Synthesis of triazole analogues of the nanaomycin antibiotics using ‘click chemistry’

A series of triazole analogues of the nanaomycin family of antibiotics have been prepared using a ‘click’ dipolar cycloaddition of a naphthalene azide to various alkynes, followed by oxidation to the desired pyranonaphthoquinones.     

Ferrocene-based anion receptor bearing amide and triazolium donor groups

A novel ferrocene-based anion receptor bearing amide and triazolium donor groups and its anion complexation have been reported. We found that it shows marked electrochemical selectivity to F(-), followed by AcO(-) > Cl(-) > Br(-) > I(-), which is in accordance with (1)H NMR titration results.     

Reaction of unsymmetrical trifluoromethyl-containing 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with ‘push-pull’ enamines

The reaction of ‘push-pull’ enamines with trifluoromethyl-containing 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds was investigated. It was found that the reaction is sensitive both to the structure of the enamines and to reaction conditions. As a result, a set of various trifluoromethyldialkylanilines was obtained.     

The first one-pot ‘alkane-like’ reactions of carbonyl-containing adamantanes

A novel ‘alkane-like’ methodology for the direct and very simple one-pot functionalization of amides and an ester of 1-adamantanecarboxylic acid provides access to new and synthetically challenging 1,3-dicarbonyl-containing adamantanoid compounds with the same or different functional groups.     

‘Click’ chemistry as a tool for the facile synthesis of fullerene glycoconjugate derivatives

A bis-malonate C₆₀ derivative bearing terminal alkyne groups prepared by the Bingel reaction has been used as a building block under copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition conditions to produce a series of new fullerene glycoconjugate derivatives.     

‘Two-point’-bound supramolecular complexes from semi-rigidified dipyridine receptors and zinc porphyrins

Two linear compounds 1 and 2 have been designed and synthesized as new receptors for zinc porphyrins. Both compounds consist of two folded aromatic amide moieties, which are connected with an acetylene linker in 1 or directly in 2. The rigid conformations of their folded moieties are stabilized by intramolecular tri-centered hydrogen bonding, while the whole molecule adopts a ‘S’- or ‘C’-styled conformation depending on the relative orientation of the two rigid moieties. Two pyridine units are introduced at the ends of 1 and 2 for the complexation of zinc porphyrin guests. Although the ¹H NMR investigation indicated that both compounds can bind two zinc porphyrin guests at high concentrations (≥5 mM) in chloroform, the UV-vis studies revealed that, at low concentration of 1 and 2 (4 μM), both compounds complex one zinc porphyrin guest to form structurally unique ‘two-point’-bound 1:1 complexes. The association constants of the 1:1 complexes have been determined with the UV-vis titration experiments.     

Zr-promoted ‘pair’-selective and regioselective synthesis of penta-substituted benzene derivatives

Tetra-substituted zirconacyclopentadiene derivatives, obtainable via in situ generation of zirconacyclopropenes and their cyclic carbozirconation with alkynes, can be treated with alkynyllithiums to induce 1,2-migration accompanied by aromatization and protonolysis, leading to the formation of penta-substituted benzene derivatives, in which all five substituted may be different.     

Synthesis of ‘difficult’ peptides free of aspartimide and related products, using peptoid methodology

We developed an efficient, cost effective strategy for Fmoc-based solid phase synthesis of ‘difficult’ peptides and/or peptides containing Asp/Asn-Gly sequences, free of aspartimide and related products, using a peptoid methodology for the preparation of N-substituted glycines.     

Design and development of microfabricated capillary electrophoresis devices with electrochemical detection

Our efforts have been focused on developing a self-contained and transportable microfabricated electrophoresis (CE) system with integrated electrochemical detection (ED). The current prototype includes all necessary electrodes “on-chip” and utilizes miniaturized CE and ED supporting electronics custom designed for this purpose. State-of-the-art design/modeling tools and novel microfabrication procedures were used to create recessed platinum electrodes with complex geometries and the CE/ED device from two patterned ultra-flat glass substrates. The electrodes in the bottom substrate were formed by a self-aligned etch and deposition technique followed by a photolithographic lift-off process. The microchannels (20 μm deep×65 μm wide (average)) were chemically etched into the top substrate followed by thermal bonding to complete the microchip device. CE/ED experiments were performed using 0.02 M phosphate buffer (pH 6), an analyte/buffer solution (2.2 mM dopamine, 2.3 mM catechol) and varying separation voltages (0-500 V) with a custom electronics unit interfaced to a laptop computer for data acquisition. Detection limits (S/N=3) were found to be at the micromolar level and a linear detection response was observed up to millimolar concentrations for dopamine and catechol. The microchip CE/ED system injected 50 pl volumes of sample, which corresponded to mass detection limits on the order of 200 amol. For the first time, an integrated “on-chip” multi-electrode array CE/ED device was successfully designed, fabricated and tested. The majority of the electrodes (six out of eight) in the array were capable of detecting dopamine with the amplitude of the signal (i.e., peak heights) decreasing as the electrode distance from the channel exit increased.     

Comparative analysis of volatile compounds of ‘fino’ sherry wine by rotatory and continuous liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase microextraction in conjunction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Different headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) methods have been selected and applied to the analysis of volatile compounds in ‘fino’ sherry wine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A method based on rotary and continuous liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) for analysis of these same compounds has been optimised. The best conditions to extract this type of compounds using SPME and LLE were determined and both methods were validated. Both methodologies show adequate detection and quantitation limits, and linear ranges for correctly analysing these compounds. The recoveries obtained were close to 100%, with good repeatability values. The analytical and procedural advantages and disadvantages of these two methods have been compared. In general, SPME presented higher sensitivities. Both analytical methods were used to analyse five samples of ‘fino’ sherry wine supplied by different producers. No significant differences were found between the techniques at a significance level of 5%. The regression coefficients (r²) for analysis using LLE and SPME exceeded 0.94 for all compounds. The LLE procedure is a method with high repeatability and has the possibility of simultaneous extraction of several samples (up to 12), however the SPME technique is a solvent-free method presenting major advantages, such as small sample volume and higher sensitivity and simplicity.     

Synthesis of azide-alkyne fragments for ‘click’ chemical applications; formation of oligomers from orthogonally protected trialkylsilyl-propargyl azides and propargyl alcohols

A series of orthogonally protected 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles were prepared from the corresponding alkynols and trialkylsilyl-propargyl azides via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. These cycloadducts were selectively deprotected and extended in a stepwise fashion via further ‘click’ reactions to form oligomeric peptidomimetic compounds. This methodology gives access to triazole-based peptidomimetics in a controlled fashion and lays the foundation for a fragment-based approach to drug discovery.     

Mechanistic studies of DCC/HOBt-mediated reaction of 3-phenylpropionic acid with benzyl alcohol and studies on the reactivities of ‘active ester’ and the related derivatives with nucleophiles

Despite of the extensive study for peptide synthesis, DCC-mediated esterification is left still unclear. Therefore, DCC- and DCC/HOBt-mediated reactions of 3-phenylpropionic acid (1) with benzyl alcohol were carried out under several mechanistic considerations. Further, in order to determine the reactivities of the so-called ‘active esters’ compounds changing the substituents bearing carbonyl and related derivatives group for the purpose of the development of new class of non-symmetry cross-linkers, we have studied the reaction of model compounds, N-(3-phenylpropionyloxy)benzotriazole (6), N-(3-phenylpropionyloxy)phthalimide (7), 3-phenylpropionyloxybenzothiazole (8), and N-(3-phenylpropionyl)benzotriazole (9) with various nucleophiles under similar conditions were carried out for the comparison. It was revealed to exhibit the order of 6>>8>9>7.     

Cation and anion fluorescent and electrochemical sensors derived from 4,4′-substituted biphenyl

Five new fluorescent macrocyclic ligands derived from biphenyl are described. These new compounds can be used in cation and anion recognition and sensing. Their fluorescent and electrochemical properties are studied and the influence of the biphenyl conformation on these properties is considered. The X-ray single crystal structure of one of the described ligands has been determined.     

‘On-Off’ reversible switch for Fe and F mimicking XNOR logic function

A new pyrene-appended chemosensor based on thiacalix[4]arene of 1,3-alternate conformation has been synthesised which demonstrates selective optical recognition of Fe³⁺ and F⁻ in two contrasting modes. The chemosensor behaves as a bifunctional fluorescent switch which mimics the performance of an exclusive-NOR (XNOR) logic gate with chemical inputs of Fe³⁺ and F⁻ ions.     

Dynamic switching between binding sites in the complexation of macrocyclic ‘push-pull’ chromophores to lanthanides

The introduction of a 1,3-diacetylpyridine moiety, as an additional binding niche in a macrocyclic receptor ligand containing a conjugated, push-pull malonate functionality, leads to, in addition to the 1:1 binding stoichiometry, the equilibrium formation of multiple complexes, specifically 1:2, 2:1, and 3:1 ligand:metal complexes with lanthanide trications. Various binding modes elicit distinctive responses in the visible region, which enhance the potential recognition of lanthanide ions. This paper also highlights the usefulness of a full factor analysis in the elucidation of complex binding phenomena.     

Hydrogelation and spontaneous fiber formation of 8-aza-7-deazaadenine nucleoside ‘click’ conjugates

Nucleoside hydrogels based on benzyl azide ‘click’ conjugates of 8-aza-7-deaza-2′-deoxyadenosine bearing 7-ethynyl, 7-octa-(1,7-diynyl), and 7-tri-prop-2-ynyl-amine side chains were synthesized (1, 3, 4). The cycloaddition adduct with the shortest linker (1) yields the most powerful hydrogelator forming stable gels at a concentration of 0.3 wt % of 1 in water. One molecule of 1 catches 7500 water molecules. Cycloaddition of the 8-aza-7-deaza-7-azido-2′-deoxyadenosine (9) and 3-phenyl-1-propyne (10) leads to the isomeric conjugate 2, with a C-N connectivity between the nucleobase and triazole moiety. This gel is less stable than that of the adduct 1. Both gels show a similar stability over a wide pH range (4.0-10.0). Xerogels of 1 and 2 studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveal that both click adducts (1 and 2) form long fibers spontaneously.     

‘Total fluorine’ analysis of seed of Australian Gastrolobium spp. showing temporal, spatial and morphological variation

Alkali-fusion in conjunction with a fluoride selective electrode were used to quantify ‘total fluorine’, being organic fluorine + inorganic fluoride, for the seed of 13 species of Gastrolobium from south-west Western Australia. Intact seed covering spatial and temporal distributions, as well as G. bilobum, G. calycinum and G. parviflorum seed dissected into cotyledons and testa + aril, were analysed. Analysis found significant intra-and inter-species variation, both temporally and spatially, with intact seed concentrations ranging from 1.6 ± 0.3 mg kg⁻¹ in G. spinosum from Mundaring to 1063.9 ± 77.8 mg kg⁻¹ for G. cuneatum from Torbay. Approximately 87% of the ‘total fluorine’ was found to be in the seed cotyledons. Additional analysis detected little inorganic fluoride, indicating the majority of fluorine in the seed is organically bound. Parent compound(s) of the fluorine, seed toxicity and the implications of the results for seed chemical defense are discussed.     

A new optical and electrochemical sensor for fluoride ion based on the functionalized boron-dipyrromethene dye with tetrathiafulvalene moiety

A new tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivative with the boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) moiety shows selectively optical and electrochemical sensing for fluoride ion. The mechanism of anion recognition has been investigated by ¹H NMR titration and DFT calculations. The results show that the receptor with redox active TTF moiety and fluorescent BODIPY subunits may be useful as sensors for detecting and sensing fluoride ion.     

Isophorone‐boronate ester: A simple chemosensor for optical detection of fluoride anion

A highly selective isophorone‐boronate ester based chemosensor, ( 1 ) , having a dicyanovinyl moiety as a convenient colorimetric probe, has been designed. Different types of anionic analyte such as CH₃COO^?, ClO₄^?, Cl^?, F^?, PF₆^?, Br^? and HSO₄^? were tested and among them only highly nucleophilic F^? anion displayed significant response towards the sensor. Addition of the fluoride anion across the boron atom disrupts the π‐conjugation thereby shifts the absorption wavelength towards the redshift region due to the decrease in the HOMO‐LUMO energy gap and a colour change from yellow to blue is observed under visible light condition. The detection limit of this probe was calculated to be 3.25 × 10^—8 M for fluoride anion. The binding constants and the detection limits of the sensor were calculated using absorption titration studies. The silica gel TLC strips dip‐coated by the chemosensor ( 1 ) revealed a colour change from yellow to brick red to naked eye.     

Novel Mg-responsive fluorescent chemosensor based on benzo-15-crown-5 possessing 1-naphthaleneacetamide moiety

A new fluorescent ionophore for Mg²⁺, 4′-(1-naphthaleneacetamido)benzo-15-crown-5 (1), was synthesized, and its complexation behavior in acetonitrile was investigated by means of UV and fluorescence spectrometry. In the absence of a metal ion, the naphthalene moiety showed quite weak fluorescence emission (fluorescence ‘Off’ state). On the other hand, after the addition of Mg²⁺, fluorescence emission from the naphthalene moiety increased (fluorescence ‘On’ state).