Preparation of (S,S)‐Fmoc‐β2hIle‐OH, (S)‐Fmoc‐β2hMet‐OH,and (S)‐Fmoc‐β2hTyr(tBu)‐OH for Solid‐Phase Syntheses of β2‐ and β2/β3‐Peptides

The preparation of three new N‐Fmoc‐protected (Fmoc=[(9H‐fluoren‐9‐yl)methoxy]carbonyl) β²‐homoamino acids with proteinogenic side chains (from Ile, Tyr, and Met) is described, the key step being a diastereoselective amidomethylation of the corresponding Ti‐enolates of 3‐acyl‐4‐isopropyl‐5,5‐diphenyloxazolidin‐2‐ones with CbzNHCH₂OMe/TiCl₄ (Cbz=(benzyloxy)carbonyl) in yields of 60–70% and with diastereoselectivities of >90%. Removal of the chiral auxiliary with LiOH or NaOH gives the N‐Cbz‐protected β‐amino acids, which were subjected to an N‐Cbz/N‐Fmoc (Fmoc=[(9H‐fluoren‐9‐yl)methoxy]carbonyl) protective‐group exchange. The method is suitable for large‐scale preparation of Fmoc‐β²hXaa‐OH for solid‐phase syntheses of β‐peptides. The Fmoc‐amino acids and all compounds leading to them have been fully characterized by melting points, optical rotations, IR, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, and mass spectra, as well as by elemental analyses.     

1‐(β‐d‐Erythrofuranos­yl)cytidine (β‐erythrocytidine)

1‐(β‐d ‐Erythrofuranosyl)cytidine, C₈H₁₁N₃O₄, (I), a derivative of β‐cytidine, (II), lacks an exocyclic hydroxy­methyl (–CH₂OH) substituent at C4′ and crystallizes in a global conformation different from that observed for (II). In (I), the β‐d ‐erythrofuranosyl ring assumes an E₃ conformation (C3′‐exo; S, i.e. south), and the N‐glycoside bond conformation is syn. In contrast, (II) contains a β‐d ‐ribofuranosyl ring in a ³T₂ conformation (N, i.e. north) and an anti‐N‐glycoside linkage. These crystallographic properties mimic those found in aqueous solution by NMR with respect to furan­ose conformation. Removal of the –CH₂OH group thus affects the global conformation of the aldofuranosyl ring. These results provide further support for S/syn–anti and N/anti correlations in pyrimidine nucleosides. The crystal structure of (I) was determined at 200 K.     

Tandem IBX‐Promoted Primary Alcohol Oxidation/Opening of Intermediate β,γ‐Diolcarbonate Aldehydes to (E)‐γ‐Hydroxy‐α,β‐enals

A tandem IBX‐promoted oxidation of primary alcohol to aldehyde and opening of intermediate β,γ‐diolcarbonate aldehyde to (E)‐γ‐hydroxy‐α,β‐enal has been developed. Remarkably, the carbonate opening delivered exclusively (E)‐olefin and no over‐oxidation of γ‐hydroxy was observed. The method developed has been extended to complete the stereoselective total synthesis of both (S)‐ and (R)‐coriolides and d ‐xylo‐ and d ‐arabino‐C‐20 guggultetrols.     

Elementary reaction analysis of the radical polymerization of α‐ethyl β‐N‐(α′‐methylbenzyl)itaconamates carrying (RS)‐ and (S)‐α‐methylbenzylaminocarbonyl groups

The polymerizations of α‐ethyl β‐N‐(α′‐methylbenzyl)itaconamates carrying (RS)‐ and (S)‐α‐methylbenzylaminocarbonyl groups (RS‐EMBI and S‐EMBI) with dimethyl 2,2′‐azobisisobutyrate (MAIB) were studied in methanol (MeOH) and in benzene kinetically and with electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The initial polymerization rate (R_p) at 60 °C was given by R_p = k[MAIB]^{0.58 ± 0.05}[RS‐EMBI]^{2.4 ± 0.l} and R_p = k[MAIB]^{0.61 ± 0.05}[S‐EMBI]^{2.3 ± 0.l} in MeOH and R_p = k[MAIB]^{0.54 ± 0.05}[RS‐EMBI]^{1.7 ± 0.l} in benzene. The rate constants of initiation (k_df), propagation (k_p), and termination (k_t) as elementary reactions were estimated by ESR, where k_d is the rate constant of MAIB decomposition and f is the initiator efficiency. The k_p values of RS‐EMBI (0.50–1.27 L/mol s) and S‐EMBI (0.42–1.32 L/mol s) in MeOH increased with increasing monomer concentrations, whereas the k_t values (0.20?7.78 × 10⁵ L/mol s for RS‐EMBI and 0.18?6.27 × 10⁵ L/mol s for S‐EMBI) decreased with increasing monomer concentrations. Such relations of R_p with k_p and k_t were responsible for the unusually high dependence of R_p on the monomer concentration. The activation energies of the elementary reactions were also determined from the values of k_df, k_p, and k_t at different temperatures. R_p and k_p of RS‐EMBI and S‐EMBI in benzene were considerably higher than those in MeOH. R_p of RS‐EMBI was somewhat higher than that of S‐EMBI in both MeOH and benzene. Such effects of the kinds of solvents and monomers on R_p were explicable in terms of the different monomer associations, as analyzed by ¹H NMR. The copolymerization of RS‐EMBI with styrene was examined at 60 °C in benzene. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1819–1830, 2003     

cyclo(β‐Asp‐β3‐hVal‐β3‐hLys) – Solid‐Phase Synthesis and Solution Structure of a Water Soluble β‐Tripeptide. Preliminary Communication

The H₂O‐soluble cyclic β³‐tripeptide cyclo(β‐Asp‐β³‐hVal‐β³‐hLys) ( 4 ) was obtained by on‐resin cyclization of the side‐chain‐anchored β‐peptide 3 (Scheme). In aqueous solution, 4 adopts a structure with uniformly oriented amide bonds and all side chains in lateral positions (Fig. 3).     

A novel stereoselective synthesis of (Z)‐α‐arylsulfanyl‐α,β‐unsaturated ketones via Stille coupling of (E)‐α‐arylsulfanylvinylstannanes with acyl halides

(E)‐α‐Arylsulfanylvinylstannanes react with acyl halides in the presence of a catalytic amount of Pd(PPh₃)₄ and CuI cocatalyst to give stereoselectively the corresponding (Z)‐α‐arylsulfanyl‐α,β‐unsaturated ketones in good yields. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 20:218–223, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20536     

Development of an Amperometric Biosensor for β‐N‐Oxalyl‐L‐α,β‐Diaminopropionic Acid (β‐ODAP)

An amperometric method for the determination of the neurotoxic amino acid β‐N‐oxalyl‐L ‐α,β‐diaminopropionic acid (β‐ODAP) using a screen printed carbon electrode (SPCE) is reported. The electrode material was bulk‐modified with manganese dioxide and used as a detector in flow injection analysis (FIA). The enzyme glutamate oxidase (GlOx) was immobilized in a Nafion‐film on the electrode surface. The performance of the biosensor was optimized using glutamate as an analyte. Optimum parameters were found as: operational potential 440 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl), flow rate 0.2 mL min^?1, and carrier composition 0.1 mol L^?1 phosphate buffer (pH 7.75). The same conditions were used for the determination of β‐ODAP. The signal was linear within the concentration range 53–855 μmol L^?1 glutamate and 195–1950 μmol L^?1 β‐ODAP. Detection limits (as 3σ value) for both analytes were 9.12 and 111.0 μmol L^?1, respectively, with corresponding relative standard deviations of 3.3 and 4.5%. The biosensor retained more than 73% of its activity after 40 days of on‐line use.     

3‐Deoxy‐β‐d‐ribo‐hexopyranose (3‐deoxy‐β‐d‐glucopyranose)

The β‐pyranose form, (III), of 3‐deoxy‐d ‐ribo‐hexose (3‐deoxy‐d ‐glucose), C₆H₁₂O₅, crystallizes from water at 298 K in a slightly distorted ⁴C₁ chair conformation. Structural analyses of (III), β‐d ‐glucopyranose, (IV), and 2‐deoxy‐β‐d ‐arabino‐hexopyranose (2‐deoxy‐β‐d ‐glucopyranose), (V), show significantly different C—O bond torsions involving the anomeric carbon, with the H—C—O—H torsion angle approaching an eclipsed conformation in (III) (−10.9°) compared with 32.8 and 32.5° in (IV) and (V), respectively. Ring carbon deoxygenation significantly affects the endo‐ and exocyclic C—C and C—O bond lengths throughout the pyranose ring, with longer bonds generally observed in the monodeoxygenated species (III) and (V) compared with (IV). These structural changes are attributed to differences in exocyclic C—O bond conformations and/or hydrogen‐bonding patterns superimposed on the direct (intrinsic) effect of monodeoxygenation. The exocyclic hydroxymethyl conformation in (III) (gt) differs from that observed in (IV) and (V) (gg).     

The α‐ and β‐epoxides of 3β‐acet­oxy‐5α‐lanost‐9(11)‐en‐7‐one

The structures of 3β‐acet­oxy‐9α,11α‐ep­oxy‐5α‐lanost‐9(11)‐en‐7‐one and 3β‐acet­oxy‐9β,11β‐ep­oxy‐5α‐lanost‐9(11)‐en‐7‐one, C₃₂H₅₂O₄, differ in their respective substituted cyclo­hexa­none rings but adopt similar conformations in the other three rings. In both of the crystal structures, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O inter­actions are present.     

Concise Synthesis of α‐Methylene‐β‐hydroxy‐γ‐carboxy‐γ‐lactams

A concise protocol for the synthesis of α‐methylene‐β‐hydroxy‐γ‐carboxy‐γ‐lactams has been described via alkylation of amino acid derived iminoesters with α‐bromomethylmethacrylate, followed by allylic hydroxylation. All the synthesized compounds have been evaluated for their cytotoxicity on multiple myeloma cancer cell lines.     

Trapping of Tricarbonyl(η1,η2‐homoallyl)iron and Tricarbonyl(η3‐allyl)iron Anion Intermediates with 2‐(Phenylsulfonyl)‐3‐phenyloxaziridine

The addition of reactive carbanions to (η⁴‐1,3‐diene)Fe(CO)₃ complexes at ?78 °C and 25 °C produced putative homoallyl and allyl anion complexes, respectively. Reaction of the reactive intermediates with 2‐(phenylsulfonyl)‐3‐phenyloxaziridine afforded nucleophilic substituted (η⁴‐1,3‐diene)Fe(CO)₃ complexes.     

β‐Carboline (norharman)

The structure of β‐carboline, also called norharman (systematic name: 9H‐pyrido[3,4‐b]indole), C₁₁H₈N₂, has been determined at 110 K. Norharman is prevalent in the environment and the human body and is of wide biological interest. The structure exhibits intermolecular N—H...N hydrogen bonding, which results in a one‐dimensional herringbone motif. The three rings of the norharman molecule collectively result in a C‐shaped curvature of 3.19 (13)° parallel to the long axis. The diffraction data show shorter pyridyl C—C bonds than those reported at the STO‐3G level of theory.