1‐Methoxyhexane‐3‐thiol,a Powerful Odorant of Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea L.)

The peculiar and highly diffusive odor signal of flowering clary‐sage plants (Salvia sclarea L.) was identified to derive from trace amounts of 1‐methoxyhexane‐3‐thiol ( 1 ) by mass‐spectrometry analysis and confirmed by comparison with synthetic racemic thiol (±)‐ 1 . The enantiomers (S)‐ and (R)‐ 1 were prepared by enantioselective synthesis, and the absolute configuration of (S)‐ 1 was fully corroborated by X‐ray‐diffraction analysis of the crystalline thioester (1′S,1S)‐ 2 . Compound (S)‐ 1 is one of the most powerful odorants known, with a detection threshold of 0.04⋅10⁻³ ng/l air, and is, with its herbaceous‐green, alliaceous, and perspiration profile, key to the fragrance of clary‐sage flowers and of the freshly distilled essential oil. As a consequence of its unique odor, 1 was also suspected to be part of the volatiles of a Ruta species where it was subsequently identified together with its homologue, 1‐methoxyheptane‐3‐thiol ( 3 ), 1‐methoxy‐4‐methylpentane‐3‐thiol ( 4 ), and the known 4‐methoxy‐2‐methylbutane‐2‐thiol ( 5 ). The syntheses of (±)‐ 3 and (±)‐ 4 as well as of the enantiomer (R)‐ 4 are described. In both natural fractions, the ratio (S)‐ 1 /(R)‐ 1 was slightly in favor of the (S)‐enantiomer. Natural 4 has (R)‐configuration.     

Estimation of apparent binding constant of complexes of selected acyclic nucleoside phosphonates with β‐cyclodextrin by affinity capillary electrophoresis

Affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) has been applied to estimation of apparent binding constant of complexes of (R,S)‐enantiomers of selected acyclic nucleoside phosphonates (ANPs) with chiral selector β‐cyclodextrin (βCD) in aqueous alkaline medium. The noncovalent interactions of five pairs of (R,S)‐enantiomers of ANPs‐based antiviral drugs and their derivatives with βCD were investigated in the background electrolyte (BGE) composed of 35 or 50 mM sodium tetraborate, pH 10.0, and containing variable concentration (0–25 mM) of βCD. The apparent binding constants of the complexes of (R,S)‐enantiomers of ANPs with βCD were estimated from the dependence of effective electrophoretic mobilities of (R,S)‐enantiomers of ANPs (measured simultaneously by ACE at constant reference temperature 25°C inside the capillary) on the concentration of βCD in the BGE using different nonlinear and linear calculation methodologies. Nonlinear regression analysis provided more precise and accurate values of the binding constants and a higher correlation coefficient as compared to the regression analysis of the three linearized plots of the effective mobility dependence on βCD concentration in the BGE. The complexes of (R,S)‐enantiomers of ANPs with βCD have been found to be relatively weak – their apparent binding constants determined by the nonlinear regression analysis were in the range 13.3–46.4 L/mol whereas the values from the linearized plots spanned the interval 12.3–55.2 L/mol.     

Enantiomeric high‐performance liquid chromatography resolution and absolute configuration of 6β‐benzoyloxy‐3α‐tropanol

The absolute configuration of the naturally occurring isomers of 6β‐benzoyloxy‐3α‐tropanol ( 1 ) has been established by the combined use of chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography with electronic circular dichroism detection and optical rotation detection. For this purpose (±)‐ 1 , prepared in two steps from racemic 6‐hydroxytropinone ( 4 ), was subjected to chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography with electronic circular dichroism and optical rotation detection allowing the online measurement of both chiroptical properties for each enantiomer, which in turn were compared with the corresponding values obtained from density functional theory calculations. In an independent approach, preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography separation using an automatic fraction collector, yielded an enantiopure sample of _OR(+)‐ 1 whose vibrational circular dichroism spectrum allowed its absolute configuration assignment when the bands in the 1100–950 cm^‐1 region were compared with those of the enantiomers of esters derived from 3α,6β‐tropanediol. In addition, an enantiomerically enriched sample of 4 , instead of _OR(±)‐ 4 , was used for the same transformation sequence, whose high‐performance liquid chromatography follow‐up allowed their spectroscopic correlation. All evidences lead to the _OR(+)‐(1S,3R,5S,6R) and _OR(?)‐(1R,3S,5R,6S) absolute configurations, from where it follows that samples of 1 isolated from Knightia strobilina and Erythroxylum zambesiacum have the _OR(+)‐(1S,3R,5S,6R) absolute configuration, while the sample obtained from E. rotundifolium has the _OR(?)‐(1R,3S,5R,6S) absolute configuration.     

HPLC法拆分(-)-2(S)-苄基-4-酮-4-(顺式-全氢化异吲哚-2-基)丁酸钙对映体

目的：建立刺激胰岛素分泌的新型降糖药物(-)-2 (S)-苄基-4-酮-4-(顺式-全氢化异吲哚-2-基)丁酸钙对映体的HPLC拆分方法。方法：采用Sumichiral OA-3300手性柱(250 × 4.6 mm I.D., 5 μm), 柱温35℃,以0.05 mol·L-1醋酸铵的甲醇溶液为流动相,检测波长为210 nm。结果：本品两对映体在22分钟内实现良好分离,分离度达3以上,S－异构体分别在0.028 ~ 5.6 μg mL-1和0.03 ~ 6.0 μg mL-1范围内线性关系良好,回归方程分别为：Y=1.32×103x-2.54 (r=0.9997)和Y=1.15×103x-1.78 (r=0.9998),最低检测限分别为0.15 ng和0.10 ng,方法精密度RSD低于1.0% (n=5)。结论：建立的对映体分离方法可用于本品光学异构体的质量控制。     

Syntheses of Enantiomerically Pure 2‐Substituted Pyrrolidin‐3‐ones via Lithiated Alkoxyallenes – An Auxiliary‐Based Synthesis of both Enantiomers of the Antibiotic Anisomycin

The hydrochlorides of both enantiomers of the antibiotic anisomycin were prepared starting with the ‘diacetone‐fructose’‐substituted allene 1 and the N‐Boc‐protected imine precursor 2a . Addition of an excess of lithiated 1 to 2a provided a 2 : 1 mixture 3a of diastereoisomers, which were cyclized to 4a under base promotion (Scheme 2). The two diastereoisomers of 4a were separated and converted into enantiomerically pure pyrrolidin‐3‐ones (2R)‐ 5a and (2S)‐ 5a . A similar sequence yielded the N‐Tos‐protected compounds (2R)‐ 5b and (2S)‐ 5b . Compounds 5a were converted into silyl enol ethers 6 and by subsequent regio‐ and stereoselective hydroboration into pyrrolidine derivatives 7 (Scheme 3). Straightforward functional‐group transformations led to the hydrochlorides 9 of anisomycin (Scheme 3). The (2R) series provided the hydrochloride (2R)‐ 9 of the natural occurring enantiomer, whereas the (2S) series furnished the antipode (2S)‐ 9 . The overall sequence to the natural product involved ten steps with eight purified intermediates and afforded an overall yield of 8%. Our stereochemically divergent approach to this type of hydroxylated pyrrolidines is highly flexible and should easily allow preparation of many analogues.     

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.     

A Practical and Enantiospecific Synthesis of (−)‐(R)‐ and (+)‐(S)‐Piperidin‐3‐ols

A highly enantiospecific, azide‐free synthesis of (?)‐(R)‐ and (+)‐(S)‐piperidin‐3‐ol in excellent yield was developed. The key step of the synthesis involves the enantiospecific ring openings of enantiomerically pure (R)‐ and (S)‐2‐(oxiran‐2‐ylmethyl)‐1H‐isoindole‐1,3(2H)‐diones with the diethyl malonate anion and subsequent decarboxylation.     

Enantioselective HRGC Separation of Toxaphene Congeners by Ethylated γ‐Cyclodextrins

The enantioselectivity of three batches of octakis‐(2,3,6‐tri‐O‐ethyl)‐γ‐cyclodextrin (TEG‐CD), which differed significantly in their degree of ethylation, is reported for toxaphene congeners. The cyclodextrin composition was determined by high performance liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Columns prepared with almost fully ethylated cyclodextrin showed no enantiomer separation. Increasing the average number of free OH groups up to an optimum of 3.8 allowed to resolve the following toxaphene congeners into enantiomers: Parlar no. 11, 12, 15, 21, 25, 32, 38, 42.1, 42.2, 50, 51, 56, 58, 59, 62, 69 as well as B8‐1412. More free OH groups did not improve the enantiomer resolution. The structure of the polysiloxane used for dilution of TEG‐CD also had an influence on the enantiomer separations achieved. Compared to OV 1701‐OH, the use of PS 086 significantly improved the enantiomer resolutions of the separated congeners. However, neither increasing the column length nor the cyclodextrin amount in the stationary phase led to better separation results.     

Simultaneous enantioseparation of cyproconazole,bromuconazole, and diniconazole enantiomers by CD‐modified MEKC

An efficient method for the simultaneous enantioseparation of cyproconazole, bromuconazole, and diniconazole enantiomers was developed by CD‐modified MEKC using a dual mixture of neutral CDs as chiral selector. Three neutral CDs namely hydroxypropyl‐β‐CD, hydroxypropyl‐γ‐CD, and γ‐CD were tested as chiral selectors at different concentrations ranging from 10, 20, 30 and 40 mM, but enantiomers of the studied fungicides were not completely separated. The best dual chiral recognition mode for the simultaneous separation of cyproconazole, bromuconazole, and diniconazole enantiomers was achieved with a mixture of 27 mM hydroxypropyl‐β‐CD and 3 mM hydroxypropyl‐γ‐CD in 25 mM phosphate buffer (pH 3.0) containing 40 mM SDS to which methanol‐acetonitrile (10%:5% v/v) was added as organic modifiers. The best separation was based on the appearance of 10 peaks simultaneously, with good resolution (R_s 1.1–15.9), and peak efficiency (N>200 000). Good repeatabilities in the migration time, peak area, and peak height were obtained in terms of RSD ranging from (0.72 to 1.06)%, (0.39 to 3.49)%, and (1.90 to 4.84)%, respectively.     

Stereoselective and Enantioselective Syntheses of the Four Stereoisomers of Muscol from (3RS)‐Muscone

Two trans stereoisomers of 3‐methylcyclopentadecanol (=muscol), (1R,3R)‐ 2 and (1S,3S)‐ 2 , were efficiently synthesized from (3RS)‐3‐methylcyclopentadecanone (=muscone; (3RS)‐ 1 ) by a highly stereoselective reduction (Scheme). L‐Selectride^® (=lithium tri(sec‐butyl)borohydride) was used, followed by the enantiomer resolution by lipase QLG (Alcaligenes sp.). The cis stereoisomers of muscol, (1S,3R)‐ 2 and (1R,3S)‐ 2 , were obtained by the Mitsunobu inversion of (1R,3R)‐ 2 and (1S,3S)‐ 2 , respectively (Scheme). The absolute configuration of (1R,3R)‐ 2 was determined by X‐ray crystal‐structure analysis of its 3‐nitrophthalic acid monoester, 2‐[(1R,3R)‐3‐methylcyclopentadecyl hydrogen benzene‐1,2‐dicarboxylate ((1R,3R)‐ 3b ), and by oxidation of (1R,3R)‐ 2 to (3R)‐muscone.     

α‐Propargyl amino acid‐derived optically active novel substituted polyacetylenes: Synthesis,secondary structures,and responsiveness to ions

Novel optically active substituted acetylenes HC? CCH₂CR¹(CO₂CH₃)NHR² [(S)‐/(R)‐ 1 : R¹ = H, R² = Boc, (S)‐ 2 : R¹ = CH₃, R² = Boc, (S)‐ 3 : R¹ = H, R² = Fmoc, (S)‐ 4 : R¹ = CH₃, R² = Fmoc (Boc = tert‐butoxycarbonyl, Fmoc = 9‐fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl)] were synthesized from α‐propargylglycine and α‐propargylalanine, and polymerized with a rhodium catalyst to provide the polymers with number‐average molecular weights of 2400–38,900 in good yields. Polarimetric, circular dichroism (CD), and UV–vis spectroscopic analyses indicated that poly[(S)‐ 1 ], poly[(R)‐ 1 ], and poly[(S)‐ 4 ] formed predominantly one‐handed helical structures both in polar and nonpolar solvents. Poly[(S)‐ 1a ] carrying unprotected carboxy groups was obtained by alkaline hydrolysis of poly[(S)‐ 1 ], and poly[(S)‐ 4b ] carrying unprotected amino groups was obtained by removal of Fmoc groups of poly[(S)‐ 4 ] using piperidine. Poly[(S)‐ 1a ] and poly[(S)‐ 4b ] also exhibited clear CD signals, which were different from those of the precursors, poly[(S)‐ 1 ] and poly[(S)‐ 4 ]. The solution‐state IR measurement revealed the presence of intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the carbamate groups of poly[(S)‐ 1 ] and poly[(S)‐ 1a ]. The plus CD signal of poly[(S)‐ 1a ] turned into minus one on addition of alkali hydroxides and tetrabutylammonium fluoride, accompanying the red‐shift of λ_max. The degree of λ_max shift became large as the size of cation of the additive. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

The Absolute Configuration of (+)‐Ethyl cis‐1‐Benzyl‐3‐hydroxypiperidine‐4‐carboxylate and (+)‐4‐Ethyl 1‐Methyl cis‐3‐Hydroxypiperidine‐1,4‐dicarboxylate; a Revision

Discrepancies between chiroptical data from the literature and our determination of the structure of the title compounds (+)‐ 5 and (+)‐ 9a were resolved by an unambiguous assignment of their absolute configuration. Accordingly, the dextrorotatory cis‐3‐hydroxy esters have (3R,4R)‐ and the laevorotatory enantiomers (3S,4S)‐configuration. The final evidences were demonstrated on both enantiomers (+)‐ and (?)‐ 5 by biological reduction of 4 by bakers' yeast and stereoselective [Ru^II(binap)]‐catalyzed hydrogenations of 4 (Scheme 2), by the application of the NMR Mosher method on (+)‐ and (?)‐ 5 (Scheme 3), as well as by the transformation of (+)‐ 5 into a common derivative and chiroptical correlation (Scheme 4).     

Diastereoselective Electrophilic Amination of Chiral 1‐Benzoyl‐2,3,5,6‐tetrahydro‐3‐methyl‐2‐(1‐methylethyl)pyrimidin‐4(1H)‐one for the Asymmetric Syntheses of α‐Substituted α,β‐Diaminopropanoic Acids

The chiral compounds (R)‐ and (S)‐1‐benzoyl‐2,3,5,6‐tetrahydro‐3‐methyl‐2‐(1‐methylethyl)pyrimidin‐4(1H)‐one ((R)‐ and (S)‐ 1 ), derived from (R)‐ and (S)‐asparagine, respectively, were used as convenient starting materials for the preparation of the enantiomerically pure α‐alkylated (alkyl=Me, Et, Bn) α,β‐diamino acids (R)‐ and (S)‐ 11 – 13 . The chiral lithium enolates of (R)‐ and (S)‐ 1 were first alkylated, and the resulting diasteroisomeric products 5 – 7 were aminated with ‘di(tert‐butyl) azodicarboxylate’ (DBAD), giving rise to the diastereoisomerically pure (≥98%) compounds 8 – 10 . The target compounds (R)‐ and (S)‐ 11 – 13 could then be obtained in good yields and high purities by a hydrolysis/hydrogenolysis/hydrolysis sequence.     

Development of a high‐performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of chiral impurities and assay of (S)‐clopidogrel using a cellulose‐based chiral stationary phase in methanol/water mode

A simple reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography method for the chiral separation of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (S)‐clopidogrel has been developed on the cellulose‐based Chiralcel OJ‐RH chiral stationary phase. The S enantiomer was baseline resolved from its R impurity (impurity C) with a mobile phase consisting of methanol/water (100:15) without any interference coming from the other two potential chiral impurities A and B. The enantio‐ and chemoselective method was partially validated and compared with that reported in the United States Pharmacopoeia for the drug product. The versatility of the Chiralcel OJ‐RH allowed separating the enantiomers of the impurity B also under normal phase and setting up an efficient strategy to convert the racemic sample into the enantiomeric S form on a semipreparative scale.     

Optical Resolution of 5‐Oxo‐1‐Phenyl‐Pyrazolidine‐3‐Carboxylic Acid as a New Organocatalyst for Organic Reactions

Optical resolution of racemic 5‐oxo‐1‐phenyl‐pyrazolidine‐3‐carboxylic acid 2 with L‐amino acid methyl ester via the diastereomers formation was investigated. Treatment of racemic 5‐oxo‐1‐phenyl‐pyrazolidine‐3‐carboxylic acid 2 with L‐valine methyl ester gave diastereomers with a total yield of 86%. The diastereomeric dipeptides can be easily separated by flash column chromatography. Acidic cleavage of the derived diastereomers gave both the optically pure (+)‐(R)‐ and (‐)‐(S)‐5‐oxo‐1‐phenyl‐pyrazolidine‐3‐carboxylic acid ((+)‐(R)‐ 2 and (‐)‐(S)‐ 2 ) with a total yield of 94% and 95%, respectively.     

Analogues of α‐Campholenal (= (1R)‐2,2,3‐Trimethylcyclopent‐3‐ene‐1‐acetaldehyde) as Building Blocks for (+)‐β‐Necrodol (= (1S,3S)‐2,2,3‐Trimethyl‐4‐methylenecyclopentanemethanol) and Sandalwood‐like Alcohols

To complete our panorama in structure–activity relationships (SARs) of sandalwood‐like alcohols derived from analogues of α‐campholenal (= (1R)‐2,2,3‐trimethylcyclopent‐3‐ene‐1‐acetaldehyde), we isomerized the epoxy‐isopropyl‐apopinene (?)‐ 2d to the corresponding unreported α‐campholenal analogue (+)‐ 4d (Scheme 1). Derived from the known 3‐demethyl‐α‐campholenal (+)‐ 4a , we prepared the saturated analogue (+)‐ 5a by hydrogenation, while the heterocyclic aldehyde (+)‐ 5b was obtained via a Bayer‐Villiger reaction from the known methyl ketone (+)‐ 6 . Oxidative hydroboration of the known α‐campholenal acetal (?)‐ 8b allowed, after subsequent oxidation of alcohol (+)‐ 9b to ketone (+)‐ 10 , and appropriate alkyl Grignard reaction, access to the 3,4‐disubstituted analogues (+)‐ 4f,g following dehydration and deprotection. (Scheme 2). Epoxidation of either (+)‐ 4b or its methyl ketone (+)‐ 4h , afforded stereoselectively the trans‐epoxy derivatives 11a,b , while the minor cis‐stereoisomer (+)‐ 12a was isolated by chromatography (trans/cis of the epoxy moiety relative to the C₂ or C₃ side chain). Alternatively, the corresponding trans‐epoxy alcohol or acetate 13a,b was obtained either by reduction/esterification from trans‐epoxy aldehyde (+)‐ 11a or by stereoselective epoxidation of the α‐campholenol (+)‐ 15a or of its acetate (?)‐ 15b , respectively. Their cis‐analogues were prepared starting from (+)‐ 12a . Either (+)‐ 4h or (?)‐ 11b , was submitted to a Bayer‐Villiger oxidation to afford acetate (?)‐ 16a . Since isomerizations of (?)‐ 16 lead preferentially to β‐campholene isomers, we followed a known procedure for the isomerization of (?)‐epoxyverbenone (?)‐ 2e to the norcampholenal analogue (+)‐ 19a . Reduction and subsequent protection afforded the silyl ether (?)‐ 19c , which was stereoselectively hydroborated under oxidative condition to afford the secondary alcohol (+)‐ 20c . Further oxidation and epimerization furnished the trans‐ketone (?)‐ 17a , a known intermediate of either (+)‐β‐necrodol (= (+)‐(1S,3S)‐2,2,3‐trimethyl‐4‐methylenecyclopentanemethanol; 17c ) or (+)‐(Z)‐lancifolol (= (1S,3R,4Z)‐2,2,3‐trimethyl‐4‐(4‐methylpent‐3‐enylidene)cyclopentanemethanol). Finally, hydrogenation of (+)‐ 4b gave the saturated cis‐aldehyde (+)‐ 21 , readily reduced to its corresponding alcohol (+)‐ 22a . Similarly, hydrogenation of β‐campholenol (= 2,3,3‐trimethylcyclopent‐1‐ene‐1‐ethanol) gave access via the cis‐alcohol rac‐ 23a , to the cis‐aldehyde rac‐ 24 .     

Synthesis and Olfactory Evaluation of (+)‐ and (−)‐γ‐Ionone

The synthesis of enantiomerically pure (+)‐ and (−)‐γ‐ionone 3 is reported. The first step in the synthesis is the diastereoisomeric enrichment of 4‐nitrobenzoate derivatives of racemic γ‐ionol 12 . The enantioselective lipase‐mediated kinetic acetylation of γ‐ionol 13b afforded the acetate 14 and the alcohol 15 , which are suitable precursors of the desired products (−)‐ and (+)‐ 3 , respectively. The olfactory evaluation of the γ‐ionone isomers shows a great difference between the two enantiomers both in fragrance response and in detection threshold. The selective reduction of (−)‐ 3 and (+)‐ 3 to the γ‐dihydroionones (−)‐(R)‐ 16 and (+)‐(S)‐ 17 , respectively, allowed us to assign unambiguously the absolute configuration of the γ‐ionones.     

Stereoselective Reduction of `Capsanthol‐3′‐ones' (=3,6′‐Dihydroxy‐β,κ‐caroten‐3′‐ones) by Complex Hydrides

The (3R,5′R,6′R)‐ and (3R,5′R,6′S)‐capsanthol‐3′‐one (=3,6′‐dihydroxy‐β,κ‐caroten‐3′‐one; 4 and 5 , resp.) were reduced by different complex metal hydrides containing organic ligands. The ratio of the thus obtained diastereoisomeric (3′S)‐capsanthols 2 and 3 or (3′R)‐capsanthols 6 and 7 , respectively, was investigated. Four complex hydrides showed remarkable stereoselectivity and produced the (3′R,6′S)‐capsanthol ( 6 ) in 80 – 100% (see Table 1). The starting materials and the products were characterized by UV/VIS, CD, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, and mass spectra.     

Determination of the binding constants of modafinil enantiomers with sulfated β‐cyclodextrin chiral selector by capillary electrophoresis using three different linear plotting methods

Binding constants for the enantiomers of modafinil with the negatively charged chiral selector sulfated‐β‐CD (S‐β‐CD) using CE technique is presented. The calculations of the binding constants employing three different linearization plots (double reciprocal, X‐reciprocal and Y‐reciprocal) were performed from the electrophoretic mobility values of modafinil enantiomers at different concentrations of S‐β‐CD in the BGE. The highest inclusion affinity of the modafinil enantiomers were observed for the S‐enantiomer–S‐β‐CD complex, in agreement with the computational calculations performed previously. Binding constants for each enantiomer–S‐β‐CD complex at different temperatures, as well as thermodynamic parameters for binding, were calculated. Host–guest binding constants using the double reciprocal fit showed better linearity (r²>0.99) at all temperatures studied (15–30°C) and compared with the other two fit methods. The linear van't Hoff (15–30°C) plot obtained indicated that the thermodynamic parameters of complexation were temperature dependent for the enantiomers.     

Metabolism of Deuterated Isomeric 6,7‐Dihydroxydodecanoic Acids in Saccharomyces cerevisiae – Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Formation and Characterization of 5‐Hydroxydecano‐4‐lactone (=4,5‐Dihydro‐5‐(1‐hydroxyhexyl)furan‐2(3H)‐one) Isomers

The chemical synthesis of deuterated isomeric 6,7‐dihydroxydodecanoic acid methyl esters 1 and the subsequent metabolism of esters 1 and the corresponding acids 1a in liquid cultures of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Incubation experiments with (6R,7R)‐ or (6S,7S)‐6,7‐dihydroxy(6,7‐²H₂)dodecanoic acid methyl ester ((6R,7R)‐ or (6S,7S)‐(6,7‐²H₂)‐ 1 , resp.) and (±)‐threo‐ or (±)‐erythro‐6,7‐dihydroxy(6,7‐²H₂)dodecanoic acid ((±)‐threo‐ or (±)‐erythro‐(6,7‐²H₂)‐ 1a , resp.) elucidated their metabolic pathway in yeast (Tables 1–3). The main products were isomeric ²H‐labeled 5‐hydroxydecano‐4‐lactones 2 . The absolute configuration of the four isomeric lactones 2 was assigned by chemical synthesis via Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation and chiral gas chromatography (Lipodex ^® E). The enantiomers of threo‐ 2 were separated without derivatization on Lipodex ^® E; in contrast, the enantiomers of erythro‐ 2 could be separated only after transformation to their 5‐O‐(trifluoroacetyl) derivatives. Biotransformation of the methyl ester (6R,7R)‐(6,7‐²H₂)‐ 1 led to (4R,5R)‐ and (4S,5R)‐(2,5‐²H₂)‐ 2 (ratio ca. 4 : 1; Table 2). Estimation of the label content and position of (4S,5R)‐(2,5‐²H₂)‐ 2 showed 95% label at C(5), 68% label at C(2), and no ²H at C(4) (Table 2). Therefore, oxidation and subsequent reduction with inversion at C(4) of 4,5‐dihydroxydecanoic acid and transfer of ²H from C(4) to C(2) is postulated. The 5‐hydroxydecano‐4‐lactones 2 are of biochemical importance: during the fermentation of Streptomyces griseus, (4S,5R)‐ 2 , known as L‐factor, occurs temporarily before the antibiotic production, and (?)‐muricatacin (=(4R,5R)‐5‐hydroxy‐heptadecano‐4‐lactone), a homologue of (4R,5R)‐ 2 , is an anticancer agent.