Formation of Chiral Structures in UV-Initiated Formose Reaction

It has been found that the UV-initiated formose reaction in an extremely concentrated aqueous solution of formaldehyde gives sugars and other biologically significant chiral compounds with sp³-hybridized carbon atom. The reaction leads to an optically active condensed phase, which is a result of the spontaneous spatial separation of enantiomers in the racemate into the antipodes, similarly to the separation of enantiomers of different chirality sign in the famous Pasteur experiments. In our opinion, such a scenario is as close as possible to the actually realized de novo scenario of synthesis of chiral prebiotic molecules and matrices.     

Synthesis and characterization of L‐leucine containing chiral vinyl monomer and its polymer,poly(2‐(methacryloyloxyamino)‐4‐methyl pentanoic acid)

A chiral monomer containing L ‐leucine as a pendant group was synthesized from methacryloyl chloride and L ‐leucine in presence of sodium hydroxide at 4 °C. The monomer was polymerized by free radical polymerization in propan‐2‐ol at 60 °C using 2,2′‐azobis isobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator under nitrogen atmosphere. The polymer, poly(2‐(Methacryloyloxyamino)‐4‐methyl pentanoic acid) is thus obtained. The molecular weight of the polymer was determined to be: M_w is 6.9 × 10³ and M_n is 5.6 × 10³. The optical rotation of both chiral monomer and its polymer varies with the solvent polarity. The amplification of optical rotation due to transformation of monomer to polymer is associated with the ordered conformation of chiral monomer unit in the polymeric chain due to some secondary interactions like H‐bonding. The synthesized monomer and polymer exhibit intense Cotton effect at 220 nm. The conformation of the chain segments is sensitive to external stimuli, particularly the pH of the medium. In alkaline medium, the ordered chain conformation is destroyed resulting disordered random coils. The ordered coiling conformation is more firmly present on addition of HCl. The polymer exhibits swelling‐deswelling characteristics with the change of pH of the medium, which is reversible. The Cotton effect decreases linearly with the increase of temperature which is reversible on cooling. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2228–2242, 2009     

Formation of Chiral Structures in Photoinitiated Formose Reaction

The possibility to synthesize biologically important sugars and other chiral compounds without any initiators in the UV-initiated reaction of formaldehyde in aqueous solution has been shown for the first time. An optically active condensed phase due to an sp³-hybridized carbon atom has been detected. It has been shown that this phase is formed due to the spatial cleavage of antipodes in the racemate, similar to the cleavage of enantiomers following the sign of chirality in the known experiments of Pasteur. The results have been obtained under the conditions that correspond to modern ideas about the form and vector of prebiological evolution and, therefore, can be of fundamental importance for understanding the processes of biopoiesis.     

Two modes of asymmetric polymerization of phenylacetylenes having an L‐amino alcohol residue and two hydroxy groups

Four novel chiral phenylacetylenes having an L ‐amino alcohol residue and two hydroxymethyl groups were synthesized and polymerized by an achiral catalyst ((nbd)Rh⁺[η⁶‐(C₆H₅)B^?(C₆H₅)₃]) or a chiral catalytic system ([Rh(nbd)Cl]₂/(S)‐ or (R)‐phenylethylamine ((S)‐ or (R)‐PEA)). The two resulting polymers having an L ‐valinol or L ‐phenylalaninol residue showed Cotton effects at wavelengths around 430 nm. This observation indicated that they had an excess of one‐handed helical backbones. Positive and negative Cotton effects were observed only for the polymers having an L ‐valinol residue produced by using (R)‐ and (S)‐PEA as a cocatalyst, respectively, although the monomer had the same chirality. Even when the achiral catalyst was used, the two resulting polymers having an L ‐valinol or L ‐phenylalaninol residue showed Cotton effects despite the long distance between the chiral groups and the main chain. We have found the first example of a new type of chiral monomer, that is, a chiral phenylacetylene monomer having an L ‐amino alcohol residue and two hydroxy groups that was suitable for both modes of asymmetric polymerization, that is, the helix‐sense‐selective polymerization ( HSSP ) with the chiral catalytic system and the asymmetric‐induced polymerization ( AIP ) with the achiral catalyst. The other two monomers having L ‐alaninol and L ‐tyrosinol were found to be unsuitable to neither HSSP nor AIP because of their polymers' low solubility. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Intermolecular interactions in the chiral and racemic forms of 3‐­hydroxy‐2‐(1‐oxoisoindolin‐2‐yl)­butanoic acid derived from threonine

The title compounds, C₁₂H₁₃NO₄, are derived from l ‐threonine and dl ‐threonine, respectively. Hydro­gen bonding in the chiral derivative, (2S/3R)‐3‐hydroxy‐2‐(1‐oxoisoindolin‐2‐yl)­butanoic acid, consists of O—H_acid?O_alkyl—H?O=C_indole chains [O?O 2.659 (3) and 2.718 (3) Å], Csp³—H?O and three C—H?π_arene interactions. In the (2R,3S/2S,3R) racemate, conventional carboxylic acid hydrogen bonding as cyclical (O—H?O=C)₂ [graph set R₂²(8)] is present, with O_alkyl—H?O=C_indole, Csp³—H?O and C—H?π_arene interactions. The COOH group geometry differs between the two forms, with C—O, C=O, C—C—O and C—C=O bond lengths and angles of 1.322 (3) and 1.193 (3) Å, and 109.7 (2) and 125.4 (3)°, respectively, in the chiral structure, and 1.2961 (17) and 1.2210 (18) Å, and 113.29 (12) and 122.63 (13)°, respectively, in the racemate structure. The O—C=O angles of 124.9 (3) and 124.05 (14)° are similar. The differences arise from the contrasting COOH hydrogen‐bonding environments in the two structures.     

Chirality in the Absence of Rigid Stereogenic Elements: The Design of Configurationally Stable C3‐Symmetric Propellers

Residual stereoisomerism is a form of stereoisomerism scarcely considered so far for applicative purposes, though extremely interesting, since the production of stereoisomers does not involve classical rigid stereogenic elements. In three‐bladed propeller‐shaped molecules, a preferred stereomerization mechanism, related to the correlated rotation of the rings, allows the free interconversion of stereoisomers inside separated sets (the residual stereoisomers) that can interconvert through higher energy pathways. In light of possible future applications as chiral ligands for transition metals in stereoselective processes, some C₃‐symmetric phosphorus‐centered propellers, which could exist as residual enantiomers, are synthesized and the possibility of resolving their racemates into residual antipodes is explored. While the tris(aryl)methanes are configurationally stable at room temperature, only selected tris(aryl)phosphane oxides display a configurational stability high enough to allow resolution by HPLC on a chiral stationary phase (CSP HPLC) at a semipreparative level at room temperature. Stability was evaluated through different techniques (circular dichroism (CD) signal decay, dynamic CSP HPLC (CSP DHPLC), dynamic NMR analysis (DNMR)) and the results compared and discussed. Phosphanes were found much less stable than the corresponding phosphane oxides, for which preliminary calculations suggest that the three‐ring‐flip enantiomerization mechanism (M₀) would be easier than phosphorus pyramidal inversion. The parameters affecting the configurational stability of the residual enantiomers of C₃‐symmetric propellers are discussed.     

Etude des melanges d'antipodes optiques—XII: Mesure de la stabilite des racemiques vrais

The stability of true racemates is defined by the free energy change ΔG^φ of the process D-crystal + L-crystal → DL-crystal. ΔG^φ, varying in the range 0 to ?2 kcal mol^?1, is roughly proportional to the difference in melting points between racemate and antipodes, T_R^f ? T_A^f. In most of the examples studied, the formation of racemates is exothermic. The study of the variation of ΔG^φ with temperature explains the occurrence of crystalline transitions between racemate and conglomerate. Few racemates can give rise to such transitions, particularly when their enthalpies and entropies of formation, ΔH^φ and ΔS^φ, are both positive.     

Majority‐Rules‐Type Helical Poly(quinoxaline‐2,3‐diyl)s as Highly Efficient Chirality‐Amplification Systems for Asymmetric Catalysis

A highly efficient majority‐rules effect of poly(quinoxaline‐2,3‐diyl)s (PQXs) bearing 2‐butoxymethyl chiral side chains at the 6‐ and 7‐positions was established and attributed to large ΔG_h values (0.22–0.41 kJ mol^?1), which are defined as the energy difference between P‐ and M‐helical conformations per chiral unit. A PQX copolymer prepared from a monomer derived from (R)‐2‐octanol (23 % ee) and a monomer bearing a PPh₂ group adopted a single‐handed helical structure (>99 %) and could be used as a highly enantioselective chiral ligand in palladium‐catalyzed asymmetric reactions (products formed with up to 94 % ee), in which the enantioselectivity could be switched by solvent‐dependent inversion of the helical PQX backbone.     

Synthesis of Both Enantiomers of Nine‐Membered CF3‐Substituted Heterocycles Using a Single Chiral Ligand: Palladium‐Catalyzed Decarboxylative Ring Expansion with Kinetic Resolution

The two enantiomers of trifluoromethyl‐benzo[c][1,5]oxazonines, (R)‐ 4 and (S)‐ 4 , can be selectively accessed with high enantiopurity by the Pd‐catalyzed ring‐expansion reaction of trifluoromethyl‐benzo[d][1,3]oxazinones ( 1 ) with vinyl ethylene carbonates ( 3 ) using one antipode of a chiral ligand. Initially, the reaction proceeds by a double decarboxylative ring‐expansion with kinetic resolution of 1 in the presence of a Pd‐catalyst/chiral ligand to provide (R)‐ 4 with high enantiopurity. At the same time, the nonreactive antipode of 1 , (S)‐ 1 , which was recovered with an impeccable s factor of up to 713 and an ideal chemical yield, was transferred into the antipode of the products, (S)‐ 4 , with high enantiopurity by a second run of the Pd‐catalyzed double decarboxylation reaction, but this time without any chiral auxiliary. Thus, both antipodes of the chiral trifluoromethyl heterocycles 4 can be obtained in excellent enantiopurity using only a single antipode of the chiral catalyst.     

An Enantioselective Synthesis of Spirobilactams through Copper‐Catalyzed Intramolecular Double N‐Arylation and Phase Separation

Spirobicyclic structures are versatile building blocks for functional chiral molecules. An enantioselective synthesis of chiral spirobilactams via a copper‐catalyzed double N‐arylation was developed. Amplification of solution ee by in situ precipitation of the racemate was observed with this method and enantioenriched spirobilactams were obtained with excellent ee values through simple solid–solution phase separation.     

Enantiomerically pure and racemic dimethyl{N‐[(2‐oxidonaphthalen‐1‐yl‐κO)methylidene]valinato‐κ2N,O}tin(IV)

The title compound, [Sn(CH₃)₂(C₁₆H₁₅NO₃)], crystallized from one reaction batch with high enantiomeric excess as both a pure enantiomer and a racemate. The S enantiomer crystallizes in the chiral space group P3₂. The racemate crystallizes in the space group P with R and S enantiomers in the crystal lattice; these form dimers about a crystallographic inversion centre.     

Characterization of binding affinities in a chromatographic system by suspended state HR/MAS NMR spectroscopy

In the current work a racemate of (R)‐ and (S)‐benzylmandelate was separated with a stereoselective polysaccharide‐based chiral stationary phase by HPLC. To elucidate the occurring chiral molecular recognition processes in the heterogeneous system used, NMR spectroscopy was chosen under high resolution/magic angle spinning (HR/MAS) NMR conditions in the suspended state. Therefore, and as a proof of concept, a combination of several NMR methods such as spin–lattice relaxation time (T₁) measurements (T₁), the saturation transfer difference, and the 2D experiment of the transferred nuclear overhauser enhancement spectroscopy technique were applied. With HR/MAS NMR it is feasible to combine NMR and chromatography to achieve further insights into the separation process. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polymerization behaviors of racemic and chiral amphiphilic monomers in organized bilayer membranes of lamellar liquid crystalline phase

A racemic amphiphilic monomer, n‐dodecyl glyceryl itaconate (DGI), forms bilayer membranes in water in the presence of small amount of ionic cosurfactant and shows iridescent color. A chiral DGI, S‐DGI, also shows an iridescent property, but with a rather red shift in the color, which can be ascribed to the increased packing density of the monomer in the bilayer membranes. Chrial DGI has a more compact packing density than racemic one owing to closer distance between the monomer molecules; the conversion rate, however, is slower than that of racemic one when H₂O₂ is used as an initiator. When the initiator is changed to an amphiphilic one, 4‐(2‐hydroxyethoxy) phenyl‐(2‐hydroxy‐2‐propyl) ketone (Irgacure 2959), the chiral DGI shows even a little faster conversion rate than that of racemic one. The NMR chemical shift results of protons in benzene ring show that the molecules of Irgacure 2959 insert into the bilayer membranes. The molecular weights of the corresponding polymers prove that the initiation by H₂O₂ is restricted compared to that by Irgacure 2959. It is concluded that the decelerated polymerization behavior of chiral DGI initiated by H₂O₂ is a result of limited diffusion of the initiator into the lamellar bilayer structures. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4891–4900, 2007     

Analytical and semipreparative chiral separation of cis‐itraconazole on cellulose stationary phases by high‐performance liquid chromatography

cis‐Itraconazole is a chiral antifungal drug administered as a racemate. The knowledge of properties of individual cis‐itraconazole stereoisomers is vital information for medicine and biosciences as different stereoisomers of cis‐itraconazole may possess different affinity to certain biological pathways in the human body. For this purpose, either chiral synthesis of enantiomers or chiral separation of racemate can be used. This paper presents a two‐step high‐performance liquid chromatography approach for the semipreparative isolation of four stereoisomers (two enantiomeric pairs) of itraconazole using polysaccharide stationary phases and volatile organic mobile phases without additives in isocratic mode. The approach used involves the separation of the racemate into three fractions (i.e. two pure stereoisomers and one mixed fraction containing the remaining two stereoisomers) in the first run and consequent separation of the collected mixed fraction in the second one. For this purpose, combination of cellulose tris‐(4‐methylbenzoate) and cellulose tris‐(3,5‐dimehylphenylcarbamate) columns with complementary selectivity for cis‐itraconazole provided full separation of all four stereoisomers (with purity of each isomer > 97%). The stereoisomers were collected, their optical rotation determined and their identity confirmed based on the results of a previously published study. Pure separated stereoisomers are subjected to further biological studies.     

Separation of chiral compounds using magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles as stationary phase by microchip capillary electrochromatography

In this work, a simple and rapid approach was developed for separation and detection of chiral compounds based on a magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer modified poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchip coupled with electrochemical detection. Molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared employing Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) as the supporting substrate and norepinephrine as the functional monomer in the presence of template molecule in a weak alkaline solution. After extracting the embedded template molecules, Fe₃O₄@polynorepinephrine NPs (MIP–Fe₃O₄@PNE NPs) showed specific molecular recognition selectivity and high affinity towards the template molecule, which were then used as stationary phase of microchip capillary electrochromatography for chiral compounds separation. Mandelic acid and histidine enantiomers were used as model compounds to test the chiral stationary phase. By using R‐mandelic acid as the template molecule, mandelic acid enantiomer was effectively separated and detected on the MIP‐Fe₃O₄@PNE NPs modified PDMS microchip. Moreover, the successful separation of histidine enantiomers on the MIP–Fe₃O₄@PNE NPs modified microchip using L‐histidine as template molecule was also achieved.     

Enantiomerically pure (1S,5R) and racemic 3‐(1‐benzothiophen‐2‐yl)‐8‐azoniabicyclo[3.2.1]oct‐2‐ene acetate

The title compound, C₁₅H₁₆NS⁺·C₂H₃O₂⁻, has been crystallized as both a pure enantiomer (1S,5R) and a racemate. The racemate crystallizes in the space group Cc, with molecules of opposite handedness related to each other by the action of the c‐glide. The enantiomer is essentially isostructural with the racemate, except that the glide symmetry is violated by interchange of CH and CH₂ groups within the seven‐membered ring. The space‐group symmetry is reduced to P1 with two molecules in the asymmetric unit. The enantiomer structure shows disorder of the thiophene ring for one of the molecules in the asymmetric unit. The major component of the disorder has the thiophene ring in the same position as in the racemate, but generates a higher‐energy molecular conformation. The minor disorder component has different intermolecular interactions but retains a more stable molecular conformation.     

The effect of initiators and oxidants on the morphology of poly [(±)‐2‐(sec‐butyl) aniline] a chiral bulky substituted polyaniline derivative

The nano and micro sphere synthesis of chiral bulky substituted polyaniline from monomer (±)‐2‐sec‐butylaniline in bulk and template‐free method (rapid mixing) was done successfully using ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) and FeCl₃·6H₂O as oxidants. The effect of initiators such as p‐phenylendiamine and 1,4‐benzenediamine, temperature and concentration of monomer on morphology is demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The nano and micro sphere morphology was obtained using initiators. Smallest particles were achieved when 1,4‐benzenediamine was used as initiator in the presence of FeCl₃·6H₂O as oxidant. By increasing the concentration of monomer more uniform spheres were obtained. Characterization was made via FT‐IR, UV–Vis, ¹H and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy. Elemental analysis and electrical conductivity of products are also presented. All analysis data are in good agreement with nigraniline oxidation state of polyaniline. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of the Antibiotic (R)‐Reutericyclin via Dieckmann Condensation

(R)‐Reutericyclin ((R)‐ 1 ), a bactericidal, amphiphilic natural product with a trisubstituted tetramic acid moiety, was prepared in four steps from D ‐leucine in an overall yield of 24%. The chiral heterocyclic portion of 1 was synthesized by Dieckmann cyclization of ethyl N‐(acetoacetyl)leucinate ( 7 ), and the resulting pyrrole derivative 8 was N‐acylated with (E)‐dec‐2‐enoyl chloride in the presence of BuLi at − 70° (Scheme 2). This new procedure is straightforward and allows the synthesis of both antipodes of reutericyclin in an enantiomeric excess (ee) of ca. 80%.     

Synthesis of (+)-2R,3R,11R,12R- and (−)-2S,3S,11S,12S-tetraphenyl-18-crown-6

The synthesis of the title crown ethers starting from optically active hydrobenzoins is described. R(+)-1,in CDCl₃ ,preferentially extracts R(+)-phenylglycine methyl ester hydroperchlorate from an aqueous solution of the racemate with a chiral recognition factor of 1.5 as shown by nmr measurements.     

Structures of the racemate and (S)-enantiomer of 7,8-difluoro-3-methyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-[1,4]benzoxazine

The comparative X-ray diffraction study of racemic and (S)-enantiomer of 7,8-difluoro-3-methyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-[1,4]benzoxazine was carried out. The both forms of benzoxazine are crystallized in the orthorhombic crystal system, the (S)-enantiomer is crystallized in the chiral space group P2₁2₁2₁, while the racemate is crystallized in the centrosymmetric Pbca space group. The bond lengths and bond and torsional angles in the both molecules are almost equal. The packing of the racemate is characterized by a closer interaction of polar NH…O groups.