Synthesis,Quantification, and Characterization of Fatty Acid Amides from In Vitro and In Vivo Sources

Fatty acid amides are a diverse family of underappreciated, biologically occurring lipids. Herein, the methods for the chemical synthesis and subsequent characterization of specific members of the fatty acid amide family are described. The synthetically prepared fatty acid amides and those obtained commercially are used as standards for the characterization and quantification of the fatty acid amides produced by biological systems, a fatty acid amidome. The fatty acid amidomes from mouse N₁₈TG₂ cells, sheep choroid plexus cells, Drosophila melanogaster, Bombyx mori, Apis mellifera, and Tribolium castaneum are presented.     

Convenient synthesis of C-terminal di- and tri-peptide amides from N-protected dipeptidoylbenzotriazoles

N-Protected dipeptidoylbenzotriazoles react with aqueous ammonia to give dipeptide primary amides (77-98%) and with N-unprotected α-amino amides to afford tripeptide primary amides (82-86%).     

Hydro-amination/-amidation of 1,3-diynes with indoles/azoles/amides under modified Ullmann conditions: stereo- and regio-selective synthesis of N-alkenynes via N-H bond activation

An efficient strategy for the stereo- and regio-selective synthesis of N-alkenynes has been described. The salient feature of the reaction involves hydro-amination/amidation of 1,3-diynes with indoles/azoles/amides via transition-metal catalyzed activation of N-H bond. The resulting N-alkenynes derived from N-heterocycles and cyclic amides were obtained as a mixture of Z/E isomers with Z-stereoselectivity ranging from 60% to 95%. In contrast, acyclic amides afforded N-alkenynes with exclusive E-stereoselectivity, albeit in reduced yield ranging from ∼10% to 41%.     

Addition of aldehydes with allyltrichlorosilane catalyzed by chiral bis-N–O secondary amides

New axially N-oxide amides derived from l-tryptophan were prepared and used as organocatalysts in enantioselective allylation of aromatic aldehydes with allyltrichlorosilanes. The corresponding addition adducts homoallylic chiral alcohols obtained high enantioselectivities (up to 96% ee) when 1 mol % of catalyst was used. The unexpected result is the addition product's absolute configuration is R when (R)-chiral amides was used, in contrast, it was (S) when (R)-chiral methyl ester were used in allylation. It exhibited that the N atoms of amides take part in the transition state procedure.     

An efficient copper-catalyzed N-arylation of amides: synthesis of N-arylacrylamides and 4-amido-N-phenylbenzamides

Copper-catalyzed intermolecular C–N bond-forming reactions between aryl iodides and amides are described using sodium ascorbate, which is both cheap and nontoxic, as the additive. A variety of functionalized amides including some practical, unique secondary amides, such as N-arylacrylamides and 4-amido-N-phenylbenzamides, which are difficult to obtain by the classical methods, are prepared. Furthermore, some tertiary amides are prepared by using copper thiophenecarboxylate.     

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of boron-containing chiral amines and amides

The first application of lipases as catalysts to obtain optically active boron-containing amines and amides is described. We studied several reaction conditions to achieve the kinetic resolution of boron-containing amines via enantioselective acylation mediated by Candida antarctica lipase B (CAL-B). Excellent enantioselectivity (E >200) and high enantiomeric excess (up to >99%) of both the remaining amines and amides were obtained.     

Self-disproportionation of enantiomers of 3,3,3-trifluorolactic acid amides via sublimation

Preparation of racemic and enantiomerically enriched N-phenyl- and N-benzyl-3,3,3-trifluorolactic acid amides has been developed. These compounds were found to have substantial magnitude of the self-disproportionation of enantiomers (SDE) via sublimation. For example, when N-phenyl-3,3,3-trifluorolactic acid amide of 87% ee was sublimed (12 h) from a Petri dish at 80 °C open to the atmosphere, the enantiomeric excess of the remainder increased to 96% ee. On the other hand, when a sample of the same compound of 67% ee was subjected to SDE via sublimation under the same conditions, the enantiomeric excess has decreased to 18% ee. These preliminary results as well as excellent chemical and physico-chemical characteristics of these amide derivatives render them as readily available and very promising substrates for systematic study of SDE via sublimation.     

Unexpected results from the re-investigation of the Beckmann rearrangement of ketoximes into amides by using TsCl

TsCl (p-toluenesulfonyl chloride), a commercially available organosulfonyl chloride, has been widely used as a stoichiometric dehydrogenation reagent in the transformation of ketoximes into corresponding amides via the Beckmann rearrangement. It has been now found to catalyze the Beckmann rearrangement with high catalytic efficiency, converting a wide range of ketoximes into their corresponding amides under mild condition with good to excellent yields (up to 99% of yield with 1-5 mol % of catalyst loading).     

Asymmetric catalytic aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction using chiral bifunctional phosphine amides as catalysts

The asymmetric catalytic aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction of N-sulfonated imines with α,β-unsaturated ketones has been successfully conducted by using chiral bifunctional phosphine amides as catalysts. A series of new chiral bifunctional phosphine amides were designed, synthesized, and systematically studied for this asymmetric reaction. The corresponding aza-MBH adducts were obtained in good yields (75-99%) and up to very good enantiomeric excesses (51-95% ee) under mild conditions.     

Preparation and hydrophobizing properties of carboxylic acid <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]amide hydrochlorides

Carboxylic acid N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]amides were prepared in 90–95% yield by the reaction of carboxylic acid esters with N,N-dimethyl-1,3-diaminopropane in the presence of zeolites as catalysts. Hydrochlorides of these amides show promise as cationic surfactants for hydrophobization of the bottomhole formation zone of oil fields.     

Synthesis and microbial transformation of β-amino nitriles

Rhodococcus equi A4, Rhodococcus erythropolis NCIMB 11540 and Rhodococcus sp. R312 were investigated towards their ability to produce β-amino amides and acids from β-amino nitriles. The microorganisms show comparable trends: five-membered alicyclic 2-amino nitriles were transformed significantly faster than the six-membered compounds and the products of trans-2-amino nitriles (amides and acids) were formed considerably faster than the cis-counterparts (amides). The trans-five membered nitriles gave the amides (1b, 5b) in excellent enantiomeric excess (94-99%), the biotransformation of trans-six membered substrates resulted in the formation of the acid (3c, 7c) in excellent ee (87-99%). The ee's of the cis-compounds were throughout lower. Fifteen new substances were synthesized and characterized in the course of this work.     

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) waste recycling and uses for enhancement of bioremediation of arsenic in groundwater

Various studies on arsenic pollution reveal that high concentrations of arsenic were found in many districts of western Uttar Pradesh, India. There arsenic concentrations were higher than the permissible limit given by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). There is a requirement to bioremediate arsenic due to its harmful effect. On the other hand, Poly(ethylene terephthalate) was being repeatedly used as packaging materials, due to which various environmental issues regarding PET waste disposal have generated. In the present study, PET waste was recycled into various aromatic amides by aminolysis and ammonolysis. These aromatic amides were used as surfactants. Various studies have been carried out for biosorption of heavy metal through Bacillus cereus. The efforts were made to enhance bioremediation of arsenic in different water samples spiked with Bacillus cereus in the presence of synthesized aromatic amides. This study explored the possibility to increase bioremediation of arsenic by bacteria using recycled PET waste. The results of this study indicated that in the presence of aromatic amides the percent biosorption could be enhanced by bacteria up to 20–60%.The other significant approach of this study is recycling of PET waste.     

High-Throughput Structural Elucidation of Amides in Mallotus lianus Croiz Plant Materials by LC-ESI-MS-MS

Liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS-MS) was utilized to elucidate the tentative structures of amides in Mallotus lianus Croiz plant materials. Collision-induced dissociation was performed in order to propose the structural information for ten unknown amides on the basis of the fragmentation pathways of the four purified amides, which were supported by their corresponding high resolution FTICR-MS data. This is the first report about the structural identification of amides in M. lianus Croiz by LC-ESI-MS-MS directly, which could eliminate the disadvantages such as tedious and material consuming of traditional phytochemical analysis.     

Iron-catalyzed hydroaminocarbonylation of alkynes: Selective and efficient synthesis of primary α,β-unsaturated amides

α,β-Unsaturated primary amides are important intermediates and building blocks in organic synthesis. Herein, we report a ligand-free iron-catalyzed hydroaminocarbonylation of alkynes using NH₄HCO₃ as the ammonia source, enabling the highly efficient and regioselective synthesis of linear α,β-unsaturated primary amides. Various aromatic and aliphatic alkynes are transformed into the desired linear α,β-unsaturated primary amides in good to excellent yields. Further studies show that using NH₄HCO₃ as the ammonia source is key to obtain good yields and selectivity. The utility of this route is demonstrated with the synthesis of linear α,β-unsaturated amides including vanilloid receptor-1 antagonist TRPV-1.     

Amidation of carboxylic acids via the mixed carbonic carboxylic anhydrides and its application to synthesis of antidepressant (1S,2R)-tranylcypromine

Primary amidations of carboxylic acids 1 or 3 with NH₄Cl in the presence of ClCO₂Et and Et₃N were developed to afford the corresponding primary amides in 22% to quantitative yields. Additionally, we have applied the amidation to the preparation of various amides containing hydroxamic acids and achieved the synthesis of (1S,2R)-tranylcypromine as an antidepressant medicine via Lossen rearrangement.     

Conquering amide planarity: Structural distortion and its hidden reactivity

Amides are generally considered as a low-reactive chemical entity among the carbonyl group, and therefore fewer opportunities to be involved in catalytic transformations as substrates. The origin of the stable nature of amides is resonance stabilization in the planar structure, which has drawn considerable attention from organic and physical chemists, leading to the discovery of distorted amides that exhibit a substantially reactive nature. Recent focus in this field is on the catalytic transformation of designed amides with moderate distortion or reduced resonance stabilization. This digest reviews the brief history of the quest for highly distorted amides and introduces a collection of recent studies on catalytic transformations of designed amides.     

Synthesis of 2-oxazolines via boron esters of N-(2-hydroxyethyl) amides

A new, convenient, one-pot process is presented for the synthesis of 2-oxazolines in high yields (75-94%) via boron esters of N-(2-hydroxyethyl) amides. The procedure involves thermolysis of the boron esters at 240-260 °C, in the presence of solid CaO as an acid scavenger and allows the preparation of oxazolines from hydroxyethyl amides of aliphatic and aromatic monocarboxylic acids.     

Cu-catalyzed arylation of phosphinic amide facilitated by (±)-trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine

Cu-catalyzed cross coupling between phosphinic amides and aryl halides was accomplished for the first time by using(±)-trans- cyclohexane-1,2-diamine as the ligand.This reaction provided a novel approach for synthesizing arylated phosphinic amides.Both kinetic measurement and theoretical calculation indicated that phosphinic amides were much less reactive than amides by about 10 times in Cu-catalyzed cross coupling.     

The photochemical reactions of N,N-dialkyl α,β-unsaturated amides

Upon benzene-sensitized irradiation N,N-dibenzyl α,β-unsaturated amides 1a-1c cyclized to the corresponding 2-azetidinones 2a-2c in good yields via intramolecular hydrogen abstraction by the β-C atom. Under the same conditions N,N-diisopropyl amides 1e and 1f were found to undergo a novel photoreaction to give N-isopropyl saturated amides via the abstraction. Irradiation of N,N-diethyl and dimethyl amides gave neither 2-azetidinones nor N-monosubstituted amides.     

Selective and facile synthesis of α,β-unsaturated nitriles and amides with N-hydroxyphthalimide as the nitrogen source

The direct conversion of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes to corresponding nitriles promoted by Pd(OAc)₂ and phthalic acid which was hydrolyzed from N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) has been disclosed. Additionally, it was found that when water was used as the solvent, α,β-unsaturated amides was obtained as the main products in good to excellent yields. It was first reported that NHPI was utilized as the nitrogen source to synthesize α,β-unsaturated nitriles and amides from aldehydes. Control experiment demonstrated that aldehydes undergo a process of oximation and dehydration to form nitriles and amides.