Effect of Steric Hindrance on the Resolution of the Enantiomers of Alkyl Isothiocyanate Derivatives of Amino Acids on a Teicoplanin CSP Using a Methanol-Based Mobile Phase

The effect of steric hindrance on the resolution of the enantiomers of alkyl (i.e. methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, and tert-butyl) isothiocyanate derivatives of amino acids on a teicoplanin chiral stationary phase (CSP), with a methanol-based mobile phase, has been studied. Resolution was found to depend on the size of the alkyl group attached to the isothiocyanate reagent and deteriorated as the size of the group increased from methyl to tert-butyl under the same chromatographic conditions. This indicates that interaction between the isothiocyanate group and the chiral selector is important in chiral recognition. Better-than-baseline resolution was achieved for many amino acids with a basic amino or an amide group, for example histidine, lysine, arginine, and asparagine, because of increased solubility in the mobile phase after chemical derivatization. Revised: 22 September and 7 October 2005     

Solvent-free transesterification in a ball-mill over alumina surface

An efficient procedure for transesterification has been developed in a ball-mill in the absence of any solvent, acid/base or metal catalyst. A variety of methyl, ethyl, allyl esters have been transesterified to higher benzyl and other esters in high yields by this procedure.     

A convenient route to N-[2-(Fmoc)aminoethyl]glycine esters and PNA oligomerization using a Bis-N-Boc nucleobase protecting group strategy

A simple and practical synthesis of the benzyl, allyl, and 4-nitrobenzyl esters of N-[2-(Fmoc)aminoethyl]glycine is described starting from the known N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine. These esters are stored as stable hydrochloride salts and were used in the synthesis of peptide nucleic acid monomers possessing bis-N-Boc-protected nucleobase moieties on the exocyclic amino groups of ethyl cytosin-1-ylacetate, ethyl adenin-9-ylacetate and ethyl (O(6)-benzylguanin-9-yl)acetate. Upon ester hydrolysis, the corresponding nucleobase acetic acids were coupled to N-[2-(Fmoc)aminoethyl]glycine benzyl ester or to N-[2-(Fmoc)aminoethyl]glycine allyl ester in order to retain the O(6) benzyl ether protecting group of guanine. The Fmoc/bis-N-Boc-protected monomers were successfully used in the Fmoc-mediated solid-phase peptide synthesis of mixed sequence 10-mer PNA oligomers and are shown to be a viable alternative to the currently most widely used Fmoc/Bhoc-protected peptide nucleic acid monomers.     

Rhenium(I) polypyridine biotin isothiocyanate complexes as the first luminescent biotinylation reagents: synthesis, photophysical properties, biological labeling, cytotoxicity, and imaging studies

We report here the design of the first class of luminescent biotinylation reagents derived from rhenium(I) polypyridine complexes. These complexes [Re(N-N)(CO)(3)(py-biotin-NCS)](PF(6)) (py-biotin-NCS = 3-isothiocyanato-5-(N-((2-biotinamido)ethyl)aminocarbonyl)pyridine; N-N = 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) (1a), 3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Me(4)-phen) (2a), 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Ph(2)-phen) (3a)), containing a biotin unit and an isothiocyanate moiety, have been synthesized from the precursor amine complexes [Re(N-N)(CO)(3)(py-biotin-NH(2))](PF(6)) (py-biotin-NH(2) = 3-amino-5-(N-((2-biotinamido)ethyl)aminocarbonyl)pyridine; N-N = phen (1c), Me(4)-phen (2c), Ph(2)-phen (3c)). To investigate the amine-specific reactivity of the isothiocyanate complexes 1a-3a, they have been reacted with a model substrate ethylamine, resulting in the formation of the thiourea complexes [Re(N-N)(CO)(3)(py-biotin-TU-Et)](PF(6)) (py-biotin-TU-Et = 3-ethylthioureidyl-5-(N-((2-biotinamido)ethyl)aminocarbonyl)pyridine; N-N = phen (1b), Me(4)-phen (2b), Ph(2)-phen (3b)). All the rhenium(I) complexes have been characterized, and their photophysical properties have been studied. The avidin-binding properties of the thiourea complexes 1b-3b have been examined by the 4'-hydroxyazobenzene-2-carboxylic acid (HABA) assay. Titration results indicated that the complexes exhibited emission enhancement by ca. 1.4-1.5-fold upon binding to avidin, and the lifetimes were elongated to ca. 0.8-2.0 micros. Additionally, we have biotinylated bovine serum albumin (BSA) with the isothiocyanate complexes. All the resultant rhenium-BSA bioconjugates displayed intense and long-lived orange-yellow to greenish-yellow emission upon irradiation in aqueous buffer under ambient conditions. The avidin-binding properties of the bioconjugates have been investigated using the HABA assay. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the thiourea complexes 1b-3b toward the HeLa cells has been examined by the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The IC50 values were determined to be ca. 17.5-28.5 microM, which are comparable to that of cisplatin (26.7 microM) under the same conditions. The cellular uptake of complex 3b has been investigated by fluorescence microscopy, and the results showed that the complex was localized in the perinuclear region after interiorization.     

Sulforaphane and Its Bifunctional Analogs: Synthesis and Biological Activity

For decades, various plants have been studied as sources of biologically active compounds. Compounds with anticancer and antimicrobial properties are the most frequently desired. Cruciferous plants, including Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and wasabi, have a special role in the research studies. Studies have shown that consumption of these plants reduce the risk of lung, breast, and prostate cancers. The high chemopreventive and anticancer potential of cruciferous plants results from the presence of a large amount of glucosinolates, which, under the influence of myrosinase, undergo an enzymatic transformation to biologically active isothiocyanates (ITCs). Natural isothiocyanates, such as benzyl isothiocyanate, phenethyl isothiocyanate, or the best-tested sulforaphane, possess anticancer activity at all stages of the carcinogenesis process, show antibacterial activity, and are used in organic synthesis. Methods of synthesis of sulforaphane, as well as its natural or synthetic bifunctional analogues with sulfinyl, sulfanyl, sulfonyl, phosphonate, phosphinate, phosphine oxide, carbonyl, ester, carboxamide, ether, or additional isothiocyanate functional groups, and with the unbranched alkyl chain containing 2–6 carbon atoms, are discussed in this review. The biological activity of these compounds are also reported. In the first section, glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, and mercapturic acids (their metabolites) are briefly characterized. Additionally, the most studied anticancer and antibacterial mechanisms of ITC actions are discussed.     

Demand-based thiolate anion generation under virtually neutral conditions: influence of steric and electronic factors on chemo- and regioselective cleavage of aryl alkyl ethers

Thiolate anions have been generated in a "demand-based" fashion under virtually neutral conditions for chemoselective deprotection of aryl alkyl ethers. Solvents play the critical role in making the reaction effective and should have high values of epsilon (>30), molecular polarizabilities (>10), and DN (>27) and low values of AN (<14). However, it is the combined effect of all of these physical properties that make a particular solvent effective. The reaction rates of cleavage of various aryl alkyl ethers are dependent on the steric crowding around the O-alkyl carbon and follow the order propargyl approximately allyl approximately benzyl > methyl > ethyl. Electron-withdrawing substituents increase the rate of ether cleavage reaction. The influence of the steric and electronic factors have been successfully exploited for selective deprotection of aryl alkyl ethers during inter- and intramolecular competitions.     

1, 1-dichloroalkylphosphonates: Convenient starting materials for low-coordinated trivalent phosphorus compounds

Diisopropyl 1,1-dichloroalkylphosphonates bearing various groups (alkyl, aryl, allyl, benzyl, phenylthiolate, trimethylsilyl) in the α-position were reduced to the corresponding primary 1,1-dichlorophosphines by the LiAlH₄-AlCl₃ system in diethyl ether. Subsequent dehydrochlorination with tertiary amines in the presence of trapping dipolar compounds (ethyl diazoacetate or n-hexylazide) led to the expected 1,2,4-diazaphospholes or 3H-1,2,3,4-triazaphospholes.     

2,4-二(2-烯炳基苯氧基)-6-N,N-二甲(乙)基胺基-1,3,5-三嗪的直接一步法合成

近年来,以三聚氯氰为原料合成含烯丙基和均三嗪环的反应性单体的研究时有报道［１～３］．这类单体易于合成、储存稳定性好,可作为双马来酰亚胺的增韧改性剂,并且由于这类化合物分子结构中活性反应点较多,它们有望在药物、生物材料等领域找到新的用途．我们曾以水为反应介质合成了２,４,６三（２烯丙基苯氧基）１,３,５三嗪（ＴＡＰＴ）［４,５］．为获得对双马来酰亚胺有显著改性效果的系列品种,我们在保留三嗪环上有一定数量的烯丙基和芳香结构,以确保单体有一定反应性又保证其与双马来酰亚胺的共聚物有较好的耐热性的…     

An experimental and theoretical study of dipole moments of N-alkyl-1,3-bis-(p-chlorophenyl)triazenes and 1-(3,4-dimethyl-5-isoxazolyl)-3-aryltriazenes

The dielectric constants, densities, and the refractive indices of dilute benzene solutions have been used to obtain the experimental dipole moments of 1,3-diphenyltriazene (1a), 1,3-diphenyl-3-methyltriazene (Ib), 1,3-bis(p-chlorophenyl)triazene (IIa), its N-alkyi derivatives (IIb-IIg), and 1-(3,4-dimethyl-5-isoxazolyl)-3-phenyltriazene (IIIb) and its N-methyl derivative (IIIc). The results show that the dipole moment of IIa is increased by an increment of about 0.77 D (average value for methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, allyl, and benzyl) on N-alkyl substitution. The increment for the n-butyl group is Δμ = 1.19 D. Some of the experimental values are compared with those from PPP and CNDO/2 calculations.     

SYNTHESIS OF ALKYL N-CYANO-N-SUBSTITUTED CARBAMATES AND N,N-DISUBSTITUTED CYANAMIDES1

Abstract

The reactions of S,S' methyl cyanodithioimidocarbonate with potassium hydroxide in alkyl or benzyl alcohol furnished the O-alkyl and benzyl O-potassium cyanoimidocarbonates (1–5). The reaction of the potassium salts (1,3, or 4) with a 10% excess of alkyl, allyl or benzyl halides afforded the unknown titled carbamates (6–17). The reaction of 2 with 10% excess benzyl bromide or 5 with 10% excess methyl iodide gave the same product, N-benzyl-N-methyl cyanamide (18). The reactions of 2 with 10% and 55% excess allyl bromide afforded N-allyl-N-methyl cyanamide (19) and N,N-diallyl cyanamide (20), respectively. The reaction of 3 with 28% excess of allyl iodide furnished N-allyl-N-propyl cyanamide (21).

Possible mechanisms and supporting NMR, IR and mass spectra data are discussed.     

Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Benzofuran‐2‐ones to Alkyl 2‐Phthalimidoacrylates: Modeling Structure–Stereoselectivity Relationships with Steric and Electronic Parameters

A highly predictive model to correlate the steric and electronic parameters of tertiary amine thiourea catalysts with the stereoselectivity of Michael reactions of 3‐substituted benzofuranones and alkyl 2‐phthalimidoacrylates is described. As predicted, new 3,5‐bis(trifluoromethyl)benzyl‐ and methyl‐substituted tertiary amine thioureas turned out to be highly suitable catalysts for this reaction and enabled the synthesis of enantioenriched α‐amino acid derivatives with 1,3‐nonadjacent stereogenic centers.     

Carbonylation of aryl chlorides with oxygen nucleophiles at atmospheric pressure. Preparation of phenyl esters as acyl transfer agents and the direct preparation of alkyl esters and carboxylic acids

A mild, functional group tolerant method of the preparation of phenyl esters from aryl chlorides via palladium-catalyzed carbonylation is described using atmospheric pressure of carbon monoxide. Phenyl esters are shown to be useful acylating agents, delivering libraries of carbonyl derivatives, including alkyl, allyl and thioesters, under very mild conditions. Direct preparation of alkyl esters and carboxylic acids is also demonstrated, providing the first method for the preparation of methyl and ethyl esters from aryl chlorides without pressured reactors.     

The identification and quantitation of alkylated nucleobases by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV photodiode array detection

The application of UV diode array detection in high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) identification and quantitation of several classes of synthetic and commercially available alkylated nucleobases is investigated. Quantitative spectral overlays of these compounds to methyl standard references from a spectral library and absorbance ratios at two maximal wavelengths (lambda max) are found to be useful in categorizing the solutes. They can be grouped into classes of compounds originating from a specific nucleobase and classes of analogs having different alkyl substituents (e.g., methyl, ethyl, propyl, allyl, and benzyl) at the same position of the heterocycle. At a selected wavelength for alkylated nucleobases in the same class, the detector response factors are independent of the alkyl group (+/- 10%). This technique provides a practical means for both qualitative and quantitative analysis of product distribution of DNA base alkylation by using only readily obtainable methylated derivatives as the reference standards.     

Copolymerization of 2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate with Alkyl Methacrylates. Part IV. Mechanical Properties and Biocompatibility

Mechanical properties of copolymers of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate with methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, and n-butyl methacrylate have been investigated using an Instron tensile tester. It was observed that the overall mechanical properties decrease as the ester alkyl group of alkyl methacrylate becomes bulkier. Biocompatibility of the copolymers was also investigated by implanting them subcutaneously in rats.     

Expedient Iron‐Catalyzed Coupling of Alkyl,Benzyl and Allyl Halides with Arylboronic Esters

While attractive, the iron‐catalyzed coupling of arylboron reagents with alkyl halides typically requires expensive or synthetically challenging diphosphine ligands. Herein, we show that primary and secondary alkyl bromides and chlorides, as well as benzyl and allyl halides, can be coupled with arylboronic esters, activated with alkyllithium reagents, by using very simple iron‐based catalysts. The catalysts used were either adducts of inexpensive and widely available diphosphines or, in a large number of cases, simply [Fe(acac)₃] with no added co‐ ligands. In the former case, preliminary mechanistic studies highlight the likely involvement of iron(I)–phosphine intermediates.     

A convenient iodination method for alcohols using cesium iodide/methanesulfonic acid and its comparison using cesium iodide/p-toluenesulfonic acid or cesium iodide/aluminium chloride

In situ generation of hydrogen iodide from cesium iodide/methanesulfonic acid was found to be an attractive reagent combination for the conversion of alkyl, allyl, and benzyl alcohols to their corresponding iodides under mild conditions. The method is compared with that using cesium iodide/p-toluenesulfonic acid or cesium iodide/aluminium chloride.     

Correlation between catalytic cyclopropanation and ylide generation

A linear correlation for catalytic effectiveness exists between cyclopropanation of n-butyl vinyl ether and ylide generation with allyl methyl sulfide in reactions with ethyl diazoacetate. Twenty-two representative transition metal compounds have been examined, and ruthenium is identified for the first time to exhibit catalytic potential comparable to copper and rhodium catalysts for carbene transformations.     

Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric determination of alkylphosphonic acids from aqueous samples by ion-pair solid-phase extraction on activated charcoal and methylation

In the present paper, we report an improved ion-pair solid-phase extraction (IP-SPE) method for the analysis of alkylphosphonic acids, namely, methyl, ethyl and propylphosphonic acids, present in the aqueous sample. The aqueous sample was mixed with an ion-pair reagent, phenyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (PTMAH) and passed through activated charcoal SPE cartridge. The retained chemicals in the cartridge were extracted with methanol and analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) under the electron impact ionization (EI) mode. The analytes were converted to their methyl esters by pyrolytic methylation in the hot GC injection port. The recoveries of alkylphosphonic acids were above 95% and the minimum detection limits were as low as 10 ng/mL. The recovery of the test chemicals was tested with solvents, dichloromethane, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, acetonitrile and methanol. The chemicals could be efficiently extracted by the hydrophilic solvents. The method did not work at the highly acidic pH (when acidified with dilute HCl) but worked well from pH 4.0 to 14.0. The present method was also tested with other tetra-(methyl, ethyl, propyl and n-butyl)ammonium hydroxides. The test chemicals were not converted to their methyl and ethyl esters with tetramethyl and tetraethylammonium hydroxides, whereas they were converted to their corresponding propyl and n-butyl esters with tetrapropyl and tetra(n-butyl)ammonium hydroxides. The method was also applied to two highly cross-linked polymeric sorbents DSC-6S and Oasis HLB. The recovery of the chemicals on these sorbents was observed to be poor. Methylation using phenyltrimethylammonium hydroxide is non-hazardous and advantageous over methylation using diazomethane. The method was applied to the analysis of aqueous samples given in one of the official proficiency tests conducted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and all the spiked chemicals were identified as methyl esters.     

Kinetic studies in a flow microcalorimeter: The acid-catalysed hydrolysis of methyl acetate at 25 °C

Complexation enthalpies for nickel ion and a series of alkyl xanthate ions, RXn^?(R = methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl and iso-butyl) are reported. The data are interpreted in terms of inductive and steric influence of R on the thermodynamic stability of the nickel alkyl xanthate.     

Polymerization of alkyl allyl oxalates in the evolution of carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures

Radical polymerization of several alkyl allyl oxalates, including methyl allyl oxalate (MAO), ethyl allyl oxalate, propyl allyl oxalate, butyl allyl oxalate, and octyl allyl oxalate, was conducted in the evolution of carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures, and was compared with the anomalous polymerization behavior of diallyl oxalate (DAO) discussed in our earlier article

1 A. Matsumoto, I. Tamura, M. Yamawaki, and M. Oiwa, J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Chem. Ed., 17 , 1419 (1979).

. The kinetic equations for the polymerization of alkyl allyl oxalate were derived following the kinetic treatment of the DAO polymerization by further consideration of the absence of cyclization of the growing polymer radical and the effective reinitiation by alkyl radical, and were then satisfactorily applied to the polymerization of MAO, as a representative alkyl allyl oxalate. The evolution of carbon dioxide in the polymerization of alkyl allyl oxalates was enhanced with the increase of bulkiness of the alkyl substituent, as a result of steric suppression of the propagation of the growing polymer radical.