Conformational study of α-phenylthiocarbonyl compounds

Electrical and electrooptical characteristics of-phenylthioacetone,-phenylthiocyclohexanone, and-phenylthio-4-caranone have been determined and used in establishing the structure of the compounds in solution. It has been shown that the preferred conformer with respect to the bond , is the ac-conformer [(O=C-C-S)>90°], in which the gauche conformer with respect to the C-S bond is realized, with a 1,3-parallel position of the C=O and S-Ph bonds.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2483–2488, November, 1991.     

Spectroscopic study of (−)-trans-1,2—epoxypropylphosphonic acid derivatives

Disodium, calcium and (+)-α-phenethylammonium salts of (−)-trans-1,2-epoxypropylphosphonic acid, the sodium salt of the monomethyl ester, and the dimethyl ester of this acid have been studied by ¹H, and ¹³C NMR, IR and Raman spectroscopy. From the NMR study it can be deduced that the steric factors are mainly responsible for the molecular arrangement of these compounds in solution. IR and Raman data suggest the existence of rotational isomerism in the dimethyl ester derivative.     

The synthesis of (−)-cis- and (−)-trans-crobarbatic acid

The synthesis of both cis- and trans-crobarbatic acid is reported. The five-step sequence proceeds in high yield and with control of both relative and absolute stereochemistry. The key step in the synthesis is the Birch reductive alkylation of a chiral furoic acid which sets the absolute stereochemistry of the products. The stereochemistry of the compounds described was proven unambiguously by X-ray crystallography on one synthetic intermediate and on trans-crobarbatic acid.     

Conformational study of charged cyclohexyldiamines and their gas phase acid–base properties

Quantum chemical calculations employing the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ model chemistry have been used to investigate the structure of mono- and diprotonated forms of cyclohexyldiamine (CHDA) isomers. The strength of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds and ion–dipole interactions between the amino groups, which play a key role in the conformational behaviour of the monoprotonated forms, is estimated by isodesmic reactions and electrostatic calculations. The energy variations found for the diprotonated forms are explained by the electrostatic repulsions between the amino groups. From the Gibbs energies and enthalpies calculated for the neutral and protonated CHDAs, the gas-phase basicities and proton affinities of the neutral and monoprotonated forms were determined and discussed.     

Conformational investigation of α-methylthio and α-phenylthio derivatives of acetone and cyclohexanone by molecular mechanics. An x-ray study of α-phenylthioacetone

A conformational investigation of -methylthioacetone, -methylthiocyclohexanone, -phenylthioacetone, and -phenylthiocyclohexanone was undertaken in the MM2(87) force field. In all cases theac-G rotamers with unidirectional orientation of the C=O and S-R bonds are preferred in accordance with the experimental investigations. In all cases the energy of dipole-dipole interaction makes a contribution to the stabilization of these forms. For the eclipsedsp conformers the relatively high calculated values of the energies contradict the data of the experimental investigations, which take account of their participation in the equilibrium. X-ray crystallographic analysis of -phenylthioacetone (3) showed that thesp-T structure with a planar orientation of the thioanisole fragment is realized in the solid phase.A. E. Arbuzov Institute of Organic and Physical Chemistry, Kazan' Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 420083 Kazan'. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1364–1371, June, 1992.     

Thermochemical study of the reactions of acid–base interaction in an aqueous solution of α-aminobutyric acid

The heat effects of the interaction between a solution of α-aminobutyric acid and solutions of HNO₃ and KОН are measured by means of calorimetry in different ranges of рН at 298.15 K and values of ionic strength of 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 (KNO₃). The heat effects of the stepwise dissociation of the amino acid are determined. Standard thermodynamic characteristics (Δ_r H ⁰, Δ_r G ⁰, and Δ_r S ⁰) of the reactions of acid–base interaction in aqueous solutions of α-aminobutyric acid are calculated. The connection between the thermodynamic characteristics of the dissociation of the amino acid and the structure of this compound is considered.     

Conformational Analysis of Acyclic α-Fluoro Sulfur Motifs

Bioactive small molecules containing α-fluoro sulfur motifs [RS(O)_nCH₂F] are appearing with increasing frequency in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical sectors. Prominent examples include the anti-asthma drug Flovent^® and the phenylpyrazole insecticide pyrafluprole. Given the popularity of these structural units in bioactive small molecule design, together with the varying oxidation states of sulfur, a conformational analysis of α-fluoro sulfides, sulfoxides, and sulfones, would be instructive in order to delineate the non-covalent interactions that manifest themselves in structure. A combined crystallographic and computational analysis demonstrates the importance of hyperconjugative donor-acceptor interactions in achieving acyclic conformational control. The conformational disparity in the syn- and anti-diastereoisomers of α-fluorosulfoxides is particularly noteworthy.     

Total Synthesis of (−)-Pepluanol B: Conformational Control of the Eight-Membered-Ring System

The first total synthesis of the Euphorbia diterpenoid pepluanol B in both racemic and enantioenriched form involves 20 steps from a known bicyclic diol. This synthesis features an unprecedented bromo-epoxidation to control the eight-membered-ring conformation. In addition, salient reactions for the construction of the tetracyclic backbone include a sterically challenging aldol reaction to establish the quaternary center, a ring closing metathesis (RCM) to forge the eight-membered ring, and a diastereoselective cyclopropanation to assemble the embedded cyclopropane motif.     

Synthesis of esters of α-vinyloxyethylcarbamodithioic acid

Mono and diesters of 2-vinyloxyethylcarbamodithioic acid were synthesized by the reaction of (1-p-nitrophenyl)-2-vinyloxyethylaminoethanol with carbon disulfide. 3-[2-(Vinyloxyethyl)]-5-(4-nitrophenyl)-1,3-thiazolidine-2-thione was prepared and its structure was proved by X-ray diffraction analysis.     

A stereocontrolled synthesis of (−)-detoxinine from l-ascorbic acid

A stereoselective synthesis of (−)-detoxinine, the core unit of the detoxifying agent detoxin D₁, is presented. The approach, characterized by the use of an inexpensive starting material and by the easy and stereoselective preparation of the key 4,5-disubstituted oxazolidin-2-one 11, proves to be a suitable alternative to the known procedures.     

Stereospecific synthesis of α-lipoic acid

Short and highly stereospecific synthesis of (S)-(-)- and (R)-(+)-α-lipoic acid using menthone as a recyclable chiral auxiliary is presented.     

Crystal structure of α-cyanoacrylic acid

An x-ray structural investigation of -cyanoacrylic acid has been carried out (R=0.058 on the basis of 767 reflections). The molecules in the crystal are joined by strong O–H...N hydrogen bonds in zigzag chains along the [101] direction. The relative arrangement of the double bonds of neighboring molecules does not satisfy the conditions for topochemical reactions in crystals of compounds with C=C double bonds, in agreement with the stability of the crystals of -cyanoacrylic acid toward illumination and prolonged exposure to x rays.A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organometallic Compounds, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 32, pp. 139–143, March–April, 1991.     

Chiroptical study of α-aliphatic amino acid films in the vacuum ultraviolet region

A series of natural circular dichroism (CD) and absorption spectra for films of α-aliphatic amino acids--such as alanine, aminobutyric acid, norvaline, norleucine, valine, leucine, and isoleucine--in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) region were observed with the absolute values of optical constants at the undulator-based CD beamline TERAS BL5. Preliminary predictions of some CD spectra were also performed, based on quantum-chemical calculations using the crystal structure. Although the absorption spectra show similar features to each other, significant differences between the CD spectra were found, especially in the 7-8 eV region. The CD spectra of aliphatic amino acids with branched alkyl groups in the side-chain--such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine--exhibit strong negative CD peaks in this energy region. In contrast, the corresponding CD peaks were weak or absent in the spectra of amino acids with straight alkyl groups. Our simple calculation, and the absorption spectra of alkanes, suggest that this difference partly originates from the contribution of the alkyl group. Clear discrepancies between the CD spectra of these amino acids in solutions and those in the solid state were also observed; this is probably caused by the different molecular structures in each state. Our results clearly indicated that CD spectra in the VUV region were very sensitive to the conformations of chiral molecules.     

A radiation-chemical and quantum-chemical study of ascorbic acid interaction with α-hydroxyethyl radicals

The effect of ascorbic acid and its analogue 5,6-O-isopropylidenyl-2,3-O-dimethylascorbic acid (I), which has been synthesized for the purpose and does not contain mobile hydrogen atoms, on the formation of the products of continuous radiolysis of deaerated ethanol and its aqueous solutions has been studied. The ionization potentials, the molecular orbital energies, the enthalpies of homolytic dissociation of C-H and O-H bonds, and the enthalpies of H atom addition to the C=O group of the test compounds have been calculated by ab initio methods. The array of the experimental and calculated theoretical data suggests that both ascorbic acid in the undissociated form and compound I can oxidize α-hydroxyethyl radicals, whereas the monoanion of ascorbic acid acts as a reducing agent in the reactions with these transient radicals. The reduction of α-hydroxyethyl radicals in aqueous solutions by the ascorbic acid monoanion can follow both the hydrogen transfer and electron transfer mechanisms.     

A biosynthetically inspired synthesis of (−)-berkelic acid and analogs

We describe a complete account of our total synthesis and biological evaluation of (?)-berkelic acid and analogs. We delineate a synthetic strategy inspired by a potentially biomimetic union between the natural products spicifernin and pulvilloric acid. After defining optimal parameters, we executed a one-pot silver-mediated in situ dehydration of an isochroman lactol to methyl pulvillorate, the cycloisomerization of a spicifernin-like alkynol to the corresponding exocyclic enol ether, and a subsequent cycloaddition to deliver the tetracyclic core of berkelic acid. Our studies confirm that the original assigned berkelic acid structure is not stable and equilibrates into a mixture of 4 diastereomers, fully characterized by X-ray crystallography. In addition to berkelic acid, C22-epi-berkelic acid, and nor-berkelic acids, we synthesized C26-oxoberkelic acid analogs that were evaluated against human cancer cell lines. In contrast to data reported for natural berkelic acid, our synthetic material and analogs were found to be devoid of activity.     

Asymmetric synthesis of (S)-(−)-acromelobinic acid

A total synthesis of (S)-(−)-acromelobinic acid 2, which was isolated from clitocybe acromelalga, was achieved via an asymmetric hydrogenation protocol. Dehydroamino acid derivative 12 was prepared from 2,5-lutidine 5 and subjected to asymmetric hydrogenation using (S,S)-[Rh(Et-DuPHOS)(COD)]BF₄ to give the (S)-(+)-pyridylalanine derivative 13 in 93% yield and >96% e.e. Removal of the protecting groups in (S)-(+)-13 afforded (S)-(−)-acromelobinic acid 2.     

Enantioselective synthesis of γ-lactones from thioglycolic acid: Syntheses of (−)-muricatacin and 5-epi-(−)-muricatacin

An approach for the enantioselective synthesis of functionalized γ-lactones and its application to the syntheses of (−)-muricatacin 1a and 5-epi-(−)-muricatacin 1b is reported. A sequential oxidation of the intermediate 4 with m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid was conducted to realize the reaction mechanism.     

Preparation of chiral α-diazophosphonic acid derivatives

The chiral α-diazophosphonic acid derivatives 3, 6 and 8 were prepared from (−)-ephedrine and (S,S)-N,N′-dimethyl-1,2-diaminocyclohexane; preliminary experiments suggest that the chiral auxiliary exerts little influence in the dirhodium(II) acetate catalysed OH and NH insertion reactions.     

Seven-step total synthesis of α-cyclopiazonic acid

A seven-step total synthesis of α-cyclopiazonic acid is reported from a commercially available 4-bromoindole.Salient feature of the work is the rapid formation of tetracyclic skeleton via a bioinspired [3+2] annulation to form the C/D rings.     

Cyclization of the methyl ester of α-propionyllevulinic acid

Summary Cyclization of methyl -propionyllevulinate to 2,3-dimethylcyclopenten-2-one and methyl 3,4-dimethylcyclopenten-3-one-2-carboxylate was accomplished.