The use of N-sulfenylimines in the β-lactam synthon method: Staudinger reaction, oxidation of the cycloadducts and ring opening of β-lactams

Selected N-sulfenylimines act as good nucleophilic partners in the Staudinger reaction with methoxy- and benzyloxy-ketenes. The choice of diisopropylethylamine as a non-nucleophilic Lewis base for the generation of ketenes from acid chlorides is a determining factor for the success of the reaction. N-Sulfenyl-β-lactams are obtained in good to excellent yields and with moderate cis/trans diastereoselectivity. Then, they are quantitatively and selectively transformed to N-sulfinyl- or N-sulfonyl-β-lactams, by adjusting the oxidation state of the sulfur atom. The oxidation process induces an inversion of polarity of the nitrogen atom's substituent and allows a subsequent smooth ring opening by reaction of N-thiolated-β-lactams with various nucleophiles. The overall sequence provides straightforward and efficient route to highly functionalized-β-amino acid derivatives.     

An improved method for the synthesis of 6-substituted-5H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyrazines via palladium-catalyzed heteroannulation using microwave heating

We herein report an improved synthesis of 6-substituted-5H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyrazines utilizing microwave heating. The reaction is a palladium-catalyzed heteroannulation process followed by deprotection to yield the desired substrates in good yield.     

Chemiluminescence of 6-aryl-2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3(7H)-ones in DMSO/TMG and in diglyme/acetate buffer: support for the chemiexcitation process to generate the singlet-excited state of neutral oxyluciferin in a high quantum yield in the Cypridina (Vargula) bioluminescence mechanism

The chemiluminescence of 6-aryl-2-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3(7H)-ones (Cypridina luciferin analogues) in DMSO/1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine and in diglyme/acetate buffer was investigated. The results indicate that the reaction mechanism that produces a high chemiluminescence quantum yield involves a chemiexcitation process from a neutral dioxetanone intermediate possessing an electron-donating aryl group (σ_Ar <−0.6) to the singlet-excited state of neutral acetamidopyrazine. This result may be applied to the reaction mechanism for Cypridina (Vargula) bioluminescence.     

Comparative study of biosurfactant produced by microorganisms isolated from formation water of petroleum reservoir

Biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis and Rhodococcus erythropolis that isolated from the formation water of Chinese petroleum reservoir has been compared in surface abilities and oil recovery. Maximum biosurfactant production reached to about 2.66 g/l and the surface tension of liquid decreased from 71.2 to 22.56 mN/m using P. aeruginosa. Three strains exhibited a good ability to emulsify the crude oil, and biosurfactant of P. aeruginosa attained an emulsion index of 80% for crude oil which was greater than other strains. Stability studies were carried out under the extreme environmental conditions, such as high temperature, pH, salinity and metal ions. Results showed an excellent resistance of all biosurfactants to retain their surface-active properties at extreme conditions. It was found that the biosurfactants from three isolated bacteria showed a good stability above pH of 5, but at lower pH (from 1 to 5) they will harmfully be affected. They were able to support the condition up to 20 g/l salinity. P. aeruginosa biosurfactant was even stable at the higher salinity. Regarding temperature, all produced biosurfactants demonstrated a good stability in the temperature up to 120 °C. But stability of three biosurfactants was affected by monovalent and trivalent ions. Oil recovery experiments in physical simulation showed 7.2-14.3% recovery of residual oil after water flooding when the biosurfactant of three strains was added. These results suggest that biosurfactants of these indigenous isolated strains are appropriate candidates for enhanced oil recovery with a preference to biosurfactant of P. aeruginosa.     

Exhaustive degradation of the ring D of 3,20-epoxy ent-kaurane-type diterpene maoecrystal A

This study described a new approach for exhaustive degradation of the ring D of maoecrystal A (1), an ent-kaurane-type diterpene from Isodon eriocalyx, in seven steps mainly involving retro-aldol reaction, epoxylation, NaIO₄ oxidation, and Baeyer-Villiger process in a 19% overall yield.     

Four-component one-pot synthesis of a branched manno-pentasaccharide: tert-butyldiphenylsilyl ether as an in situ removable carbohydrate-protecting group

A branched mannose-pentasaccharide was synthesized in a convergent one-pot sequence involving chemo- and regioselective glycosylations of suitable acceptors and in situ removal of tert-butyldiphenylsilyl group. The process demonstrated that a combination of TMSOTf and TfOH can be used as an effective reagent for the fast and selective in situ de-protection of tert-butyldiphenylsilyl group, and also serve as part of the promoter system for the subsequent glycosylation reaction.     

N,N-dimethyl-trimethylsilyl-carbamate as a derivatizing agent in gas chromatography of trichothecene mycotoxins

N,N-dimethyl-trimethylsilyl-carbamate, a commercially available silylating agent, has been tested in the derivatization of trichothecenes for the first time. Its reaction with alcohols is an autocatalytic, non-equilibrium process with volatile by-products. As a consequence of these advantageous characteristics N,N-dimethyl-trimethylsilyl-carbamate proved to be easily utilizable and effective for the derivatization of all studied trichothecenes, namely deoxynivalenol (DON), nivalenol (NIV) and 4,15-diacetoxyscirpenol (DAS). During testing also, optimum conditions (temperature: 15 °C, reaction time: 35 min) were established for the trimethylsilylation and for the gas chromatographic determination of the above-mentioned three trichothecenes. The linearity of the detector response was found to be proper in the 5-1100 ng range. (Given in the grams of trichothecene equivalent to the derivatives injected). The limit of detection is less than 1 ng for each of the studied trichothecenes. Relative standard deviations of the peak heights ranged from 0.75 to 4.32%.     

Microwave-assisted rapid and efficient synthesis of C-alkyl imidazoisoquinolinone derivatives

The synthesis of a set of 10-benzyl-2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-b]isoquinolin-5(1H)-one and 5-oxo-imidazo[1,2-b]isoquinolin-10-yl)-N-phenylacetamide derivatives was achieved by exposing the corresponding alkylating agent and imidazoisoquinolinone to microwave irradiation and traditional oil bath heating in the presence of K₂CO₃ and DMAP. The microwave technique as well as DMAP as base accelerated the alkylation reaction for 2-6 min giving 79-88% yields.     

Palladium-catalyzed arylation of N,N-dialkylhydrazines and the subsequent conversion to anilines

Palladium-catalyzed aminations of different ArBr with N,N-dialkylhydrazines are described. The reaction proceeded in moderate to excellent yield (up to 90%) with good functional groups compatibilities as cyano, ester, ketone and Boc-amine groups are all well tolerated. Several hydrazines were proved to be good coupling partners and this process provided a general method for the isosteric replacement of benzyl amines with arylhydrazines. Moreover, a method for the N-N bond cleavage of arylhydrazines was discovered, and this two-step sequence could be employed as an alternative synthesis of aniline derivatives.     

New opinions on the amidoalkylation of hydrophosphorylic compounds

A new and milder version of the procedure for the synthesis of N-protected α-aminoalkylphosphorylic compounds by reaction of alkyl carbamates, aldehydes and hydrophosphorylic compounds in acetic anhydride/acetyl chloride and a new mechanism for this type of reaction are described. The isolation, for the first time, of N,N′-benzylidene- and N,N′-alkylidenebiscarbamates as intermediates from the reaction medium and studies of the direct reaction of pre-obtained biscarbamates and hydrophosphorylic compounds in acetic anhydride are reported. A new version of the mechanism for this reaction which includes an Arbuzov-type reaction is proposed.     

An effective procedure for the preparation of 3-substituted-4- or 6-azaindoles from ortho-methyl nitro pyridines

3-Substituted-4- and 6-azaindoles were prepared from ortho-methyl-nitropyridines in a practically convenient, one-pot process based on the Leimgruber-Batcho reaction. The procedure comprises a sequence of (a) condensation of an ortho-methyl-nitropyridine with N,N-dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal; (b) alkylation or acylation of the enamine intermediate; (c) reduction of the nitro group to an aniline with in situ cyclization and elimination of dimethylamine to generate the 3-substituted azaindole heterocycle.     

A new approach for the synthesis of N-sulfonyl hydantoins

Two methods are described for the synthesis of a new series of hydantoins using the same reagents. The best process is based on the addition of N-aryloxy(alkoxy)sulfonyl isocyanates to an equimolar mixture of bromoamides and triethylamine dissolved in anhydrous acetone. This reaction is violent and provides the urea salts in situ which are transformed into the corresponding substituted hydantoins.     

Three-component sequential synthesis of N,N′-disubstituted 5-arylidenedihydropyrimidine-2,4-dione

A three-component sequential process consisting in (1) in situ formation of carbodiimides by Staudinger reaction, (2) reaction with 2-(bromomethyl)-3-aryl-2-propenoic acids, and (3) final cyclization of the resulting N-acylurea intermediates in order to obtain the synthesis of an array of N,N′-disubstituted 5-arylidenedihydropyrimidine-2,4-dione under mild conditions is presented.     

A new entry to the substituted pyrrolo[3,2-c]quinoline derivatives of biological interest by intramolecular heteroannulation of internal imines

New 1,3,4-substituted pyrrolo[3,2-c]quinoline derivatives were synthesised in good yields by oxidative heteroannulation of internal imines starting from easily prepared substituted 5-(2-aminophenyl)pyrroles and commercially available aryl and heteroaryl aldehydes. The reaction occurs as a one-pot process involving an intramolecular acid catalysed reaction.     

A polystyrene-supported triflating reagent for the synthesis of aryl triflates

An insoluble polystyrene-supported triflating reagent has been prepared by suspension co-polymerization of N-(4-vinylphenyl)trifluoromethanesulphonimide, styrene and the JandaJel^® cross-linker. This reagent, in the presence of triethylamine, allows for the efficient synthesis of aryl triflates from a wide range of phenols in a process that permits the desired product to be isolated from the reaction mixture in essentially pure form via several filtration and concentration operations. Adding to the utility of this reagent is its ability to be easily recovered, regenerated and reused. Both soluble and insoluble bifunctional polymers containing trialkylamine moieties in addition to triflimide groups were also prepared and examined as triflating reagents. Unfortunately these reagents afforded only modest yields of the desired products in representative reactions.     

Nickel-catalysed addition of dialkylzinc reagents to N-phosphinoyl- and N-sulfonylimines

A catalytic amount of a nickel complex (0.1-5.3 mol %) extraordinarily increases the reaction rate of the addition of dialkylzinc reagents to N-(diphenylphosphinoyl)- or N-(benzenesulfonyl)imines. The reaction of imines derived from both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes with various dialkylzinc reagents in the presence of several nickel complexes gives the expected addition products in most cases in 1 h and in very good yields. In general, the formation of reduction by-products was not an important side reaction. The process represents a great improvement, with regard to the reaction rate and the yield of the addition products, in comparison with the reactions performed in the absence of the nickel catalyst, and reaction times are much shorter than the ones reported so far using other catalysts.     

Iodine(III)-mediated aromatic amidation vs olefin amidohydroxylation. The amide N-substituent makes the difference

A series of N-methoxy- and N-para-methoxyphenylacetamides simultaneously substituted at the α position by a benzyl and an allyl group have been treated with phenyliodine(III)bis(trifluoroacetate) to generate stabilized N-acylnitrenium intermediates. It has been observed that, when starting from N-methoxy substituted amides, such intermediates are intramolecularly trapped by nucleophilic arene rings to render the quinolinone skeleton. Alternatively, under the same reaction conditions, N-para-methoxyphenylamides afford pyrrolidinone derivatives through an olefin amidohydroxylation process.     

N,N,N,N-Tetramethyl-1,3-propanediamine as the catalyst of choice for the Baylis-Hillman reaction of cycloalkenone: rate acceleration by stabilizing the zwitterionic intermediate via the ion-dipole interaction

N,N,N^′,N^′-Tetramethyl-1,3-propanediamine (TMPDA) can be used as an efficient catalyst for the Baylis-Hillman reaction of cycloalkenones. The increased reaction rate was thought be derived from the stabilizing effect of the zwitterionic intermediate via the ion-dipole interaction.     

Recovery of Algal Oil from Marine Green Macro-algae Enteromorpha intestinalis by Acidic–Hydrothermal Process

In this study, the recovery of algal oil from Enteromorpha intestinalis based on an acidic–hydrothermal reaction was investigated. Overall, the algal oil yield after the acidic–hydrothermal reaction was increased under the conditions of high reaction temperature, high catalyst concentration, and long reaction time within the tested ranges. Significantly, catalyst concentration, compared with reaction temperature and time, less affected algal oil recovery. The optimal acidic–hydrothermal reaction conditions for production of algal oil from E. intestinalis were as follows—200 °C reaction temperature, 2.92 % catalyst concentration, 54 min reaction time. Under these conditions, an 18.6 % algal oil yield was obtained. By increasing the combined severity factor, the algae oil recovery yield linearly increased.     

Dialkylzinc mediated radical additions to chiral N-enoyloxazolidinones in the presence of benzaldehyde. Mechanistic investigation, structural characterization of the resulting γ-lactones

Diethylzinc was used in the presence of oxygen to mediate radical additions to chiral N-enoyloxazolidinones derived from fumaric acid. The synthesis of sterically crowded trisubstituted γ-lactones was achieved through a multicomponent reaction involving t-butyl iodide and benzaldehyde in addition to the above mentioned reagents. The domino process includes successively: iodine atom transfer, radical addition, homolytic substitution at zinc, aldol condensation, and lactonization. The diastereoselectivity of the reaction and the structural features of the resulting lactones were investigated. A tentative rationalization is discussed. Comparative experiments carried out with diisopropylzinc were performed.