Unusual light-driven amplification through unexpected regioselective photogeneration of five-membered azaheterocyclic AIEgen

Developing versatile synthetic methodologies with merits of simplicity, efficiency, and environment friendliness for five-membered heterocycles is of incredible importance to pharmaceutical and material science, as well as a huge challenge to synthetic chemistry. Herein, an unexpected regioselective photoreaction to construct a fused five-membered azaheterocycle with an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristic is developed under mild conditions. The formation of the five-membered ring is both thermodynamically and kinetically favored, as justified by theoretical calculation and experimental evidence. Markedly, a light-driven amplification strategy is proposed and applied in selective mitochondria-targeted cancer cell recognition and fluorescent photopattern fabrication with improved resolution. The work not only delivers the first report on efficiently generating a fused five-membered azaheterocyclic AIE luminogen under mild conditions via photoreaction, but also offers deep insight into the essence of the photosynthesis of fused five-membered azaheterocyclic compounds.

A multifunctional, AIE-based, fused five-membered azaheterocycle is photogenerated with light-driven amplification to combat the photobleaching issue and fabricate display materials.     

Polycyclic nitrogen compounds. Part iii. Synthesis of 3,3a-dihydrothiazolo[3,4-α]quinoxalin-4-ones

New tricyclic quinoxalinone skeletons with bridge-head nitrogen atoms and containing sulphur in a fully-reduced five-membered ring C were obtained. 3,3a-Dihydrothiazolo[3,4-α]quinoxalin-4-ones I-III were prepared by metal-acid reductive cyclisation of N-(nitrophenyl)- and N-(dinitrophenyl)thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids IVa,b,c. Attempts to obtain the skeleton by selective hydrogen transfer reductive cyclisation of the corresponding esters Va,b,c were unsuccessful.     

Ring size and substituent steric effects in cyclic ketene-N,O/S-acetal trifluoroacetylations

Trifluoroacetylations of cyclic ketene-N,O/S-acetals exhibit a ring size effect. The five-membered rings 2,4,4-trimethyl-2-oxazoline, 2-methyl-2-oxazoline, and 2-methyl-2-thiazoline, each form cyclic ketene-N,O/S-acetal intermediates which then react with trifluoroacetic anhydride to give β-monotrifluoroacetylation products. Conversely, the six-membered ring 2-methyl-2-oxazine gives its β,β-bistrifluoroacetylation product. In situ-generated five-membered ring N-Me cyclic ketene-N,O-acetals, 3,4,4-trimethyl-2-methylene-oxazolidine, and 3-methyl-2-methylene-oxazolidine, and six-membered ring 3-methyl-2-methylene-1,3-oxazinane were each β,β-bistrifluoroacetylated. However, 3-methyl-2-methylene-oxazolidine also afforded a γ-lactam by an iodide-catalyzed rearrangement of its β,β-bistrifluoroacetylated derivative. In situ-generated 3-methyl-2-methylene-thiazolidine gives both β-mono- and β,β-bistrifluoroacetylation products and no lactam, in contrast to its N,O-analog 3-methyl-2-methyleneoxazolidine.     

Total Synthesis of Aculenes B and D

The first total synthesis of aculene D, a structurally rare nordaucane-type natural product exhibiting quorum sensing inhibitory activity, has been accomplished from a known five-membered hydroxy carboxylic acid. Nucleophilic addition of methallylzinc bromide to a β-keto aldehyde intermediate under Barbier conditions to install the secondary hydroxy group on the seven-membered ring of aculene D gave the corresponding alcohol with an undesired configuration predominantly. On the other hand, the protection of its keto group as the ethylene acetal induced a reversal of diastereoselectivity, affording a desired diastereomer in a selective manner. The construction of the seven-membered ring was realized by ring-closing metathesis using a triethylsilyl-protected monocyclic diene ester precursor. An additional five-step manipulation on the cyclization product including the installation of an ethyl group on the five-membered ring completed the synthesis of aculene D, whose esterification with an N-protected l -proline followed by deprotection also achieved the first total synthesis of aculene B.     

Intramolecular 1,3-dipolar nitrone and nitrile oxide cycloaddition of 2- and 4-O-allyl and propargyl glucose derivatives: a versatile approach to chiral cyclic ether fused isoxazolidines, isoxazolines and isoxazoles

2-O- and 4-O-Allyl and -propargyl glucose and the corresponding oxime derivatives were prepared from readily available glucose dithioacetals. Intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the N-benzyl and N-methyl nitrones of the above acyclic 2-O-allyl glucose derivatives led to the diastereoselective formation of chiral isoxazolidines incorporating the tetrahydrofuran ring. The EI mass spectra revealed a characteristic cleavage of the C-alkyl group adjacent to the furan oxygen atom. An enantiopure trisubstituted tetrahydrofuran was obtained by the reductive cleavage of the isoxazolidine ring of one of the cycloadducts. In contrast, the nitrile oxide cycloaddition of the 2-O-allyl derivatives afforded diastereomeric mixtures of the corresponding dihydroisoxazolines, the stereochemistry of which was tentatively assigned on the basis of the principle of optical superposition. The exclusive formation of a tetrahydrofuran ring from pentaallyl nitrone or nitrile oxide demonstrated the preferred formation of a five-membered ring to that of six or seven-membered rings. The nitrile oxide generated from a 3,4,5,6,7-pentaallyloxy-1-nitroheptane derivative obtained from pentaallylglucose underwent diastereoselective cycloaddition to give an isoxazoline fused to a pyran ring. Enantiopure isoxazoles containing tetrahydrofuran and oxepane rings were also prepared in good yields by the nitrile oxide cycloaddition of the 2-O- and 4-O-propargyl derivatives.     

The preparation and some chemistry of 2,2-dimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinolines

The cyclisation of N-(1,1-dimethylpropargyl) anilines, using cuprous chloride in refluxing toluene, yields 6-substituted-2,2-dimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinolines. The reactivity of the double bond in the heterocyclic ring of these products is exemplified by chlorination, to yield 6-substituted-3,4-cis-dichloro-2,2-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines which can be selectively dechlorinated to provide 6-substituted-3-chloro-2,2-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines; epoxidation to yield an epoxide, which can be hydrogenolysed to the corresponding 3-hydroxy product and in turn oxidised to the 3-keto derivative; and oxymercuration to provide a 4-hydroxy product and hence a 4-keto derivative. Dehydrochlorination of a 3,4-dichloro product provides a 3-chloro-1,2-dihydroquinoline which can be hydrolysed to a 3-keto system. The formation of cis 3,4-dichloro products from the chlorination, as well as the formation of a cis chlorohydrin from the chlorination of N-acetyl-2,2,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline in partially aqueous solution, suggests that N-acetyl, or N-trifluoroacetyl groups, participate in the addition process.     

Stereoselective synthesis and transformations of pinane-based 1,3-diaminoalcohols

A library of pinane-based 1,3-diaminoalcohols and 5-aminomethyloxazolidin-2-ones was developed from commercially available (1R)-(?)-myrtenol which was transformed to N-trichloroacetyl protected allyl amine via Overmann rearrangement followed by stereoselective epoxidation with mCPBA resulting in key intermedier epoxy-amine. In order to obtain the diaminoalcohol moiety, aminolysis and azidolysis of the oxirane ring was performed. The cleavage of the oxirane ring proceeded regioselectively, affording N-trichloroacetyl protected 1,3-diaminoalcohols and oxazolidin-2-ones, which were obtained also via a thermal cyclisation. Since N deprotection of diaminoalcohols was unsuccessful under varied conditions, the protecting group was changed and Boc-protected analogues were synthesised. In this case, removal of the Boc protecting group was successful resulting in the planned diamino alcohols. An unexpected extreme δ Me_α-9 value (0.11 ppm) was measured for the dibenzylaminomethyl-substituted oxazolidine-2-one, and the stereostructure was refined by means of DFT geometry optimization. The obtained potential catalysts were applied in the test reaction of benzaldehyde and diethylzinc with low to moderate enantioselectivities (up to 74% ee).     

Synthesis of some di- and trifluoro quinoxaline and dioxine derivatives from pentafluoropyridine

Novel [6,6,6] ring fused tricyclic systems can be readily synthesized in one-pot annulation reaction of pentafluoropyridine or 4-phenylsulfonyl tetrafluoropyridine with appropriate difunctional nitrogen and oxygen nucleophiles attached to aromatic rings. Reaction of 4-phenylsulfonyl tetrafluoropyridine with 2,6-diaminopyridine gave [6,5,6] ring fused systems arising from a tandem S_NAr and cyclisation process. From this investigation, di- and trifluorinated quinoxaline and dioxine scaffolds were synthesized.     

The acid-mediated ring opening/cyclisation reaction of N-benzyl-α-aryl-azetidinones

N-Benzyl-4-aryl-azetidinones undergo ring opening with triflic acid to form N-benzyl-cinnamamides, which either undergo cyclisation to give 5-aryl-benzazepin-3-ones or N-debenzylation to give cinnamamides.     

Asymmetric synthesis of the erythrinan alkaloid system using a chiral lithium amide base desymmetrisation as the key step

A new asymmetric approach to the erythrinan alkaloid system is described, which involves chiral base desymmetrisation of a ring fused imide and a 6-exo-trig radical cyclisation as the key steps.     

SYNTHETIC APPROACH TO TETRAHYDROFURAN UNITS AND FIVE-MEMBERED RING LACTONES FUSED TO HEXOPYRANOSIDES *

A stereoselective synthesis of the miharamycin sugar moiety epimer at C-3′ was accomplished in high yield starting from an appropriate (Z)-Wittig product, synthesized by Wittig reaction of a 4,6-O-benzylidene protected hexopyranosid-3-ulose with [(ethoxycarbonyl)methylene]triphenylphosphorane followed by iodine promoted isomerisation of the (E)-Wittig product formed. Reduction of the (Z)-isomer obtained in quantitative yield, cyclisation and dihydroxylation with osmium tetroxide, gave the target molecule containing a cis-fused tetrahydrofuran ring in its structure. Synthesis of five-membered rings trans-fused to the hexopyranosidic units succeeded via two different synthetic pathways. Stereoselective Reformatsky reaction of a 2,6-di-O-pivaloyl protected hexopyranosid-3-ulose, followed by cyclisation with dimethylzinc gave a 3,4-trans-fused lactone. The approach using the reaction of 2,3-and 3,4-epoxides with the dianion of phenylselenoacetic acid led to low yield but novel phenylseleno derivatives of trans-fused five-membered rings, namely a phenylselenolactone 2,3-trans-fused to a 4,6-O-benzylidenehexopyranoside and a phenylselenolactenol 3,4-trans-fused to a 6-O-pivaloyl-hexopyranoside.     

Total synthesis of natural cis-3-hydroxy-l-proline from d-glucose

Synthesis of cis-3-hydroxy-l-proline from d-glucose is reported. The methodology involves conversion of d-glucose into N-benzyloxycarbonyl-γ-alkenyl amine which on 5-endo-trig-aminomercuration gave the pyrrolidine ring skeleton with sugar appendage in 25% yield. Alternatively, N-benzyloxycarbonyl-γ-alkenyl amine on hydroboration-oxidation, mesylation and intramolecular S_N2 cyclisation afforded pyrrolidine ring compound in high yield. Hydrolysis of 1,2-acetonide functionality, NaIO₄ cleavage followed by oxidation of an aldehyde into acid and hydrogenolysis afforded cis-3-hydroxy-l-proline in overall 29% yield from d-glucose.     

Synthesis of new benzo[b]thieno fused ring systems via transition metal-mediated cyclisations

The compact synthesis of a new ring fused benzo[b]thieno derivative with an embedded nine-membered ring system via ring closing metathesis methodology is described. The preparation of the novel 11H-benzo[b]thieno[2,3-c]pyrrolo[2,3-a]indol-11-one via palladium-mediated oxidative cyclisation of benzo[b]thien-2-oyl indole derivatives is also reported.     

Push-pull alkenes from cyclic ketene-N,N′-acetals: a wide span of double bond lengths and twist angles

Push-pull alkenes can be quickly accessed by cyclic ketene-N,N′-acetal chemistry. A number of push-pull structures with a wide span of double bond lengths and twist angles were synthesized from the reactions of (1) N,N′-dimethyl cyclic ketene-N,N′-acetals with isocyanates, (2) the products from (1) with isocyanates, (3) 2-methylimidazoline and 2-methyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine with diacid chlorides, (4) 2-methylimidazoline, and 1,2-dimethyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine with benzoyl chlorides, and (5) 1,2-dimethylimidazoline and 1,2-dimethyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine with aryl isocyanates. These reactions proceed under very mild conditions and give moderate to excellent yields. X-ray crystallographic analysis of eight pxush-pull alkenes indicates that the central double bond lengths and twists are sensitive to the ring sizes (5 or 6), ring structures (fused or non-fused), electron donating and withdrawing strengths of pushing and pulling portions, respectively, number of electron pushing or pulling groups and substituent steric effects.     

Pyrrolo[1,2-d]triazines-1,2,4. II. Etude des pyrrolo[1,2-d]triazinones-1 et -4

The synthesis of 1,2-dihydro-1-oxopyrrolo[1,2-d]-1,2,4-triazines was achieved by rearrangement of 2-pyrrolyloxadiazoles under alkaline conditions or by cyclisation of pyrrole N-ethoxymethylidene hydrazides. The cyclisation of the N-carbethoxy hydrazone of the pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde gave the 3,4-dihydro-4-oxopyrrolo[1,2-d]-1,2,4-triazine. Electrophilic substitution reactions of the 1- and 4-pyrrolotriazinones were made either on the lactam nitrogen with methyl sulphate, benzyl chloride and monochloroacetic acid or on the pyrrole ring with bromine and nitric acid. The structure of the derivatives was determined by ¹H nmr.     

Indenols, indenones and (arylcyclohexadienyl)Mn(CO)3 π-complexes from the thermally promoted reactions of alkynes with ortho-Mn(CO)4 aryl ketone, amide, ester and aldehyde derivatives

Thermally promoted reactions of a range of alkynes with the orthomanganated acetophenone (η²-2-acetylphenyl)Mn(CO)₄ generally give 1H-inden-1-ols in good yield; effects of substituents and solvent on these reactions are reported, along with the crystal structure of 1-methyl-2,3-diphenyl-1H-inden-1-ol. The corresponding orthomanganated benzophenone similarly gives the indenol with diphenylacetylene but by exception, orthomanganated 3-acetylthiophene with phenylacetylene reacts via triple alkyne insertion and cyclisation, shown by crystal structure determination of the π-complex product [(1,2,3,4,5-η)-2-(3-acetylthien-2-yl)-1,3,5-triphenylcyclohexadienyl]tricarbonylmanganese. Corresponding orthomanganated derivatives of N,N-dimethylbenzamide, methyl 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate and 4-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde all give indenones with diphenylacetylene, but with (excess) acetylene only the aldehyde gives an indenone, the amide and ester giving instead [(1,2,3,4,5-η)-6-arylcyclohexadienyl]Mn(CO)₃ complexes. ¹H NMR analysis of these complexes shows H at C6 to be on the same face of the cyclohexadienyl ring as Mn(CO)₃ (endo-6-H; exo 6-aryl) as expected from three successive syn additions of alkyne at metallated carbon followed by intramolecular syn addition of alkene in the final cyclisation stage.     

Synthese radicalaire d'analgesiques potentiels: aryl-4 piperidines substituees en 2 et benzomorphanes

The synthesis of a series of 3-aryl 5-hexenyl amines and the cyclisations of the corresponding N-chloroamines are described. When the ring closure results from the amino radical addition to the ethylenic double bond, 2-chloromethyl 4-phenyl piperidines are obtained. These compounds lead by intramolecular Friedel-Craft reaction to varied substituted 6,7-benzomorphanes. When the phenyl ring is substituted with a methoxyl group, the cyclisation proceeds via homolytic aromatic substitution and 4-allyl tetrahydroquinolines are formed.     

Five- and six-membered ring formation from the intramolecular reaction of a protonated oxirane and alkene

Computational studies of competing five- and six-membered cyclisation of alkenyloxiranes 1a-d show that intramolecular reaction of a protonated oxirane and alkene is a concerted, single-step, exothermic process. The reactions proceed via reactant-like transition states, but where the oxirane C-O bond is considerably stretched. Two factors are seen to affect the regiochemistry: (1) stabilisation of the transitory positive charge in the transition state favours cyclisation to the more highly substituted oxirane carbon; and (2) there is an inherent stereoelectronic preference for six-membered cyclisation over five-membered cyclisation. The inherent preference for six-membered cyclisation has a parallel in Baldwin's rules for six-membered ring closure of a carbocation with an alkene, rather than Baldwin's rule for intramolecular nucleophilic reaction of three-membered rings, suggesting that the protonated oxirane mimics a carbocation. The electronic and stereoelectronic effects for cyclisation are modified by steric interactions of axial methyl groups. These systems provide a model for the A-ring cyclisation of oxidosqualene.     

A novel and efficient one-pot method to Biginelli-like scaffolds

A novel and efficient one-pot method for the preparation of fused ring 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones and thiones from cyclocondensation of aldehydes, cyclic ketones and urea or thiourea using a catalytic amount of cupric chloride under mild conditions reaction is described. This new method has the advantage to give high yields, to be completed in short reaction times and simple product isolation procedure.     

Porphyrins with exocyclic rings. Part 22: Synthesis of deoxophylloerythroetioporphyrin (DPEP), three ring homologues, and five related nonpolar bacteriopetroporphyrins using a western ring closure and an improved b-bilene methodology

Dipyrrolic intermediates incorporating five-membered carbocyclic rings are easily prepared from cyclopenta[b]pyrroles, and this unit represents the southern half of the DPEP-type geoporphyrins found in organic-rich sediments such as oil shales and petroleum. Related dipyrroles with six-, seven- or eight-membered carbocyclic rings were shown to give b-bilenes when reacted with dipyrrylmethane carbaldehydes under mildly acidic conditions. Following deprotection of the terminal ester groups, cyclization with TFA-CH(OMe)₃ gave a series of ring homologues of deoxophylloerythroetioporphyrin (DPEP). The b-bilenes generated from the five-membered ring dipyrroles proved to be rather unstable and had to be used directly without purification. Cyclization gave DPEP contaminated with an etioporphyrin by-product, but these could be separated as the nickel(II) derivatives by flash chromatography. This approach gave superior yields of DPEP compared to previously reported methods. In addition, the methodology could be extended to the synthesis of related petroporphyrins, and a series of five molecular fossils derived from bacteriochlorophylls d were synthesized by this approach.