One‐Pot Synthesis of Aliphatic Nitro Compounds by Michael/retro‐Claisen Fragmentation Domino Reaction

A novel and concise method for the construction of γ‐nitro ketones and 1,3‐dinitro compounds with chemoselective acyl transfer has been presented under basic conditions via one‐pot reactions. These reactions feature high atom‐ and step‐economic possess, mild condition and simple operation for one‐pot synthesis of aliphatic nitro compounds. This protocol provides the products in good yields. The possible reaction mechanism has also been proposed.     

Carbon Dioxide as a Protecting Group: Highly Efficient and Selective Catalytic Access to Cyclic cis‐Diol Scaffolds

The efficient and highly selective formation of a wide range of (hetero)cyclic cis‐diol scaffolds using aminotriphenolate‐based metal catalysts is reported. The key intermediates are cyclic carbonates, which are obtained in high yield and with high levels of diastereo‐ and chemoselectivity from the parent oxirane precursors and carbon dioxide. Deprotection of the carbonate structures affords synthetically useful cis‐diol scaffolds with different ring sizes that incorporate various functional groups. This atom‐efficient method allows the simple construction of diol synthons using inexpensive and accessible precursors and green metal catalysts and showcases the use of CO₂ as a temporary protecting group.     

Synergistic Catalysis with Azomethine Ylides

Azomethine ylides are useful intermediates for the rapid construction of chiral N‐containing compounds. However, its synthetic potential has not been fully developed due to the limited reaction models. In combination with synergistic catalysis and azomethine ylide chemistry, we have developed several types of novel catalytic system including Cu/Pd, Cu/Ir and PTC/Ir catalysis, which can convert readily‐available azomethine ylides to various high‐valued molecules such as unnatural α‐amino acids, homoallylic amines and N‐heterocycles. Compared with the traditional mono‐catalysis, the synergistic catalyst system exhibits enhanced catalytic efficiency and chiral induction ability in many cases. In addition, we have demonstrated that these strategies could be applied in the construction of bioactive compounds and natural products.     

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Studies of New Spiropyran Quinazolinone Derivatives with Amide,Urea, and Sulfonamide Moieties

Three new series of quinazolinone derivatives containing amide, urea, and sulfonamide were synthesized through multistep synthesis. The required intermediates 4‐[(4′‐oxo‐2,3,3′,4′,5,6‐hexahydro‐1′H ‐spiro[pyran‐4,2′‐quinazolin]‐1′‐yl)methyl]benzoic acid 4 and 1′‐(3‐aminobenzyl)‐2,3,5,6‐tetrahydro‐1′H ‐spiro[pyran‐4,2′‐quinazolin]‐4′(3′H )‐one 8 were prepared by hydrolysis of ester and reduction of nitro intermediates. Three different series of compounds were synthesized from these two scaffolds. The key scaffolds 4 and 8 were successfully converted to target molecules via amides 5a – k , urea 9a – f , and substituted sulfonamides 10a – e . The chemical structures of newly synthesized compounds were characterized by spectral analysis. The structure of 5d was confirmed by X‐ray crystallography study. These newly synthesized compounds were screened for antibacterial studies against Staphylococcus epidermidis , Salmonella typhi , Proteus mirabilis , and Shigella sonnei and for the antifungal activity against Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans . Among all the compounds, 9b – d showed excellent activities against S. typhi . Compound 9a showed moderate activity against all fungi stains, and 5I showed moderate activity against P. mirabilis , while the other derivatives showed fairly good activities.     

An efficient in situ reduction and cyclization reaction for synthesis of spiro compound derivatives in Fe–H2O–AcOH medium from nitro compounds

An efficient in situ reduction and cyclization reaction for the synthesis of nitrogen‐containing spiro compounds directly form 5‐nitro‐1H‐indazole, 6‐nitro‐1H‐indazole and 5‐nitroindole in Fe–H₂O–AcOH medium is reported. 5‐Nitro‐1H‐indazole, 6‐nitro‐1H‐indazole and 5‐nitroindole were first used to synthesize spiro compounds, and this is a novel method for the synthesis of spiro compounds from nitro compounds. The advantages of this reaction are stable reagents, easily available raw materials, wide range of substrates and high yields.     

Stoichiometric Reactions of Enamines Derived from Diphenylprolinol Silyl Ethers with Nitro Olefins and Lessons for the Corresponding Organocatalytic Conversions – a Survey

The stoichiometric reactions of enamines prepared from aldehydes and diphenyl‐prolinol silyl ethers (intermediates of numerous organocatalytic processes) with nitro olefins have been investigated. As reported in the last century for simple achiral and chiral enamines, the products are cyclobutanes ( 4 with monosubstituted nitro‐ethenes), dihydro‐oxazine N‐oxide derivatives ( 5 with disubstituted nitro‐ethenes), and nitro enamines derived from γ‐nitro aldehydes ( 6 , often formed after longer reaction times). The same types of products were shown to be formed, when the reactions were carried out with peptides H‐Pro‐Pro‐Xaa‐OMe that lack an acidic H‐atom. Functionalized components such as alkoxy enamines, nitro‐acrylates, acetamido‐nitro‐ethylene, or hydroxylated nitro olefins also form products carrying the diphenyl‐prolinol silyl ether as a substituent. All of these products must be considered intermediates in the corresponding catalytic reactions; the investigation of their chemical properties provided useful hints about the rates, the conditions, the catalyst resting states or irreversible traps, and/or the limitations of the corresponding organocatalytic processes. High‐level DFT and MP2 computations of the structures of alkoxy enamines and thermodynamic data of a cyclobutane dissociation are also described. Some results obtained with the stoichiometrically prepared intermediates are not compatible with previous mechanistic proposals and assumptions.     

Michael Addition Reaction of Fluorinated Nitro Compounds

The Michael addition reactions of fluorinated nitro compounds with electron deficient olefins to give γ‐fluoro‐γ‐nitro‐esters, nitriles and ketones which bear a fluorinated quaternary carbon center were reported. The reactions were promoted by TMG, affording the desired adducts in acceptable to good yields.     

Electron impact mass spectra of some tertiary aliphatic nitro compounds. Nitrocarbonyl compounds and some analogues

The mass spectra of some tertiary aliphatic nitroaldehydes, nitroketones, nitroesters, nitronitriles and related nitrocarbonyl compounds are discussed and compared with those of some analogous nitro compounds lacking the carbonyl function. The M⁺˙ ? NO₂˙ and in several cases M⁺˙ ? HNO₂ fragmentation seem to be the most characteristic features of all tertiary aliphatic nitro compounds. In the presence of the primary nitro group, the loss of NHO₂ is always observed.     

Synthesis of p-Nitro-stilbene Derivatives with Different Linking Bonds:An Attempt to Tune Spectroscopy of Dyes with Molecular Engineering

The synthesis, characterization and spectroscopy of a range of novel substituted p‐nitro‐stilbene derivatives with different bridging bonds were presented. The molecular structure characterization was carried out with ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR and elemental analysis. The ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy and photoluminescence of the compounds were investigated in various solvents. The maximal absorption wavelength of the nitro‐stilbene derivatives with an ether bond exhibited approximate 30 to 40 nm bathochromic shift compared to that of nitro‐stilbene dyes with an ester bond. Furthermore, the nitro‐stilbene derivatives with an ether bond displayed obvious photoluminescence, while the nitro‐stilbene derivatives with an ester bond showed weak fluorescence emission. The detection of the cyclic voltammograms of the nitro‐stilbene derivatives showed that the nitro‐stilbene compounds with different linking bonds exhibited different redox proceses at various scan rates. The theroretical calculations of HOMO and LUMO energy of nitro‐stilbene derivatives showed that the energy gaps between HOMO and LUMO of 3 and 4 were lower than those of 1 and 2 . The electron density of the frontier orbitals of nitro‐stilbene derivatives was observed to be affacted by the linking bonds, which thus made it possible to tune the spectroscopy of these dyes with chemical strategy. The differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry showed that the thermal stabilities of these dyes were not much affected by the linking bond. The results presented in this paper would be great interest in development of ideal nitro‐stilbene derivatives for special purposes.     

Voltammetric Study of Nitro Radical Anion Generated from Some Nitrofuran Compounds of Pharmacological Significance

The electrochemical behavior of 2‐(5‐amino‐ 1,3,4‐oxadiazolyl)‐5‐nitrofuran (NF359) and its comparison with well‐known drugs such as nifurtimox (NFX) and nitrofurazone (NFZ) in protic, mixed and aprotic media by cyclic voltammetry, tast and differential pulse polarography was studied. All the compounds were electrochemically reducible in all media being the reduction of the nitrofuran group the main voltammetric signal. The one‐electron reduction couple due to the nitro radical anion formation was visualized in mixed (for NF359 and NFZ) and aprotic media (for all compounds). By applying a cyclic voltammetric methodology we have calculated the decay constants (k₂) of the corresponding nitro radical anions in mixed and aprotic media. In mixed medium data fit well with a disproportionation reaction of the nitro radical anion but in aprotic medium fit better with a dimerization reaction. Also, considering cyclic voltammetric measurements in aprotic media we have estimated the reduction potential of the RNO₂/RNO₂^.? couple in aqueous medium, pH 7 (E¹₇ values) finding very good correlation with E¹₇ values obtained by pulse radiolysis. Furthermore we have calculated the equilibrium constants from the electron transfer from nitro radical anion to oxygen (k_O2) finding that nitro radical anion from NF359 is thermodynamically favored to react with oxygen in respect to both NFZ and NFX.     

Stereocontrolled Synthesis of Functionalized Azaheterocycles from Carbocycles through Oxidative Ring Opening/Reductive Ring Closing Protocols

Fluorine‐containing organic scaffolds are of significant interest in medicinal chemistry. The incorporation of fluorine into biomolecules can lead to remarkable changes in their physical, chemical, and biological properties. There are already many drugs on the market, which contain at least one fluorine atom. Saturated functionalized azaheterocycles as bioactive substances have gained increasing attention in pharmaceutical chemistry. Due to the high biorelevance of organofluorine molecules and the importance of N‐heterocyclic compounds, selective stereocontrolled procedures to the access of new fluorine‐containing saturated N‐heterocycles are considered to be a hot research topic. This account summarizes the synthesis of functionalized and fluorine‐containing saturated azaheterocycles starting from functionalized cycloalkenes and based on oxidative ring cleavage of diol intermediates followed by ring expansion with reductive amination.     

Vinylation of Nitro‐Substituted Indoles,Quinolinones, and Anilides with Grignard Reagents

The reaction of vinyl Grignard reagents with o‐methoxynitroarenes containing an electron‐releasing substituent para to the nitro group proceeds through a pathway that is different from the initially expected Bartoli indole synthesis. Thus, instead of giving fused indole derivatives, these reactions provide a very mild and efficient new procedure for the synthesis of synthetically relevant aromatic systems containing an o‐nitrovinyl moiety, such as 5‐nitro‐4‐vinylindoles, 6‐nitro‐7‐vinylindoles, 6‐nitro‐5‐vinyl‐2(1H)quinolinones, and 4‐nitro‐3‐vinylanilines.     

Electrochemical Study of 4‐Substituted Analogues of Megazol

The electrochemical behavior of three different megazol analogues substituted at position 4 and their comparison with the parent compound megazol in protic and aprotic media by cyclic voltammetry, Tast and differential pulse polarography was studied. All the compounds were electrochemically reducible in both media with the reduction of the nitroimidazole group the main voltammetric signal. The one‐electron reduction couple due to the nitro radical anion formation was visualized only in aprotic media for all these compounds. By applying cyclic voltammetric methodology we have calculated the dimerization reaction decay constants (k₂) of the corresponding nitro radical anions in aprotic media. The nitro radical anion obtained from the synthesized nitroimidazole compound having a bromine substituent in 4‐position (GC‐141) was significantly more stable than the corresponding radical formed from the compound lacking of the substituent in 4‐position, megazol.     

Allylation of Carbonyl Compounds Mediated by Aluminum/Fluoride Salts in Water

A novel mediator (Al/KF) has been developed and employed in the Barbier‐type alkylations of various aldehydes and ketones with alkyl halide in water. The carbonyl compounds could be effectively converted into corresponding homoallylic alcohol in good yields only when allyl bromides or substituted allyl bromides were used as halides. Aromatic aldehydes could afford homoallylic alcohols in high yields, unfortunately, the allylation of aromatic aldehyde substituted by nitro‐ or amino‐group could not proceed smoothly, and the allylation yields of ketones and aliphatic carbonyl compounds were lower under the same condition. The diastereoselectivity and regioseletivity of the reaction have also been studied, the predominant products preferred the erythro‐ or anti‐isomer in dominant γ‐adduct by using Al/KF mediated allylation of benzaldehydes with cinnamyl bromide and ethyl 4‐bromo‐2‐butenoate in water.     

Application of Cu(Hdmg)2 as a simple and cost‐effective catalyst for the convenient one‐pot reductive acetylation of aromatic nitro compounds

In this article, we have developed a novel and simple one‐pot reductive acetylation of aromatic nitro compounds with sodium borohydride (NaBH₄) in ethyl acetate (EtOAc) under reflux conditions in the presence of the bis(dimethylglyoximato)copper(II) complex [Cu(Hdmg)₂] as an efficient and cost‐effective copper‐containing catalyst. Notably, using the above‐mentioned one‐pot reaction, the corresponding acetamide derivatives were obtained in high to excellent yields.     

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Higher‐Order Cycloadditions of In Situ Generated Amino Isobenzofulvenes

The [8+2] cycloaddition of indene‐2‐carbaldehydes and nitro olefins is described to provide benzonorbornene scaffolds in a highly peri‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselective fashion in the presence of a C₂‐symmetric aminocatalyst. This reaction, which proceeds through a transient semi‐aromatic amino isobenzofulvene, represents the first example of catalytic formation and transformation of these species. Quantum chemical calculations suggest a kinetically controlled stepwise mechanism where the stereochemistry is determined in the first bond‐forming event. Beyond the useful [8+2] cycloadducts, [10+4] cycloadducts have been identified in silico as potential off‐pathway intermediates.     

Synthesis of 4‐hydroxyquinolin‐2(1H)‐one analogues and 2‐substituted quinolone derivatives

A versatile synthetic method for preparing 4‐hydroxyquinolone and 2‐substituted quinolone compounds from simple benzoic acid derivatives was demonstrated. The synthetic strategies involve the use of well known ethyl acetoacetate synthesis, malonic ester synthesis and reductive cyclization. The key intermediates were keto esters 4a‐e , which could be transformed to 4‐hydroxyquinolones 5a,b or 2‐substituted quinolone ethyl esters 6a‐c depending on the reaction conditions. 4‐Hydroxyquinolone analogues were prepared and investigated for N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) activity in vitro. Among these derivatives, 6,7‐difluoro‐3‐nitro‐4‐hydroxyquinolin‐2(1H)‐one ( 9 ) exhibited moderate activity.     

Synthesis of β‐Substituted γ‐Aminobutyric Acid Derivatives through Enantioselective Photoredox Catalysis

β‐Substituted chiral γ‐aminobutyric acids feature important biological activities and are valuable intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Herein, an efficient catalytic enantioselective approach for the synthesis of β‐substituted γ‐aminobutyric acid derivatives through visible‐light‐induced photocatalyst‐free asymmetric radical conjugate additions is reported. Various β‐substituted γ‐aminobutyric acid analogues, including previously inaccessible derivatives containing fluorinated quaternary stereocenters, were obtained in good yields (42–89 %) and with excellent enantioselectivity (90–97 % ee). Synthetically valuable applications were demonstrated by providing straightforward synthetic access to the pharmaceuticals or related bioactive compounds (S)‐pregabalin, (R)‐baclofen, (R)‐rolipram, and (S)‐nebracetam.     

Synthetic Design of Carbonyl‐Group‐Containing Compounds Based on C−O Bond Cleavage Promoted by Pd Complexes

On the basis of fundamental studies on elementary processes involving allyl−O and acyl−O bond cleavages, various new catalytic processes to convert carboxylic acid derivatives have been realized. The new processes include 1) carbonylation of allyl formates to β,γ‐unsaturated acids, 2) amination, alkylation, and carbonylation of allylic alcohols, 3) aldehyde synthesis by hydrogenation of carboxylic anhydrides and carboxylic acids, 4) ketone synthesis by combination of the C−O bond cleavage with transmetallation by organoboronic acids. The processes described here have advantages over the conventional ones in that they are more atom‐efficient and halogen‐free in realizing the syntheses of a variety of carbonyl‐containing compounds under mild conditions.     

Disulfide‐Crosslinked Electrospun Poly(γ‐glutamic acid) Nonwovens as Reduction‐Responsive Scaffolds

Novel water‐insoluble, and reduction‐responsive nonwoven scaffolds were fabricated from γ‐PGA and tested in cell culture. An electrospinning method was developed to produce scaffolds of fibers with diameters of 0.05–0.5 µm. Crosslinking of the fibers with cystamine in the presence of EDC resulted in water‐insoluble γ‐PGA nonwovens with disulfide crosslinkages. These crosslinked fibers were easily decomposed under physiological conditions using L ‐cysteine, a biocompatible reductant. In vitro experiments with mouse L929 fibroblasts showed good adhesion onto γ‐PGA‐SS fiber matrices and excellent cell proliferation. These γ‐PGA‐SS nonwovens can be used as novel biocompatible and biodegradable scaffolds with reduction‐responsiveness for biomedical or tissue engineering applications.