Selective palladium(ii)-catalyzed acetoxylation of cyclododecene: a kinetic study

The acetoxylation of cyclododecene by palladium(II) acetate, hydroquinone and iron(II) phthalocyanine (FePc) was studied at 0.1 ÷ 1.0 MPa dioxygen pressure and temperature range of 313 to 335 K. Cyclododec-2-en-1-yl acetates in high selectivity (93.4%) at a conversion of cyclododecene up to 93.8% were obtained. The kinetic model assumed the significant inhibition effect of the allyl acetates. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transition-metal-catalyzed switchable divergent cycloaddition of para-quinone methides and vinylethylene carbonates: Access to different sized medium-sized heterocycles

Divergent synthesis of medium-sized rings with controllable ring sizes represents a longstanding challenge in organic synthesis. Herein, we developed a transition-metal-catalyzed switchable divergent cycloaddition of para-quinone methides and vinylethylene carbonates by controlling the steric hindrance of substituent. Different from reported alkoxide-triggered annulations, this process undergoes a regiodivergent allylation of para-quinone methides followed by 1,6-addition reaction, providing a new route to selectively synthesize seven- to ten-membered nitrogen-containing heterocycles in high yields with excellent regioselectivities. This protocol features a broad substrate scope, wide functional group tolerance as well as operational simplicity. The reaction mechanism was investigated by conducting a series of control experiments as well as DFT calculations and the origins of the regioselectivities of the cycloaddition process were rationalized.     

Allylic C-H acetoxylation with a 4,5-diazafluorenone-ligated palladium catalyst: a ligand-based strategy to achieve aerobic catalytic turnover

Pd-catalyzed C-H oxidation reactions often require the use of oxidants other than O(2). Here we demonstrate a ligand-based strategy to replace benzoquinone with O(2) as the stoichiometric oxidant in Pd-catalyzed allylic C-H acetoxylation. Use of 4,5-diazafluorenone (1) as an ancillary ligand for Pd(OAc)(2) enables terminal alkenes to be converted to linear allylic acetoxylation products in good yields and selectivity under 1 atm O(2). Mechanistic studies have revealed that 1 facilitates C-O reductive elimination from a π-allyl-Pd(II) intermediate, thereby eliminating the requirement for benzoquinone in this key catalytic step.     

Synthesis of heterocycles via ligand-free palladium catalyzed reductive Heck cyclization

Synthesis of five and six membered heterocycles, indolines, 2,3-dihydrobenzofurans, chromans, isochromans, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines, and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines, in 70-99% yield by a ligand-free palladium catalyzed reductive Heck cyclization of phenyl bromides and chlorides, under mild conditions, is reported. Water was found to be essential for these reactions.     

Synthesis and characterization of palladium(II) complexes of some tellurium heterocycles

Summary A series of square planar complexes of the type [PdX₂L₂] where X=Cl, Br, I; L=telluracyclopentane (tcp), telluracyclohexane (tch) or benzotelluracyclopentane (btp) have been synthesised. The complexes were characterised by far-i.r., n.m.r. and u.v.-vis. spectroscopy. The data implytrans-geometries except for the complex [PdCl₂(tch)₂] where a mixture ofcis- andtrans-isomers is obtained.     

Synthesis of carbo- and heterocycles via palladium catalysed cascade allene insertion-nucleophile incorporation-Michael addition processes

Novel palladium catalysed two- and three-component thermal (conventional heating and microwave) cascade processes are described involving allenylation of an aryl iodide to generate a (π-allyl)palladium species, which are intercepted (inter- or intramolecularly) by a carbon or nitrogen nucleophile followed by intramolecular Michael addition to afford carbo- and heterocycles in good yields.     

Transition-metal-catalyzed synthesis of aspergillide B: an alkyne addition strategy

A catalytic enantioselective formal total synthesis of aspergillide B is reported. This linchpin synthesis was enabled by the development of new conditions for Zn-ProPhenol catalyzed asymmetric alkyne addition. This reaction was used in conjunction with ruthenium-catalyzed trans-hydrosilylation to affect the rapid construction of a late-stage synthetic intermediate of aspergillide B to complete a formal synthesis of aspergillide B in a highly efficient manner.     

Vinylation of 5-membered heterocycles by ethylene in the presence of palladium(II)

The reaction between ethylene and 5-membered heterocyclic compounds (thiophene, furan, furfural) in solution in the presence of a palladium salt at 25–100°C and atmospheric pressure is found to give good yields of 2-vinyl derivatives of the heterocycles indicated.

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5- (, , ) 25–100° 2- .

     

Immunological and biochemical evidence that blepharismin is not a prosthetic group

A polyclonal, multispecific antiserum was raised against a whole 3[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate-extract of nonirradiated Blepharisma japonicum cells. It was used to reveal the composition of solutions that were hypothesized to contain the photoreceptor of the ciliate. A Bio-Gel A 1.5 m fine column chromatography of the extract allowed recovery of a single elution peak isolated by recording the 580 nm light absorbance. Fused-rocket immunoelectrophoresis of this material revealed a large number of > 300 kDa coeluted proteins. Blepharismin-rich material with a molecular mass of approximately 50 kDa, consisting of at least nine proteins was obtained when the same extract underwent preparative isoelectric focusing before column chromatography separation. Purification of the pigment obtained from light-exposed cells gave blepharismin-rich material with a molecular weight of approximately 200 kDa. Comparison of the materials obtained under the same conditions, either from the dark-kept or light-irradiated cells, by means of pore-gradient electrophoresis confirmed that proteins present in the two preparations were different. It revealed only a very small amount, if any, of proteins in the chromatography fractions with the highest absorbance at 600 nm. Results are discussed on the basis of the hypothesis that a specific blepharismin-binding protein does not exist in the protozoan.     

Coupling of C-amino aza-substituted heterocycles with an isocyanide ligand in palladium(ii) complex

The reaction of cis-dichlorobis(2,6-xylylisocyanide)palladium(ii) with 2-aminopyrazine affords a binuclear palladium complex, in which one of the metal atoms is involved in the palladacyclic ligand. In the contrast, the coupling of isocyanide ligands in cis-dichlorobis-(2,6-xylylisocyanide)palladium(ii) with another C-amino aza-substituted heterocycle, viz.,4-acetyl-3-amino-5-methylpyrazole, gives a mononuclear cationic palladium diaminocarbene complex. Both compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, ¹H, ¹³C{₁H}, DEPT90/DEPT135, and ¹H,¹³C-HSQC/¹H,¹³C-HMBC NMR spectroscopy, high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and X-ray diffraction.     

Glucose,not cellobiose,is the repeating unit of cellulose and why that is important

Despite nomenclature conventions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the repeating unit of cellulose is often said to be cellobiose instead of glucose. This review covers arguments regarding the repeating unit in cellulose molecules and crystals based on biosynthesis, shape, crystallographic symmetry, and linkage position. It is concluded that there is no good reason to disagree with the official nomenclature. Statements that cellobiose is the repeating unit add confusion and limit thinking on the range of possible shapes of cellulose. Other frequent flaws in drawings with cellobiose as the repeating unit include incorporation of O-1 as the linkage oxygen atom instead of O-4 (the O-1 hydroxyl is the leaving group in glycoside synthesis). Also, n often erroneously represents the number of cellobiose units when n should denote the degree of polymerization i.e., the number of glucose residues in the polysaccharide.     

Finding seconds count after contact with blood (and that is all I did)

On a surface, upon its contact with plasma at least five proteins in succession displace each other within 1 min. It took me about 30 years to discover that.     

Evidence that amorphous water below 160 K is not a fragile liquid

We have examined transport mechanisms in amorphous solid water (ASW) by studying thermal desorption of layered nanoscale films of CCl4 and labeled ASW. The interlayer mixing observed near T approximately 150-160 K is inconsistent with a mechanism involving diffusion through a dense phase. Instead, intermixing occurs via vapor-phase transport through an interconnected porous network created within the film during crystallization. As a consequence, the self-diffusivity of ASW is significantly smaller than previously thought, indicating that water undergoes either a glass transition or a fragile-to-strong transition at a temperature above 160 K.