Regioselective enzymatic acylations of polyhydroxylated eudesmanes: semisynthesis, theoretical calculations, and biotransformation of cyclic sulfites

Different lipase enzymes have been tested in order to perform regioselective acetylations on the eudesmane tetrol from vulgarin. High yields (95%) of 1,12-diacetoxy derivative (4) were achieved in 1 h with Candida antarctica lipase (CAL). However, only the 12-acetyl derivative (6) was obtained in similar yield with Mucor miehei (MML) or Candida cylindracea (CCL) lipases. The enzymatic protection at C-1 and C-12 has been used to form eudesmane cyclic-sulfites between C-6 and C-4 atoms. The R/S-sulfur configuration has been assigned by means of the experimental and theoretical (13)C and (1)H NMR chemical shifts. The theoretical shifts were calculated using the GIAO method, with a MM+ geometry optimization followed by a single-point calculation at the B3LYP/6-31G(*) level (B3LYP/6-31G(*)//MM+). Moreover, B3LYP/6-31G(*) geometry optimizations were carried out to test the B3LYP/6-31G(*)//MM+ results, for the deacetylated sulfites (12 and 15). In addition to the delta(C) and delta(H) shifts, the (3)J(HH) coupling constants were also calculated and compared with the experimental values when available. Finally, different reactivities have been checked in both sulfites by biotransformation with Rhizopus nigricans. While the R-sulfite gave 2 alpha- and 11 beta-hydroxylated metabolites, the S-sulfite yielded only regioselective deacetylations. Furthermore, both sulfites showed different reactivities in redox processes.     

Crystal structure and theoretical calculations of Julocrotine,a natural product with antileishmanial activity

Julocrotine, N‐(2,6‐dioxo‐1‐phenethyl‐piperidin‐3‐yl)‐2‐methyl‐butyramide, is a potent antiproliferative agent against the promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis (L.). In this work, the crystal structure of Julocrotine was solved by X‐ray diffraction, and its geometrical parameters were compared with theoretical calculations at the B3LYP and HF level of theory. IR and NMR spectra also have been obtained and compared with theoretical calculations. IR absorptions calculated with the B3LYP level of theory employed together with the 6‐311G+(d,p) basis set, are close to those observed experimentally. Theoretical NMR calculations show little deviation from experimental results. The results show that the theory is in accordance with the experimental data. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2008     

Absolute stereostructures of halenaquinol and halenaquinol sulfate,pentacyclic hydroquinones from the okinawan marine sponge xestospongia sapra, as determined by theoretical calculation of CD spectra

The absolute stereostructures of two pentacyclic hydroquinones, halenaguinol ($\text{1}$) and halenaquinol sulfate ($\text{2}$) from the Okinawan marine sponge Xestospongia sapra, have been determined by means of theoretical calculation of CD spectra.     

Synthesis of α-allenic alcohols from propargylic cyclic carbonates and sulfites

Reaction of cyclic carbonates or sulfites of acyclic alkynyl diols with organocopper reagents proceeded in S_N2′ fashion and afforded α-allenic alcohols of high enantiomeric purity. The stereochemistry of this transformation was shown to be highly anti-diastereoselective.     

Inhibitory effects of lupene-derived pentacyclic triterpenoids from Bursera simaruba on HSV-1 and HSV-2 in vitro replication

The cytotoxicity and antiviral properties of Bursera simaruba against herpes simplex viruses (HSV-1 and HSV-2) were investigated through a bioactivity-guided isolation protocol. The plant material was fractionated using solvent-solvent partitioning, size-exclusion and thin-layer chromatography. The antiviral compounds present in the most active fractions were identified by means of LC-MS and NMR. Three different methods were compared during the evaluation of antiviral activity of samples. Four lupene-related pentacyclic triterpenes were found to be responsible for the anti-herpesvirus effects of B. simaruba and were isolated from this species for the first time. The selective indexes (SI) of B. simaruba-derived samples ranged from 7.7 to 201.9.     

Biomimetic oxidative transformations of pericine: partial synthesis of apparicine and valparicine, a new pentacyclic indole alkaloid from Kopsia

A new pentacyclic indole alkaloid of the pericine-type, valparicine, representing the first member of this sub-group, was obtained from a Malayan Kopsia species and the structure was established by spectroscopic analysis. A partial synthesis of valparicine and apparicine from pericine was carried out via the Potier-Polonovski reaction and the biogenetic implications are discussed.     

Synthesis,structure, and transformations of cyclic glycerol formals

Glycerol reacts with paraformaldehyde to give a mixture of 4-hydroxymethyl-1,3-dioxolane and 5-hydroxy-1,3-dioxane. Some transformations (alkylation and replacement of the OH groups with the Cl atoms) of the synthesized compounds were performed. The differences in NMR and mass spectra of the corresponding 1,3-dioxolanes and 1,3-dioxanes were revealed and discussed.     

Spirocyclopropanated bicyclopropylidenes: straightforward preparation, physical properites, and chemical transformations

Perspirocyclopropanated bicyclopropylidene (6) was prepared in three steps from 7-cyclopropylidenedispiro[2.0.2.1]heptane (4) (24% overall) or, more efficiently, through dehalogenative coupling of 7,7-dibromo[3]triangulane (15) (82%). This type of reductive dimerization turned out to be successful for the synthesis of (E)- and (Z)-bis(spiropentylidene) 14 (67%) and even of the "third-generation" spirocyclopropanated bicyclopropylidene 17 (17% overall from 15). Whereas the parent bicyclopropylidene 1 dimerized at 180 degrees C to yield [4]rotane, dimerization of 6 at 130 degrees C under 10 kbar pressure occured only with opening of one three-membered ring to yield the polyspirocyclopropanated (cyclopropylidene)cyclopentane derivative 19 (34% yield), and at the elevated temperature the polyspirocyclopropanated 2-cyclopropylidene[3.2.2]propellane derivative 20 (25 % yield). Perspirocyclopropanated bicyclopropylidene 6 and the "third-generation" bicyclopropylidene 17 gave addition of bromine, hydrogen bromide, and various dihalocarbenes without rearrangement. The functionally substituted branched [7]triangulane 28 and branched dichloro-C2v-[15]triangulane 32 were used to prepare the perspirocyclopropanated [3]rotane (D3h-[10]triangulane) 49 (six steps from 6, 1.4% overall yield) and the C2v-[15]triangulane 51 (two steps from 17, 41% overall). Upon catalytic hydrogenation, the perspirocyclopropanated bicyclopropylidene 6 yielded 7,7'-bis(dispiro[2.0.2.]-heptyl) (52) and, under more forcing conditions, 1,1'-bis(2,2,3,3-tetramethylcyclopropyl) (53). The bromofluorocarbene adduct 33 of 17 reacted with butyllithium to give the unexpected polyspirocyclopropanated 1,4-di-n-butyl-2-cyclopropylidenebicyclo[2.2.0]hexane derivative 37 as the main product (55% yield) along with the expected "third-generation" perspirocyclopropanated dicyclopropylidenemethane 38 (21% yield). Mechanistic aspects of this and the other unusual reactions are discussed. The structures of all new unusual hydrocarbons were proven by X-ray crystal structure analyses, and the most interesting structural and crystal packing features are presented.     

Quantum chemical studies,vibrational analysis,molecular dynamics and docking calculations of some ent-kaurane diterpenes from Annona vepretorum: a theoretical approach to promising anti-tumor molecules

Structural Chemistry - Diterpenes are a class of secondary metabolites that attract much attention due to the numerous biological activities presented, such as antimicrobial, antiviral,...     

Synthesis of natural ecdysteroids and structural analogs by chemical transformations of available phytoecdysteroids

Selective transformations of available phytoecdysteroids to access minor ecdysteroids and some new their structural analogs are reviewed. Among them are the one-step transformation of ecdysteroids into 2-dehydro-3-epi-ecdysteroids by oxidation with ozone in pyridine, and the catalytic hydrogenation of ecdysteroids, including conjugated diene ones under basic conditions. 7,8α-Dihydro- and 7,8α-dihydro-14α-deoxyecdysteroids were synthesized by these methods. 9α,14α-Epoxyecdysteroids with the oxetane cycle in the C ring were obtained for the first time. The acid-catalyzed rearrangement of 9α,14α-epoxyecdysteroids gave 9α,13α-epoxy derivatives with the 18-methyl group migrated to the 14β-position.     

Interactions of phosphorylated cyclohexapeptides with uranyl: insights from experiments and theoretical calculations

Two phosphorylated cyclohexapeptides (CPs) bearing one (CP1) or two phosphates (CP2) were synthesized to explore the interactions between uranyl ions and very small cyclic peptides. According to the results of the ESI–MS and fluorescence titrations, the 1:1 uranyl-CPs complexes are the main products with the affinity constants of 7.3?×?10⁴ and 2.0?×?10⁵ for CP1 and CP2, respectively. Density functional theory calculations indicate phosphoryl and carboxyl groups coordinate uranyl in mono-dentate and bi-dentate fashions due to steric effects, which is consistent with the results of extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy.

     

Triazole-tethered ferrocene-quinoline conjugates: solid-state structure analysis,electrochemistry and theoretical calculations

Structural Chemistry - Ferrocenyl-, triazole- and quinoline-containing compounds are known to possess potential for biological activities. The synthesis and biological activities of O-alkylated...     

Spectroscopic characterizations,X-ray studies,and electronic circular dichroism calculations of two alkaloid triterpenoids

Two alkaloid triterpenoids formulated as C₂₆H₃₅NO₃ (1) and C₃₀H₄₅NO₂ (2) were isolated from the timer tree Aphanamixis grandifolia. The structure of 1 and 2 was determined by IR, HRESIMS, 1D, and 2D-NMR. Compound 1 was confirmed by X-ray single crystal diffraction. Compound 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic, space group C₂ with unit cell parameters a = 53.195(4) Å, b = 7.6339(8) Å, c = 11.202(2) Å, β = 94.6520(2)°. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking were presented in the molecular packing of 1. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were established by comparison of experimental circular dichroism properties with their electronic circular dichroism predicted by molecular modeling DFT calculations.     

Quantum chemical calculations of hydration electrostatics and electrochemical oxidation potential of cyclic nitroxide radicals

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Carbon protonation of 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidines: synthesis, NMR studies, and theoretical calculations

Several C5-substituted 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine derivatives and their HBF4 salts were synthesized to study the carbon protonation of the pyrimidine ring. NMR investigations in DMSO-d6 prove experimentally that, in addition to the usual protonation at N1, the compounds can be protonated at C5 as well. We present several new stable cationic sigma-complexes in the pyrimidine series, where C5 protonation predominates over N1 protonation. Quantum chemical calculations using the B3LYP/cc-pVDZ method were utilized in the gas phase and also in DMSO solvent with the polarized continuum model (PCM) method to rationalize the observed protonation behavior. Results of the calculations accord with the experimental observations and prove that combined steric and electronic effects are responsible for the observed C5 protonation and for sigma-complex stability. We demonstrate that C5 protonation is a general feature of the 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine system.     

Quinones from plants of northeastern Brazil: structural diversity, chemical transformations, NMR data and biological activities

The present review focus in quinones found in species of Brazilian northeastern Capraria biflora, Lippia sidoides, Lippia microphylla and Tabebuia serratifolia. The review cover ethnopharmacological aspects including photography of species, chemical structure feature, NMR datea and biological properties. Chemical transformations of lapachol to form enamine derivatives and biological activities are discussed.     

Facial dissociations of water molecules on the outside and inside of armchair single-walled silicon nanotubes: theoretical predictions from multilayer quantum chemical calculations

The possible reaction pathways of dissociative adsorption of a single water molecule on the sidewalls of armchair (n, n) (n?=?4?C10) single-walled silicon nanotubes (SWSiNT) have been investigated by the multilayer models. Both the simplified fragment embedding and ONIOM calculations were carried out to study the diameter dependence of reactivity for the dissociation of water on SWSiNTs. The active fragments with different cluster sizes, such as Si₁₆H₁₀, Si₃₀H₁₆, and Si_10mH_4m (m?=?4?C10), were used for the multilayer calculations. The employment of the medium-sized Si₃₀H₁₆ cluster is able to reach a good balance between the computational efficiency and accuracy for the large-sized reaction system. In comparison with those full B3LYP/LANL2DZ calculations for Si(4,4) and Si(5,5) nanotubes, the approximate multilayered models can give reasonable predictions on the optimized geometries, activation energies, and exothermic energies with significant reduction in computational cost. The external complexes of the dissociative adsorption of H₂O on SWSiNTs were predicted to be more stable than those internal complexes. The convex surfaces of SWSiNTs were also more reactive to H₂O with the smaller activation barrier energies (10?C13?kcal/mol) than those (15?C22?kcal/mol) on the concave side. Both the activation barriers and exothermic energies of dissociative adsorptions of H₂O on the internal (external) sidewalls of armchair SWSiNT were found to be insensitive to the tube curvature. The passivation of the outer surface and the removal of water molecules may be crucial for the experimental preparation of the single-walled silicon nanotubes.