Implicit versus explicit solvent in free energy calculations of enzyme catalysis: Methyl transfer catalyzed by catechol O-methyltransferase

We compare free energy calculations for the methyl transfer reaction catalyzed by catechol O-methyltransferase using the quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical free energy method with implicit and explicit solvents. An analogous methylation reaction in a solution is also studied. For the explicit solvent model, we use the three-point transferable intermolecular potential model, and for the implicit model, we use the generalized Born molecular volume model as implemented in CHARMM. We find that activation and reaction free energies calculated with the two models are very similar, despite some structural differences that exist. A significant change in the polarization of the environment occurs as the reaction proceeds. This is more pronounced for the reaction in a solution than for the enzymatic reaction. For the enzymatic reaction, most of the changes take place in the protein rather than in the solvent, and, hence, the benefit of having an instantaneous relaxation of the solvent degrees of freedom is less pronounced for the enzymatic reaction than for the reaction in a solution. This is a likely reason why energies of the enzyme reaction are less sensitive to the choice of atomic radii than are energies of the reaction in a solution.     

Efficient synthesis of acridinediones in aqueous media

An efficient synthesis of acridinediones in two steps have been achieved using water as a reaction media without chromatographic purification. First step involves the reaction of dimedone with ammonium acetate to yield enaminone in water which on further reaction with various aldehydes yields acridinedione in aqueous media. The reaction merits the use of water as solvent, no additive catalyst and provides high yield of products with good purity.     

Direct preparation of monoarylidene derivatives of aldehydes and enolizable ketones with DIMCARB

[reaction: see text] Aryl alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones and aldehydes were synthesized, in moderate to excellent yields, with use of dimethylammonium dimethyl carbamate (DIMCARB) as a recyclable reaction medium and as a catalyst.     

Copper-Catalyzed Remote Enantioselective Sulfonylation of Yne-Allylic Esters with Sodium Sulfinates

Impressive progress has been made in the copper-catalyzed asymmetric propargylic substitution (APS) reaction, but its use in remote asymmetric yne-allylic substitution remains a challenging topic. Herein, we report the first remote enantioselective copper-catalyzed sulfonylation of yne-allylic esters with sodium sulfinates. The reaction is assumed to occur via a copper-vinylvinylidene species as the key reactive intermediate. The use of readily available starting materials, the mild reaction conditions, and the excellent regio-, enantio- and stereoselectivity, as well as broad substrate scope (>70 examples), show the practicality and attractiveness of this method.     

A convenient and mild cyclocondensation using water-soluble aldehydes in water

The use of negatively charged aluminosilicate layers and Lewis acidic cations embedded therein allowed efficient cyclocondensation of bisamines with water-soluble aldehydes to be achieved in water. The protocol does not involve acidic or reflux conditions, thereby avoiding undesired byproduct formation. The use of water as a reaction medium is indispensable to ensure high reaction yields.     

离子液体在有机合成中的应用研究进展

离子液体由于具有特殊的性质, 包括低挥发性、大极性、良好的热稳定性、通过调整阴阳离子选择不同的溶解性等特点, 已经作为反应介质或催化剂广泛应用于有机合成领域, 引起了人们足够的兴趣. 与传统有机溶剂反应相比, 离子液体相反应得到的产物收率高, 选择性好, 加快部分类型反应的速率, 后处理简单以及离子液体催化剂体系简单, 回收后, 可多次重复使用. 综述了离子液体作为反应介质或催化剂在有机合成传统反应类型中的最新研究成果, 主要包括: 偶联反应、Michael加成、Baylis-Hillman反应、Diels-Alder反应、Aldol缩合、Knoevenagel缩合、环化反应、烷基化及酰基化反应和氧化还原反应.     

Oxidative arylation of isochroman

We report the use of a previously intractable nucleophile, anisole, in an oxidative "cross-dehydrogenative coupling" (CDC) reaction with the cyclic ether isochroman, as well as derivatives of both components. Metal catalysis was required for the reaction to proceed efficiently, and the reaction is highly sensitive to modification of either coupling partner but is able to produce a range of novel compounds via what is a synthetic alternative to the traditional oxa-Pictet-Spengler reaction.     

Microwave Synthetic Routes for Shape-Controlled Catalyst Nanoparticles and Nanocomposites

The use of microwave irradiation for the synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials has recently become a widespread area of research that continues to expand in scope and specialization. The growing demand for nanoscale materials with composition and morphology tailored to specific applications requires the development of facile, repeatable, and scalable synthetic routes that offer a high degree of control over the reaction environment. Microwave irradiation provides unique advantages for developing such routes through its direct interaction with active reaction species, which promotes homogeneous heat distribution, increased reaction rates, greater product quality and yield, and use of mild reaction conditions. Many catalytic nanomaterials such as noble metal nanoparticles and intricate nanocomposites have very limited synthetic routes due to their extreme temperature sensitivity and difficulty achieving homogeneous growth. This work presents recent advances in the use of MW irradiation methods to produce high-quality nanoscale composites with controlled size, morphology, and architecture.     

Decarboxylative Mannich Reactions with N-Alkyl Imines

The use of N-alkyl imines in decarboxylative Mannich reaction with substituted malonic acids half oxyesters (SMAHOs) has been developed to afford a direct access to secondary β^2,3-aminoesters. The transformation occurs under very practical conditions (DABCO as a catalyst in bulk toluene and open to air) and can be performed with a broad range of each substrate in yields of 36 to 97 %. Importantly, the reaction was found to require the use of acidic additives in combination with the organocatalyst to limit the competitive olefination reaction.     

Enzymatic ring opening polymerization of ω‐Pentadecalactone in different solvents in a variable‐volume view reactor

The use of enzymes as catalyst in polyesters production enables the creation of new materials for use in biomedical applications. In this work, a polyester derived from ω‐pentadecalactone was synthesized. The polymer synthesis was performed using lipase Novozym 435 as catalyst and several solvents at 70 °C. The use of a closed variable volume reactor allowed the use of solvents with a boiling point lower than the reaction temperature, without affecting the ratio of solvent to monomer. Yields above 49 wt% and high molecular weights were obtained for all tested solvents. Dichloromethane (DCM) and chloroform were used as solvents for the evaluation of water content on enzyme and reaction time over the properties of final polymer. The amount of water on enzyme has a direct influence on reaction yields though higher molecular weights were obtained in reactions with lower water content. Yields of around 90 wt% were obtained in 6 h of reaction and molecular weights up to 42,300 and 51,900 g mol^?1 were obtained in 2 h of reactions using DCM and chloroform as solvents. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 55 , 1219–1227     

AraBOX and XyliBOX based catalysts for cyclopropanations,Diels Alder cycloadditions and allylic additions

The syntheses of three novel chiral 4,4′BOX ligands are described. The three ligands each have a chiral backbone and chiral sidearms, two of which are diastereomeric. These new ligands have been applied as copper complexes to asymmetric cyclopropanation reaction of styrene with ethyldiazoacetate. Enantioselectivities of up to 70% were obtained, which is the highest ee reported from the use of this ligand class in this reaction to date. The multiple stereogenic centres in the ligand resulted in a substantial additive effect and this is discussed along with interpretation of the results for previously described 4,4′BOX ligands, and a major computational study of the multiple reaction channels involved with ligands of this type. The use of complexes of 4,4′BOX ligands, as catalysts, in an allylic alkylation is also reported for the first time and ee’s of >70% have been achieved in this reaction. These ligands were also applied to a Diels–Alder test reaction and again outperformed previous examples of this ligand type.     

Ligandless Palladium-Catalyzed Direct C-5 Arylation of Azoles Promoted by Benzoic Acid in Anisole

The palladium-catalyzed direct arylation of azoles with (hetero)aryl halides is nowadays one of the most versatile and efficient procedures for the selective synthesis of heterobiaryls. Although this procedure is, due to its characteristics, also of great interest in the industrial field, the wide use of a reaction medium such as DMF or DMA, two polar aprotic solvents coded as dangerous according to environmental, health, safety (EHS) parameters, strongly limits its actual use. In contrast, the use of aromatic solvents as the reaction medium for direct arylations, although some of them show good EHS values, is poorly reported, probably due to their low solvent power against reagents and their potential involvement in undesired side reactions. In this paper we report an unprecedented selective C-5 arylation procedure involving anisole as an EHS green reaction solvent. In addition, the beneficial role of benzoic acid as an additive was also highlighted, a role that had never been previously described.     

Reversed-polarity synthesis of diaryl ketones via palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of acylsilanes

Acylsilanes serve as acyl anion equivalents in a palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction with aryl bromides to give unsymmetrical diaryl ketones. Water plays a unique and crucial activating role in these reactions. High-throughput experimentation techniques provided successful reaction conditions initially involving phosphites as ligands. Ultimately, 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-6-phenyl-2,4,8-trioxa-6-phosphaadamantane was identified as giving a longer-lived catalyst with higher turnover numbers. Its use, in conjunction with a palladacycle precatalyst, led to optimal reaction rates and yields. Scope and limitations of this novel method are presented along with initial mechanistic insight.     

Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of 2-indolyldimethylsilanols with substituted aryl halides

[reaction: see text] A mild and general cross-coupling reaction of 2-indolylsilanols has been developed. The experimental variables that lead to successful coupling are (1) the use of sodium tert-butoxide as the activator, (2) the use of copper(I) iodide in stoichiometric quantities, and (3) the use of Pd2(dba)3.CHCl3 as the catalyst. Under these conditions N-(Boc)-2-indolyldimethylsilanol reacts with a variety of aromatic iodides to afford the coupling products in good yield (70-84%).     

Kinetic and catalytic aspects of dimethylterephtalate transesterification also through the use of model molecules

Kinetic and catalytic aspects of DMT transesterification reaction, key step in the industrial production of polyethylenterephtalate (PET), have been deepened also through the use of model molecules such as CH₃COO–Ph–X. These molecules give the same reactions with ethylene glycol occurring in the DMT transesterification too. The use of model molecules in the study of this reaction seems therefore to be promising in perspective. As we observed, however, the nature of the para-substituent X has a very strong influence on the reaction rate, when salts of bivalent metals such as Zn, Cd, Co, Mg, Mn, are used as catalysts, while this influence is much smaller when a tetravalent metal, as Ti, is used. This fact suggests that the transesterification mechanism operating in the two cases is different and this suggestion has been confirmed by applying Hammett's approach to the available kinetic data. Experimental kinetic runs were all performed at 193°C, by withdrawing small samples of the reaction mixture at different reaction times. These samples were gaschromatographically analyzed. We found volcano shaped curves of the reaction rates as a function of the metal ion acidities and we obtained different trends with a maximum of activity shifted from a metal to another for different substrates. A comparison of the kinetic results obtained, respectively, with the model molecules and DMT will be reported too.     

Polymerization of epoxidized triglycerides with fluorosulfonic acid

The use of triglycerides as agri-based renewable raw materials for the development of new products is highly desirable in view of uncertain future petroleum prices. A new method of polymerizing epoxidized soybean oil has been devised with the use of fluorosulfonic acid. Depending on the reaction conditions, one can get a viscous oil or a solid as the reaction product. The reaction mechanism has been studied through a systematic examination of the fluorosulfonic acid-initiated reaction of epoxidized methyl oleate and epoxidized methyl linoleate. Through ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, the major species derived from fluorosulfonic acid-initiated polymerization of epoxidized soybean oil have been determined. The effects of temperature, initiator dosage, and reaction time have been studied and shown to affect the nature of polymer products obtained and the distribution of different chemical species present.     

Mechanism and optimisation of the homoboroproline bifunctional catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction: Lewis acid tuning through in situ esterification

The use of homoboroproline as a bifunctional catalyst in the asymmetric aldol reaction has been investigated mechanistically, particularly with respect to tuning the Lewis acidity of boron by in situ esterification with mildly sigma-electron withdrawing diols such as hydrobenzoin and tartrate esters. The stability of simple cyclohexyl and cyclopentyl boronate diol esters shows that the 5-ring boronate esters are more stable, which sheds light on the mode of action of esterified homoboroproline catalyst in the enamine-mediated aldol reaction, which is also studied by NMR. The result is reaction optimisation to provide an efficient aldol reaction and a proposed mechanistic proposal.     

Silylcupration of 1,3-dienes followed by an electrophilic trapping reaction

[see reaction]. Silylcupration reaction of 1,3-dienes with a cyanocuprate reagent, PhMe2SiCuCNLi, followed by an electrophilic trapping has been reported for the first time. The use of allylic phosphates as electrophiles resulted in a highly regioselective reaction with overall 1,4-addition of the silyl and allyl moieties across the diene.     

From allylic alcohols to aldols through a new nickel-mediated tandem reaction: synthetic and mechanistic studies

Nickel hydride type complexes have been successfully developed as catalysts for the tandem isomerization-aldolization reaction of allylic alcohols with aldehydes. Optimization of the reaction conditions has shown that a cocatalyst, such as MgBr2, has a very positive effect on the kinetics of the reaction and in the yields of aldols. Under such optimized conditions {[NiHCl(dppe)] + MgBr(2) at 3-5 mol %)}, this reaction affords the aldols in good to excellent yields. It is a full-atom-economy-type reaction that occurs under mild conditions. Furthermore, it has a broad scope for the allylic alcohols and it is compatible with a wide range of aldehydes, including very bulky derivatives. The reaction is completely regioselective, but it exhibits a low stereoselectivity, except for allylic alcohols with a bulky substituent at the carbinol center. The use of chiral nonracemic catalysts was not successful, affording only racemic compounds. However, it was possible to use asymmetric synthesis for the preparation of optically active aldols. Various mechanistic studies have been performed using, for instance, a deuterated alcohol or a deuterated catalyst. They gave strong support to a mechanism involving first a transition-metal-mediated isomerization of the allylic alcohol into the free enol, followed by the addition of the latter intermediate onto the aldehyde in an "hydroxyl-carbonyl-ene" type reaction. These results confirm that allylic alcohols can be considered as new and useful partners in the development of the aldol reaction.     

k-Restoring processes at carbon depleted ultralow-k surfaces

In this study we investigate the silylation of OH groups with different silazanes. In particular we use density functional theory and the nudged elastic band method to study the different reaction mechanisms. For the silylation reaction of hexamethyldisilazane and trimethylaminosilane with silanol, the minimum energy paths as well as the activation and reaction energies are discussed in detail. From minimum energy reaction paths we found that all studied silazanes react exothermically. Bis(dimethylamino)dimethylsilane shows the most exothermic silylation reaction with the lowest activation energies. Therefore, it is a good candidate for the chemical repair of porous films in the semiconductor k-restoring process.