N-Prolinylanthranilic acid derivatives as bifunctional organocatalysts for asymmetric aldol reactions

Several N-prolinylanthranilic acid derivatives were prepared and tested as bifunctional organocatalysts in the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of cyclohexanone with p-nitrobenzaldehyde. It was found that methyl substitution ortho to the carboxylic acid improves enantioselectivity, but substitution ortho to the anilide group does not. The catalyst derived from 2-amino-6-methylbenzoic acid was tested over a range of direct asymmetric aldol reactions and its overall performance is equal to or better than many of the known prolinamide catalysts in terms of yield, diastereoselectivity, and enantioselectivity.     

Synthesis, luminescence properties, and theoretical insights of N-alkyl- or N,N-dialkyl-pyrene-1-carboxamide

We report the synthesis and photophysical properties of N-alkyl- or N,N-dialkyl-pyrene-1-carboxamide. These derivatives, as well as pyrene, exhibited blue emission. N-Alkyl-type derivatives exhibited strong fluorescence emission (Φ_fl = 0.61 in EtOH) in both nonpolar and polar solvents. On the other hand, N,N-dialkyl-type derivatives showed weak fluorescence emission (Φ_fl <0.01) due to vibrational deactivation. However, in highly viscous solvents such as glycerin, the quantum efficiencies of N-alkyl-type (Φ_fl = 0.91) and N,N-dialkyl-type (Φ_fl = 0.082) derivatives were increased. We also investigated the fluorescence mechanism of these compounds using time-dependent density-functional theory (TD-DFT). From these results, we find that highly fluorescent pyrene-1-carboxamide derivatives can be designed by introducing an appropriate functional group at the nitrogen atom of the amide. Thus, N,N-dialkyl-type pyrene-1-carboxamide has considerable potential for use in applications such as environmental response sensors and probes.     

A facile procedure for synthesis of 3-[2-(N,N-dialkylamino)ethyl]-3-fluorooxindoles by direct fluorination of N,N-dialkyltryptamines

A practical procedure for the synthesis of 3-fluorooxindole derivatives having basic amine moieties was developed, which involves Selectfluor™-mediated oxidative fluorination of N,N-dialkyltryptamines in the presence of Lewis acid. This procedure was applied to an antimigraine drug, rizatriptan, to afford the corresponding 3-fluorooxindole, which is a potential fluorine-containing drug candidate.     

Remarkable stereoselectivity switch in synthesis of carbonyl substituted N-arylamidrazones with low lipophilicity

Reaction of carbonyl substituted hydrazonoyl chlorides with amines usually leads to Z-configured amidrazone derivatives via nucleophilic substitution of the chlorine atom. Surprisingly, N,N-dimethylcarboxamide substituted hydrazonoyl chlorides yielded E-amidrazones when dialkylamines were used as nucleophilic reagent. The lipophilicities of the obtained amidrazones were found to be drastically reduced compared to their corresponding carboxanilides.     

The metal-complexing properties of N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine derivatives containing N-phenyl ring substituents

The syntheses and chelating properties of a number of N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxyl-amine derivatives substituted in the N-phenyl ring have been investigated. The acid dissociation constants, selective precipitation, solvent extraction and spectrophotometric properties of a range of metal chelates are compared with those of the corresponding 3,5-dinitrobenzoylphenylhydroxylamines. The N-phenyl ring substituents have only small effects on reagent acidity. If the substituents are in the ortho position, considerable selectivity is found because of steric hindrance. The use of an o-chloro derivative as a selective precipitant for iron(III) in the presence of cobalt, nickel, copper and aluminium, is described.     

New 1,2,4,5-tetrakis-(N-imidazoliniummethyl)benzene and 1,2,4,5-tetrakis-(N-benzimidazoliummethyl)benzene salts as N-heterocyclic tetracarbene precursors: synthesis and involvement in ruthenium-catalyzed allylation reactions

New tetraimidazolinium and tetrabenzimidazolium salts have been prepared. Upon reaction with ^tBuOK, they generate carbene ligands, which were associated in situ to [RuCp*(MeCN)₃]PF₆ to produce new ruthenium catalysts that are active for the substitution of allylic substrates by amines, phenols, and carbonucleophiles. The influence of the N-heterocyclic core as well as that of the N-substitutents at the periphery of the salts, on reactivity and regioselectivity have been examined.     

N,N′-Diisopropyl- and N,N′-dicyclohexylthiourea cadmium(II) complexes as precursors for the synthesis of CdS nanoparticles

Crystals of the cadmium(II) complexes of N,N-diisopropylthiourea and N,N-dicyclohexylthiourea were obtained and their X-ray single crystal structures determined. These complexes are air-stable, easy to prepare and inexpensive and decompose cleanly to give good quality crystalline CdS. The nanoparticles of CdS thus obtained showed quantum confinement effects in their optical spectra, with close to band-edge emission in luminescence experiments. The broad diffraction patterns observed are typical of nanodimensional particles. The variation of concentration of precursor-to-HDA ratio change the isolated materials from spheres to rod-shaped. TEM images showed agglomerates of needle-like plate of particles.     

N,N-Dimethylethylenediamine in direct and direct template syntheses of Cu(II)/Cr(III) complexes

Four new heterometallic Cu(II)/Cr(III) complexes with N,N-dimethylethylenediamine (dmen) and its novel Schiff-base derivatives, N′-[(1Z)-3-amino-1,3-dimethylbutylidene]-N,N-dimethylethane-1,2-diamine (dmenac) and N′-((1Z)-3-{[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amino}-1,3-dimethylbutylidene)-N,N-dimethylethane-1,2-diamine (dmen₂ac), have been easily prepared by self-assembly and characterized by spectroscopic methods and single crystal X-ray analysis. The structures of all the complexes are assisted by numerous hydrogen bonds that provide a web of interactions and mould the supramolecular architectures of the compounds. Variable-temperature (1.8–300 K) magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal Curie-Weiss paramagnetic behavior of all the compounds, supported by EPR studies.     

The effects of steric aliphatic–aliphatic interactions in the coordination polymer of bis(N,N-diethylglycinato)copper(II): Experimental evidence and theoretical modeling

New coordination polymer catena-poly[(N,N-diethylglycinato-κO,κN)copper(II)-μ-[N,N-diethylglycinato-κO¹,κN:O²]] has been obtained by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The copper(II) was surrounded with two amino N and two carboxyl O atoms in trans position in the coordination plane. Discrete polymeric chains were produced by axial coordinative bonding between copper(II) and carbonyl oxygen atom from adjacent asymmetric unit. Molecular mechanics (MM) force field developed to study the properties of copper(II) amino acid complexes reproduced well intermolecular aliphatic–aliphatic interactions between ethyl chains and C–H?O hydrogen bonding. The relative unit cell volume reproduction was 0.3%. Theoretical conformational analysis showed that experimentally obtained conformer was not the most stable in vacuo. The calculations of the unit cell packings and intermolecular interactions for a series of conformers elucidated the reasons that governed the experimentally obtained conformer to appear in the real crystal structure. MM results suggest that intermolecular aliphatic–aliphatic interactions between ethyl groups affected a conformational change concurrent with the change in the copper(II) coordination sphere upon crystallization.     

Catalyst-free water-mediated N-Boc deprotection

A catalyst-free water-mediated N-Boc deprotection of N-Boc-amines is reported. In the absence of any additional reagents, the free amines were formed from a variety of aromatic and aliphatic N-Boc-amines as well as from some N-Boc-amino acid derivatives.     

Titanocene complexes of the N-methyl and N-phenyl-1,3-thiazoline-2-thione-4,5-dithiolates and 4,5-diselenolate ligands

Cp₂Ti(dithiolene) and Cp₂Ti(diselenolene) complexes containing the N-methyl-1,3-thiazoline-2-thione-4,5-dithiolate ligand (Me-thiazdt), the N-phenyl-1,3-thiazoline-2-thione-4,5-dithiolate ligand (Ph-thiazdt) and the N-methyl-1,3-thiazoline-2-thione-4,5-diselenolate ligand (Me-thiazds) have been synthesized. Three approaches have been developed in order to generate the dithiolene or the diselenolene ligands which were reacted with Cp₂TiCl₂ to form the corresponding heteroleptic complexes. Their X-ray crystal structures, UV-Vis absorption spectra as well as their redox properties, determined by cyclic voltammetry have been investigated and discussed. Variable-temperature ¹H NMR experiments have been performed in order to determine the activation energies of the chelate ring inversion.     

Microwave-assisted synthesis of N-glycolylneuraminic acid derivatives

A rapid, efficient and scalable synthesis of biologically-relevant N-glycolylneuraminic acid derivatives from the natural N-acetyl (Neu5Ac) precursors has been developed. Microwave irradiation provides accelerated de-N-acetylation compared to more traditional methods, with optimised NaOH-promoted de-N-acetylation in only 15 min. The prepared amines were readily re-N-acylated to afford the corresponding N-glycolyl (Neu5Gc) analogues.     

Helicity of N,N′-diaryl-trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane derivatives. Implications for molecular helicity manipulations

Derivatives of trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane (DACH), useful as chiral ligands, scaffolds and building blocks, differ in their conformation. The conformation of N,N′-diaryl-DACH derivatives was studied by the semiempirical and DFT computational methods and by exciton-coupled circular dichroism. It was found that, contrary to M-helical N,N′-diimine, N,N′-diimide and N,N′-diamide derivatives, the aromatic residues in N,N′-diphenyl derivatives are oriented to form a P-helix for the (R,R)-DACH absolute configuration. The helicity of the bis-aryl system is modified in the case of 1-naphthyl or 2-naphthyl derivatives. Further switching of helicity has been demonstrated by either protonation or mono-N-acetylation of N,N′-diaryl DACH derivatives.     

Synthesis of N-aryl-2,2,2-trifluoroacetimidoyl piperazinylquinolone derivatives and their antibacterial evaluations

N-substituted trifluoroacetimidoyl chlorides were used for the synthesis of new piperazinylquinolone derivatives. These reactions provided N-aryl-2,2,2-trifluoroacetimidoyl piperazinylquinolone derivatives in good yields. Two selected compounds were evaluated for their antibacterial activities. These compounds displayed good antibacterial activities.     

Pd catalyzed coupling of 1,2-dibromoarenes and anilines: formation of N,N-diaryl-o-phenylenediamines

1,2-Dibromoarenes were coupled with aniline derivatives to yield N,N-diaryl-o-phenylenediamines in moderate to good yield using a palladium/phosphine or palladium/carbene catalyst system. Under similar conditions, 1,2,4,5-tetrabromobenzene was coupled with aniline derivatives to produce the corresponding tetrasubstituted derivatives which are oxidized on workup to yield azophenines. The sequential reaction of two different anilines with 1-chloro-2-iodobenzene afforded mixed N,N-diaryl-o-phenylenediamines.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed reduction of N-alkoxy- and N-hydroxyamides

A ruthenium-catalyzed reduction of N-alkoxy- and N-hydroxyamides was found to afford corresponding amides in good to high yields. A simple RuCl₃/Zn-Cu/alcohol system, without the addition of any other ligands, exhibited a high catalytic activity, and therefore the present reaction does not require a stoichiometric amount of metals or metal complexes as reductants. When β-substituted-α,β-unsaturated N-methoxyamides were employed as substrates, concurrent hydrogenation of the olefin moiety proceeded slowly with deprotection of the methoxy group. In the reduction of N-hydroxyamides, the alcoholic solvent was found to function as a hydrogen donor.     

Oxidative cyclization of N-alkyl-o-methyl-arenesulfonamides to biologically important saccharin derivatives

Various biologically important saccharin skeletons and their N-alkyl derivatives have been efficiently prepared by chromium(VI) oxide catalyzed H₅IO₆ oxidation of N-alkyl-o-methyl-arenesulfonamides in acetonitrile. N-tert-Butyl saccharin skeletons were easily prepared by H₅IO₆-CrO₃ oxidation of N-tert-butyl-o-methyl arenesulfonamides in the presence of acetic anhydride. The method that furnished the novel fluoro and trifluoromethyl substituted saccharin skeletons is characterized by two steps, a simple work-up procedure, a single purification and good overall yields from substituted toluene derivatives.     

Dynamic thermodynamic resolution of lithiated N-Boc-N′-alkylpiperazines

Deprotonation of N-Boc-N′-alkylpiperazines with sec-BuLi in Et₂O-TMEDA gave the 2-lithio derivatives which were resolved in the presence of a chiral ligand. The best ligands for the asymmetric substitution were diamino-alkoxides that promoted a dynamic thermodynamic resolution (DTR) of the organolithium at −30 °C. Electrophilic quench gave enantiomerically enriched 2-substituted piperazines. Of a selection of piperazines, the N′-t-butyl derivative gave the best results, with the product N-Boc-N′-t-butyl-2-substituted piperazines being formed with enantiomer ratios up to 81:19.     

Development of a new linker for the solid-phase synthesis of N-hydroxylated and N-methylated secondary amines

Merrifield resin was modified by the introduction of an ortho-nitrophenylethanal group that served as a linker moiety to attach amines to the resin by reductive amination. Resin-bound tertiary amines were shown to be readily transferred into the respective liberated N-hydroxylated or N-methylated derivatives by either an oxidation/Cope elimination or a permethylation/Hofmann elimination protocol. With these two divergent liberation/derivatization options, the new resin offers new flexibility in the solid phase synthesis of N-modified secondary amines, for instance in spider toxin synthesis.     

N-Polyfluoro(trimethylsilyl)ethyl azole derivatives

A facile synthetic route to N-polyfluoro(trimethylsilyl)ethyl azole derivatives was developed starting from N-bromo(chloro)polyfluoroethyl-substituted azoles. The silanes thus obtained were reacted with various electrophiles in the presence of the fluoride ion to yield the corresponding fluorinated carbinols, ketones, carboxylic acids, and methyl dithiocarboxylates as well as N-pentafluoroethylbenzimidazole.