Zwitterion from a cyclopropane with geminal donor and acceptor groups

2,2-Dimethoxy-3,3-dicyanospiro[cyclopropane-1,9'-[9H]fluorene] reacted fast with methanol to afford 9-trimethoxymethyl-9-dicyanomethyl-9H-fluorene. Reaction with benzaldehydes also gave products of cyclopropane ring opening. Strong electron-donor p-substituents or a strong attractor enhanced the rate. Ring opening of the cyclopropane to a zwitterion that recloses or reacts with an aryl aldehyde, to form either a CO or a CC bond first, can explain the result. The former mode of closure is sensitive to p-substituents because they are directly conjugated to the positive charge at the benzylic carbon of the former aldehyde. The latter mode is sensitive to the ground-state electrophilicity of the carbonyl carbon of the former aldehyde. Thus, reaction of the cyclopropane with p-substituted aldehydes is accelerated by either electron-donor or -acceptor substituents. [reaction: see text].     

Preferred 3D-structure of peptides rich in a severely conformationally restricted cyclopropane analogue of phenylalanine

Terminally blocked, homo-peptide amides of (R,R)-1-amino-2,3-diphenylcyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (c3diPhe), a chiral member of the family of Calpha-tetrasubstituted alpha-amino acids, from the dimer to the tetramer, and diastereomeric co-oligopeptides of (R,R)- or (S,S)-c3diPhe with (S)-alanine residues to the trimer level were prepared in solution and fully characterized. The synthetic effort was extended to terminally protected co-oligopeptide esters to the hexamer, where c3diPhe residues are combined with achiral alpha-aminoisobutyric acid residues. The preferred conformations of the peptides were assessed in solution by FT-IR absorption, NMR, and CD techniques, and for seven oligomers in the crystal state (by X-ray diffraction) as well. This study clearly indicates that c3diPhe, a sterically demanding cyclopropane analogue of phenylalanine, tends to fold peptides into beta-turn and 3(10)-helix conformations. However, when c3diPhe is in combination with other chiral residues, the conformation preferred by the resulting peptides is also dictated by the chiral sequence of the amino acid building blocks. The (S,S)-enantiomer of this alpha-amino acid, unusually lacking asymmetry in the main chain, strongly favors the left-handedness of the turn/helical peptides formed.     

Conformational analysis ofortho-substituted diphenyl ethers and diphenylmethanes with linear substituents

Conformational analysis of di-ortho-substituted diphenylmethanes and Biphenyl ethers containing I, CCH, and CCCCH substituents was carried out by the molecular mechanics method using the MM3 program. Several minima on the potential energy surface, which correspond to thegg, gt, tg, andort conformations, were found. An increase in the length of the linear substituent results in a substantial decrease in the difference in the relative energies of conformers. Barriers to conformational transitions between thegt, tg, andort conformers are less than 2 kcal mol^–1. The transitionort-gg requires expenditure of energy of up to 5 kcal mol^–1. Two valleys of centrosymmetric pairs of thegt, tg, andort conformers are separated by a barrier of up to 6 kcal mol^–1.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No, 12, pp, 2882–2885, December, 1996.     

Conformational rivalry of geminal substituents in silacyclohexane derivatives: 1-Phenyl vs. 1-OR,R=H or Me

Molecular structure and conformational equilibria of 1-methoxy- 1 and 1-hydroxy-1-phenylsilacyclohexanes 2 were studied by quantum chemical (QC) calculations and combined gas electron diffraction/mass spectrometry (GED/MS). Both molecules may exist in 5 or 6 forms, differing from each other by the substituents' position: (i) axial or equatorial and (ii) rotational orientation relative to the six-membered ring frame. The contribution of axial forms of both compounds varies from 35 to 60% depending on the theoretical method applied. From the GED data, the summarized molar fractions of the conformers were found to be Ph_ax:Ph_eq = 70(15):30(20) and 50(20):50(20)% which corresponds to ΔG = G_ax–G_eq = ?0.55(46) and 0.00(56) kcal/mol, for compound 1 and 2, respectively. The concentration of the Ph_ax forms of 1-phenyl-1-(X)-silacyclohexanes (X = H, HO, Me, MeO and Me₂N) increases with the size of the second substituent at the silicon atom: 38(10)<50(20)<58(15)<70(15) <80(15)%.     

N-acetyl-N'-methylamide derivative of (2S,3S)-1-amino-2,3-diphenylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid: theoretical analysis of the conformational impact produced by the incorporation of the second phenyl group to the cyclopropane analogue of phenylalanine

The intrinsic conformational preferences of (2S,3S)-1-amino-2,3-diphenylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid, a phenylalanine cyclopropane analogue bearing two phenyl substituents, have been examined theoretically. For this purpose, its N-acetyl-N'-methylamide derivative, Ac-(2S,3S)c(3)diPhe-NHMe, has been investigated by using ab initio HF and DFT methods. Results have been compared with those previously reported for other cyclopropane analogues of phenylalanine, and with experimental data available for c(3)diPhe-containing peptides.     

Conformational analysis of asymmetric ethanes : Extraction of acyclic conformational ligand constants from time-averaged geminal fluorine anisochronism

The syntheses and ambient-temperature ¹⁹F NMR data are reported for 27 asymmetric ethanes of the general formula RCF₂CXYZ, including a complete series of 10 compounds with R = Cl and all combinations of the 5 ligands H, F, Cl, Br and Ph. Within the theoretical framework of a previously proposed heuristic mathematical model the geminal ¹⁹F chemical shift differences are fitted to chirality functions X = ?R (λx - λy) (λy - λz) (λz - λx) to yield acyclic conformational ligand constants λ and substituent parameters ?. It is demonstrated that the λ constants already reported for an analogous series of 10 compounds with R = Br are transferable to the Cl series with ?_Cl = 0.63 ± 0.07. Crude first approximations are also reported for the normalised (according to ?_Br = 1) ligand constants λ_Ch3, λ_OH, λ_OCH3 and λ₁ and for the substituent parameter λ_H. It is argued that the λ values thus ext play a role in the conformational analysis of asymmetric ethanes that is conceptually analogous to the conformational free energies in monosubstituted cyclohexanes.     

Synthesis and structure of a helical diindenophenanthrene with four congested phenyl substituents as a molecular spiral staircase

Treatment of 9 with potassium tert-butoxide produced 10 having a helical twist in a single operation. The X-ray structure of 10 shows that the four phenyl substituents are essentially parallel to one another but are virtually perpendicular to the helical axis of the diindenophenanthrene ring system. Viewing from the direction perpendicular to the helical axis, the structure of 10 resembles that of a segment of a spiral staircase having four parallel steps.     

Enantioselective synthesis of m-carboranylalanine, a boron-rich analogue of phenylalanine

The enantiomers of the highly lipophilic α-amino acid m-carboranyl-alanine [3-(1,7-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane(12)-1-yl)-2-aminopropanoic acid], a carborane containing analogue of phenylalanine, have been synthesised via hydroxyamination of the N-acyl derivative formed from 3-(m-carboranyl)propionic acid [3-(1,7-dicarba-closo-dodeca-borane(12)-1-yl)-2-propanoic acid] and Oppolzer's camphor sultam. The enantiomeric excess of both enantiomers of the amino acid was >98%. (S)-Configuration was assigned to the (+)-enantiomer (CH₃OH, 589 nm).     

Conformational analysis of p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene derivatives with trans-alkyl substituents on opposite methylene bridges: destabilization of the cone form by axial alkyl substituents

The stereochemistry of calix[4]arenes substituted by a pair of identical alkyl substituents in a trans fashion at two distal bridges is analyzed. MM3 calculations suggest that increasing the bulk of the alkyl group at the bridges destabilizes those conformations possessing an axial disposition of the substituent. In contrast to the 1,3-dimethyl ether of p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene, which adopts a cone conformation, solution NMR data indicate that the 1,2-alternate conformation is preferred in the dimethyl ether derivatives 5b (alkyl = i-Pr) and 5c (alkyl = t-Bu). In the derivative substituted by the less bulky methyl substituent (5a), both the cone and 1,2-alternate forms coexist in CDCl3. Increasing the polarity of the solvent increases the relative population of the cone form of 5a and 5b. The steric destabilization ensuing from the presence of the axial substituent is so large in the cone conformation of 5c that the 1,2-alternate conformer is the major form even in polar solvents. The cone --> 1,2-alternate interconversion barrier of 5a is 18.2 kcal mol(-1), indicating that the presence of an axial methyl group both destabilizes the cone conformation and decreases its rigidity.     

Synthesis of new spirobenzopyrans with two long-chain substituents

Two new photochromic compounds each containing two substituents with long alkyl chains in different parts of a molecule were synthesized by a sequence of direct reduction, acylation, and nitration reactions of substituted spirobenzopyrans. The structures of the compounds synthesized were determined using the ¹H NMR spectra. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2530–2533, November, 2005.     

Conformational studies of cyclopropane carboxaldehydehyde from temperature-dependent FT-IR spectra of xenon solutions

Variable temperature ( -60 to 100 degrees C) studies of the infrared spectra (3,500-400 cm(-1) of cyclopropane carboxaldehyde. c-C3H5CHO, dissolved in liquid xenon have been recorded. Utilizing several doublets due to the syn and anti conformers. the enthalpy difference has been determined to be 95 +/- 8 cm(-1) (1.14 +/- 0.10 kJ/mol) with the (anti conformer (oxygen atom trans to the three-member ring) the more stable rotamer. From this deltaH value, along with assigned torsional transitions for both the anti and svi, conformers, the potential function governing the conformational interchange has been estimated. Using the new infrared data from the xenon solution, along with some additional Raman data, and ab initio predictions from MP2/6-31G(d) calculations some reassignments of the fundamentals have been made. Ab initio calculations have been carried out with several different basis sets upto 6-311 +/- +G(d,p) with full electron correlation by the perturbation method to second order from which structural parameters and conformational stabilities have been determined. From all of the ab initio calculations, the syn conformer is predicted to be the more stable which is at variance with the experimental results. The spectroscopic and theoretical results are compared to the corresponding quantities for some similar molecules.     

A novel phthalocyanine with two axial fullerene substituents

A silicon phthalocyanine with two axial fullerene substituents was synthesized, and its electrochemical, absorption- and film-properties were characterized.     

Hormone-receptor interactions. Carboranylalanine (Car) as a phenylalanine analogue: reactions with chymotrypsin.

In order to test the effects of the replacement of phenylalanine by carboranylalanine (Car) in biological ligand-acceptor interactions, Z · Ala-Ala-Car · OH (1) and Ac · Car · OEt (2) were synthesized and their reactions with chymotrypsin studied. The two compounds proved to be good inhibitors with K(i) values of 3 · 10^?4M (1) and 8.6 · 10⁴M (2) ; the K(i) of Z · Ala-Ala-Phe · OH (1a) is 1 · 10^?3M . The inhibition constants were determined by a new photolytic technique, inhibition of photoaffinity labelling by Z · Ala-Ala-Phe(pN₃) · OH. Ac · Car · OEt is not hydrolysed by chymotrypsin. The findings indicate that the carboranyl group can interact with the ‘phenyl recognition site’ of the enzyme to produce the binding that is characteristic of aromatic amino acid residues. However, some kind of distortion in the region of the ‘mechanistic site’ must be postulated in order to account for the failure of hydrolysis. Some possible effects of the replacement of aromatic amino acids by Car in peptide hormones on hormone-receptor interactions are discussed.