction

α-Selective sialylation reactions were carried out using novel sialic acid building blocks that possess a thioester auxiliary. In contrast to other arylthio- and benzylthioester derivatives, sialyl phosphite 1a (with the phenylthioester moiety) was employed as the α-selective building block, and was reacted with various primary alcohols, including the C6-OH group of galactose and glucose, with moderate to excellent α-selectivities. For C3-OH of the galactose, 4,6-di-O-benzylgalactal afforded desired α-linkage with excellent selectivity.     

Discrimination between an Antiparallel and a Parallel β5.6-Helix Using 1Hα-NMR Spin-Lattice Relaxation

The ¹H-NMR spectrum of Boc-(L -Val-D -Val)₄-OH in CDCl₃ can be attributed either to an antiparallel or to a parallel double-stranded β^5.6-helical structure. To resolve this ambiguity, T₁-measurements have been carried out for the α-protons of Boc-(L -Val-D -Val)₄-OH and its monodeuterated analogue Boc-(L -Val-D -Val)₂ -α-²H-L -Val-D -Val-L -Val-D -Val-L -Val-D -Val-OH. The results show that the H^α of the fifth residue in one strand is close to the H^α of the seventh residue in the other strand, as expected for an antiparallel arrangement, a conclusive demonstration that the correct structure of Boc-(L -Val-D -Val)₄-OH is antiparallel.     

A new method for synthesizing hyperbranched polymers with reductive groups using redox/RAFT/SCVP

The novel hyperbranced polymers containing reductive groups were successfully prepared and characterized using redox/reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer(RAFT)/self-condensing vinyl polymerization(SCVP) method. Several redox initiating chemicals such as Cu(III)/―CONH2, Ce(IV)/―CONH2 and Ce(IV)/―OH were chosen to increase the free radical generating rate, and the chain transfer agent(CTA) was used to reduce the molecular chain propagating rate, in order to obtain polymers with high degree of branching. Detailed analyses based on the molecular weight, ? value and the degree of branching of polymers(DB) obtained from 1H-NMR spectra and multi detector size exclusion chromatography(MDSEC) suggested the acquiring of hyperbranced polyacrylamides with Cu(III)/―CONH2 and Ce(IV)/―CONH2 as initiator in the presence of the CTA. Meanwhile, the as-prepared poly(N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide)(PNHAM) with higher DB value(0.48) proved that using Ce(IV)/―OH as the initiator could increase the free radical generating rate and diminish the gap between the propagating rate and the initiation rate during the reaction procedure. In addition, the effect of oxidant concentration on the Mark-Houwink index(?) value and the DB was also studied.     

Temperature-Dependent Organic Functionalization of {Ni6PW9} Species: from Isolated Clusters to 1D Chain

Four new hexa-nickel(II)-substituted Keggin-type tungstophosphates [Ni₆(μ₃-OH)₃(oeen)₃(H₂O)₃(B-α-PW₉O₃₄)]·6H₂O (1, oeen = N-(2-hydroxyethyl)enediamine), [Ni₆(μ₃-OH)₃(oeen)₃(H₂O)₄(B-α-PW₉O₃₄)]₂·13H₂O (2), [Ni₆(μ₃-OH)₃(oeen)₂(tran)(H₂O)₃(B-α-PW₉O₃₄)]·3H₂O (3, tran = 1,4,7-triazonane) and [Ni₆(μ₃-OH)₃(oeen)₂(tran)(H₂O)₂(B-α-PW₉O₃₄)]·6H₂O (4) have hydrothermally made by controlling their reaction temperatures. 1–4 have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffraction, respectively. Structural analyses reveal that they consist of {Ni₆(μ₃-OH)₃(H₂O) _n }⁹⁺ cores and B-α-PW₉O₃₄ (PW₉) units, and further are stabilized by organic neutral oeen/tran molecules. 1–3 are isolated clusters while 4 is the 1D chain structure. It should be noted that the tran molecules in 3 and 4 are derived from the oeen molecules in the starting materials.     

Reduction of various ketones by red algae

The reduction of acetophenone derivatives, (+)- and (−)-camphorquinones and steroidal ketones using red algae (Cyanidioschyzon merolae 10D and Cyanidium caldarium) was investigated. It was found that fluoro, chloro and bromo acetophenone derivatives 1a–i were reduced with good enantioselectivity. On the contrary, reduction of methyl and methoxy acetophenone 1j–o showed low enantioselectivity. The reduction followed Prelog’s rule, giving the (S)-alcohols in all cases. Moreover, (+)- camphorquinone 5a was reduced to give (−)-3S- exo-hydroxycamphor 5d as the major product with high stereoselectivity in high yield. In addition, it was found that reduction of 5α-androstane-3,17-dione 8a gave the 3α-OH isomer (3α-OH/3β-OH = 76/24) with high stereoselectivity. Overall it was found that C. merolae and C. caldarium were able to reduce various substrates.     

PMR spectra of the dioxane lignins of some plants of the family Malvaceae

Analysis of PMR spectra of the dioxane lignins of three species ofAthea, of kenaf, and of the cotton plant has shown that the number of free aromatic protons does not correlate with the number of OCH₃ groups, which indicates different degrees of condensation of the dioxane lignins studied. In all the preparations a very small amount of coumarane structures were found. The aliphatic OH groups have been distinguished as primary (γ-OH) and secondary (α-OH) and their quantitative estimation has been carried out from the PMR spectra.     

Bismuth(III) triflate-catalyzed rearrangement of 16α,17α-epoxy-20-oxosteroids. Synthesis and structural elucidation of new 16α-substituted 17α-alkyl-17β-methyl-Δ-18-norsteroids

The use of bismuth(III) triflate for the rearrangement of 16α,17α-epoxy-20-oxosteroids is reported. The reactions occur under truly catalytic conditions to afford novel 17α-alkyl-17β-methyl-Δ¹³-18-nor products bearing different O-containing substituents at C16. When the reaction is performed in the absence of acylation agent a mixture of isomeric 16α- and 16β-hydroxy derivatives is obtained, whereas when carried out in the presence of such reagents, the reaction selectively affords the corresponding 16α-acyl rearranged products. The chemoselective rearrangement of 5β,6β;16α,17α-diepoxy-20-oxopregnan-3β-yl acetate to afford a ‘backbone’ rearranged product bearing the 16α,17α-epoxide group is also reported. Some mechanistic considerations are provided. All rearranged products were the subject of comprehensive structural elucidation, by the use of X-ray crystallography and 2D NMR.     

Diastereo- and enantioseparation of a N-Boc amino acid with a zwitterionic quinine-based stationary phase: Focus on the stereorecognition mechanism

A chiral chromatography method enabling the simultaneous diastereo- and enantioseparation of N^α-Boc-N⁴-(hydroorotyl)-4-aminophenylalanine [Boc-Aph(Hor)-OH, 1] was optimized with a quinine-based zwitterionic stationary phase. The polar-ionic eluent system consisting of ACN:MeOH:water—49.7:49.7:0.6 (v/v/v) with formic acid (4.0 mM) and diethylamine (2.5 mM), allowed the successful separation of the four acid stereoisomers: α_d,d-/d,l-1 = 1.08; α_d,l-/l,d-1 = 1.08; α_l,d-/l,l-1 = 1.40.     

Practical syntheses of optically active carbagalactose and their potential application to the carbocyclic analogues of KRN7000

Carba-α- and β-d-galactose derivatives were efficiently prepared from a cyclohex-3-ene-1,2-diol derivative 1. Regioselective inversion of 2-OH, and stereoselective dihydroxylation of 1 were accomplished to provide a carba-β-d-galactose derivative 6 in a good yield and with a high stereoselectivity. Stereo-inversion of 1-OH of 6 via oxidation/reduction gave carba-α-d-galactose derivative 12 with a high stereoselectivity. An efficient coupling of carba-α-galactose 12 with an aziridine derivative of sphingosine has been demonstrated to give 1-O-carba-α-galactosyl sphingosine derivative 14.     

Two Hexa-Ni-Substituted AsW9O34 Clusters Functionalized by Organic Ligands

Hydrothermal reactions of trilacunary precursor A-α-AsW₉O₃₄ ^9? polyoxoanions and nickel ions in the presence of ethylenediamine (en = ethylenediamine) led to two new hexa-Ni-substituted Keggin-type tungstoarsenates [Ni₆(μ ₃-OH)₃(en)₃(H₂O)₆(B-α-AsW₉O₃₄)]·6H₂O (1) and [Ni₆(μ ₃-OH)₃(en)₃(H₂O)₆(B-α-AsW₉O₃₄)]·10H₂O (2), which have been characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra, powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyses and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Crystal data for 1: hexagonal, R3c, a = b = 20.4379(5) Å, c = 21.5062(6) Å, β = 120º, V = 7779.8 (3) Å³ and Z = 6; for 2: momoclinic, P2₁/c, a = 13.4200(3) Å, b = 19.1428(5) Å, c = 22.8845(9) Å, β = 112.403(3)º, V = 5435.2(3) Å³ and Z = 4. Structural analyses reveal that the [Ni₆(μ ₃-OH)₃(B-α-AsW₉O₃₄)] clusters in 1 and 2 are covalently functionalized by neutral en ligands, in which two similar {Ni₆(μ ₃-OH)₃(en)₃(H₂O)₆}⁹⁺ cores have been observed by our lab. Notably, 1 and 2 represent the highest number of substituted transition metal ions in all known lacunary Keggin-type polyoxotungstoarsenate monomers.     

Air-stable μ2-hydroxyl bridged cationic binuclear complexes of zirconocene perfluorooctanesulfonates: their structures,characterization and application

Three air-stable zirconocene perfluoro-octanesulfonates were successfully synthesized by treatment of C₈F₁₇SO₃Ag with (RCp)₂ZrCl₂ [R?=?H, n-Bu, t-Bu]. According to X-ray analysis, they have μ²-hydroxyl bridged cationic binuclear structures: (i) [CpZr(OH₂)₃]₂(μ²-OH)₂(OSO₂C₈F₁₇)₄·2THF·4H₂O (1a·2THF·4H₂O), (ii) [n-BuCpZr(OH₂)₃]₂(μ²-OH)₂(OSO₂C₈F₁₇)₄·6H₂O (2a·6H₂O), and (iii) [t-BuCpZr(OH₂)₃]₂(μ²-OH)₂(OSO₂C₈F₁₇)₄·2C₃H₆O·8H₂O (3a·2C₃H₆O·8H₂O). The ligands of water and organic molecules in the complexes originated from the moist air and solvent during their recrystallization. These complexes were characterized with different techniques, and found to show water tolerance, air/thermal stability as well as strong Lewis acidity. Moreover, the complexes showed highly catalytic activity in various reactions of CC bond formation. With good recyclability, they should find wide applications in organic chemistry.