Asymmetric Total Synthesis of the Complex Polycyclic Xanthone FD‐594

A highly convergent approach was developed to achieve the first asymmetric and scalable total synthesis of FD‐594, a complex polycyclic xanthone natural product from Streptomyces sp. TA‐0256, in a longest linear sequence (LLS) of 20 steps. The trans‐9,10‐dihydrophenanthrene‐9,10‐diol fragment (B‐C‐D ring) was generated through a new strategy involving asymmetric dihydroxylation followed by Cu‐mediated oxidative cyclization. Late‐stage stereoselective glycosylation assembled the angular hexacyclic framework with a β‐linked 2,6‐dideoxy trisaccharide fragment.     

Regioselective acylation of methyl 2-methyl-4H-thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylate

The influence of catalysts, acid chlorides, and solvents on the acylation of methyl 2-methyl-4H-thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylate was studied. The use of AlCl₃ allows the regioselective introduction of the acyl group into position 3 to be performed, whereas the acyl group is regioselectively introduced into position 6 of thienopyrrole when SnCl₄ is used.     

Click Chemistry Based Synthesis of Novel Architectures Bearing Sugar Unit at the Pyridothienopyrimidines

Novel conjugates of pyridothienopyrimidinones and carbohydrates or other moieties linked by 1,2,3‐triazoles were synthesized. After establishing the pyridothienopyrimidone ring systems by ring closure, propargyl group was introduced by O‐alkylation or N‐alkylation. Cu‐catalyzed cycloaddition of the propargyl product with azido group gave the corresponding 1,2,3‐triazoles in high yields. A remarkable case of the catalyzed ring closure to build a pyrimidinone moiety with two diastereomers was observed. Theoretical calculations were performed on the studied diastereomers, and it was found that the S‐isomer is more stable than the corresponding R‐isomer by about 2 kcal/mol.     

Deactivation of Ru-benzylidene Grubbs catalysts active in olefin metathesis

In this work, we explore the reactivity induced by coordination of a CO molecule trans to the Ru-benzylidene bond of a prototype Ru-olefin metathesis catalyst bearing a N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand. DFT calculations indicate that CO binding to the Ru center promotes a cascade of reactions with very low-energy barriers that lead to the final crystallographically characterized product, in which the original benzylidene group has attacked the proximal aromatic ring of the ligand leading to a cycloheptatriene ring through a Buchner ring expansion. In conclusion, the overall mechanism is best described as a carbene insertion into a C–C bond of the aromatic N-substituent of the NHC ligand, forming a cyclopropane ring. This cyclopropanation step is followed by a Buchner ring expansion reaction, leading to the experimentally observed product presenting a cycloheptatriene ring.     

Total Synthesis of the Postulated Structure of Fulicineroside

A total synthesis of the proposed structures of fulicineroside and its aglycone fulicinerine is reported. The tetrasubstituted dibenzofuran substructure was accessible either through a Pd‐mediated ortho‐metalation or by an Ir‐catalyzed meta‐borylation. The synthesis of the β,β,α‐linked trisaccharide consisting of D ‐olivose, L ‐rhodinose, and L ‐rhamnose was challenged by the unprecedented β‐linked rhodinose. A Pd‐catalyzed β‐selective glycosylation of a 4‐epi‐rhodinose and a subsequent Mitsunobu inversion provided selectively the β‐linked L ‐rhodinose‐L ‐rhamnose disaccharide. Comparison with the reported data for the natural product and the aglycone suggests a misassignment of the structure of the natural product.     

The Synthesis and Liquid-Crystal Transition Temperatures of Some Fluoro-Substituted Benzonitriles

Various laterally fluoro-substituted benzonitriles have been prepared containing a trans-4-(n-alkyl)cyclohexane ring linked to the 4-position of the benzonitriles either through a methyleneoxy (? CH₂O–) or an ethylene (? CH₂CH₂-) bridge. The bridging group links the benzonitrile and cyclohexane rings either directly or through an additional 1,4-bonded cyclohexane or benzene ring. The synthesis and liquid-crystal transition temperatures of these new compounds are described. In several cases the nematic-isotropic transition temperatures of F-substituted benzonitriles are found to be higher than those of the non-laterally substituted analogues.     

16‐(4‐Cyanobenzylidene)‐3β‐pyrrolidinoandrost‐5‐en‐17β‐ol monohydrate

In the title compound, C₃₁H₄₀N₂O·H₂O, the outer two six‐membered rings are in chair conformations, while the central ring is in an 8β,9α‐half‐chair conformation. The five‐membered ring adopts a 13β‐envelope conformation and the cyano­benzyl­idene moiety has an E configuration with respect to the hydroxyl group at position 17. The steroid nuclei are linked by intermolecular O—H?O and O—H?N hydrogen bonds to form a molecular network. The molecular packing has an interesting feature, with the steroids aligned parallel to the b axis, forming a closed loop through hydrogen bonds linked via water mol­ecules.     

Mapping Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1A1 Activity using an [18F]Substrate-Based Approach

Aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) catalyze the oxidation of aldehydes to carboxylic acids. Elevated ALDH expression in human cancers is linked to metastases and poor overall survival. Despite ALDH being a poor prognostic factor, the non-invasive assessment of ALDH activity in vivo has not been possible due to a lack of sensitive and translational imaging agents. Presented in this report are the synthesis and biological evaluation of ALDH1A1-selective chemical probes composed of an aromatic aldehyde derived from N,N-diethylamino benzaldehyde (DEAB) linked to a fluorinated pyridine ring either via an amide or amine linkage. Of the focused library of compounds evaluated, N-ethyl-6-(fluoro)-N-(4-formylbenzyl)nicotinamide 4 b was found to have excellent affinity and isozyme selectivity for ALDH1A1 in vitro. Following ¹⁸F-fluorination, [¹⁸F] 4 b was taken up by colorectal tumor cells and trapped through the conversion to its ¹⁸F-labeled carboxylate product under the action of ALDH. In vivo positron emission tomography revealed high uptake of [¹⁸F] 4 b in the lungs and liver, with radioactivity cleared through the urinary tract. Oxidation of [¹⁸F] 4 b , however, was observed in vivo, which may limit the tissue penetration of this first-in-class radiotracer.     

Triclinic and monoclinic polymorphs of meso‐(E,E)‐1,1′‐[1,2‐bis(4‐chlorophenyl)ethane‐1,2‐diyl]bis(phenyldiazene): the high‐yield synthesis of an unexpected product,concomitant polymorphism and configurational disorder

Pyrazolidine‐3,5‐diones and their derivatives exhibit a wide range of biological activities. Seeking to explore the effect of combining a hydrocarbyl ring substituent, as present in sulfinpyrazone (used to treat gout), with a chlorinated aryl ring, as present in muzolimine (a diuretic), we explored the reaction between 1‐phenylpyrazolidine‐3,5‐dione and 4‐chlorobenzaldehyde under mildly basic conditions in the expectation of producing the simple condensation product 4‐(4‐chlorobenzylidene)‐1‐phenylpyrazolidine‐3,5‐dione. However, the reaction product proved to be meso‐(E,E)‐1,1′‐[1,2‐bis(4‐chlorophenyl)ethane‐1,2‐diyl]bis(phenyldiazene), C₂₆H₂₀Cl₂N₄, and a tentative mechanism is proposed. Crystallization from ethanol produces two concomitant polymorphs, i.e. a triclinic form, (I), in the space group P, and a monoclinic form, (II), in the space group C2/c. In both polymorphs, the molecules lie across centres of inversion, but in (II), the molecules are subject to whole‐molecule disorder equivalent to configurational disorder with occupancies of 0.6021 (19) and 0.3979 (19). There are no hydrogen bonds in the crystal structure of polymorph (I), but the molecules of polymorph (II) are linked by C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bonds into complex chains, which are further linked into sheets by C—H...N interactions.     

冠醚桥接苯并菲二聚体合成的新途径

本研究借鉴合成冠醚的Willianmson反应,通过缓慢滴加二氯乙醚合成了重要中间体乙氧基醚链接的苯并菲二聚体,且避免了2,3-二羟基四戊烷氧基苯并菲自身成环反应所导致单一冠醚苯并菲的生成.进一步以该中间体为原料,通过缩合反应,最终得到了冠醚桥接苯并菲二聚体,并用1H NMR,13C NMR和MALDI-TOF质谱对产物的结构和纯度进行了表征.     

Theoretical study on the mechanism of the reaction for alkene hydroaminations catalyzed by chiral aldehyde

Alkene hydroamination catalyzed by chiral aldehyde relying only on temporary intramolecularity is a new concept reaction. In this article, the reaction mechanism was investigated using density functional theory. The calculation results show that: (1) The reaction can be divided into two parts. The first part is a dehydration process involving a hemiaminal formation. The nitrone catalyst forms through rapid intermolecular nucleophilic addition of benzylhydroxylamine to chiral aldehyde precatalyst. The second part is a catalytic cycle, which involves an aminal formation—hydroamination—ring opening—product release process. (2) There are four enantioselective pathways related to the products of S and R configurations. Enantioselectivity is attributed to the different forming ways of a planar five‐membered ring. The preferred pathways for the S‐configuration product ( S3 ) and R‐configuration product ( R3 ) are confirmed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

4‐(Pyrrol‐1‐yl)‐1,2,4‐triazole

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C₆H₆N₄, comprises one and a half molecules with a C₂ axis through the second molecule. Each molecule consists of two planar five‐membered rings connected by a triazole–pyrrole N—N bond with the triazole ring close to being at right angles to the pyrrole ring. The molecules are linked by C—H...N hydrogen bonds and weaker offset face‐to‐face π–π interactions.     

联二噻吩稠合的近红外BODIPY染料的合成与光谱性质

以叠氮乙酸乙酯和联二噻吩甲醛为原料,合成了联二噻吩并吡咯单体,之后在酸催化下与4-N,N-二甲基氨基苯甲醛缩合并与三氟化硼配位,得到一个新型的BODIPY染料SY。采用¹H NMR、质谱以及元素分析对其结构进行了表征。化合物SY在二氯甲烷中的最大吸收和发射波长分别为654和689 nm;采用荧光光谱滴定方法研究了它对pH值的响应,酸性条件下N,N-二甲基苯氨基团发生质子化,抑制了光诱导电子转移对BODIPY母体的荧光淬灭,其溶液的荧光显著增强,染料SY可以作为近红外的pH值荧光探针。     

A Water‐Bridged H‐Bonding Network Contributes to the Catalysis of the SAM‐Dependent C‐Methyltransferase HcgC

[Fe]‐hydrogenase hosts an iron‐guanylylpyridinol (FeGP) cofactor. The FeGP cofactor contains a pyridinol ring substituted with GMP, two methyl groups, and an acylmethyl group. HcgC, an enzyme involved in FeGP biosynthesis, catalyzes methyl transfer from S ‐adenosylmethionine (SAM) to C3 of 6‐carboxymethyl‐5‐methyl‐4‐hydroxy‐2‐pyridinol ( 2 ). We report on the ternary structure of HcgC/S ‐adenosylhomocysteine (SAH, the demethylated product of SAM) and 2 at 1.7 Å resolution. The proximity of C3 of substrate 2 and the S atom of SAH indicates a catalytically productive geometry. The hydroxy and carboxy groups of substrate 2 are hydrogen‐bonded with I115 and T179, as well as through a series of water molecules linked with polar and a few protonatable groups. These interactions stabilize the deprotonated state of the hydroxy groups and a keto form of substrate 2 , through which the nucleophilicity of C3 is increased by resonance effects. Complemented by mutational analysis, a structure‐based catalytic mechanism was proposed.     

Chlorine substitution promotes phenyl radical loss from C8‐phenoxy‐2′‐deoxyguanosine adducts: implications for biomarker identification from chlorophenol exposure

Chlorophenols are persistent organic pollutants, which undergo peroxidase‐mediated oxidation to afford phenolic radical intermediates that react at the C8‐site of 2′‐deoxyguanosine (dG) to generate oxygen‐linked C8‐dG adducts. Such adducts are expected to contribute to chlorophenol toxicity and serve as effective dose biomarkers for chlorophenol exposure. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) was employed to study collision induced dissociation (CID) for a family of such phenolic O‐linked C8‐dG adducts. Fragmentation of the deprotonated nucleosides demonstrates that an unexpected homolytic cleavage of the ether linkage to release phenyl radicals and a nucleoside distonic ion with m/z 281 competes effectively with commonly observed breakage of the glycosidic bond to release the deprotonated nucleobase. Increased chlorination of the phenyl ring enhances phenyl radical loss. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that Cl‐substitution decreases phenyl radical stability but promotes homolytic breakage of the C8–phenyl bond in the C8‐dG adduct. The calculations suggest that phenyl radical loss is driven by destabilizing steric (electrostatic repulsion) interactions between the ether oxygen atom and ortho‐chlorines on the phenyl ring. The distonic ion at m/z 281 represents a unique dissociation product for deprotonated O‐linked C8‐dG adducts and may prove useful for selective detection of relevant biomarkers for chlorophenol exposure by tandem mass spectrometry using selective reaction monitoring. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

4‐(Trifluoromethyl)benzonitrile

4‐(Tri­fluoro­methyl)­benzo­nitrile, C₈H₄F₃N, at 123 K contains mol­ecules linked together through one C—H?F bond and two C—H?N hydrogen bonds into sheets that are further crosslinked to form a dense two‐dimensional network without π?π ring interactions. The aromatic ring is slightly deformed due to the two para‐related electronegative groups.     

Asymmetric synthesis of (R)-6-amino-1-methyl-4-(3-methyl-benzyl)hexahydro-1H-1,4-diazepine from L-asparagine

An efficient asymmetric synthesis of (R)-6-amino-1-methyl-4-(3-rnethylbenzyl)hexahydro-1H-1,4-diazepine [(R)-2] which serves as the amine part of (R)-1, a potent and selective 5-HT₃ receptor antagonist, is described. Formation of the hexahydro-1H-1,4-diazepine ring was achieved by the intramolecular ami-dation of the optically active aminocarboxylic acid 18 or reductive cyclization of the optically active aminoaldehyde 25. Compounds 18 and 25 were prepared from L-asparagine via the key aziridine derivatives 15 and 22 , respectively, with retention of the configuration. The intramolecular aziridine ring opening reaction of 29 gave the C₂? N bond cleavage product of the aziridine ring, the piperazin-5-one 30 , as the main product along with the desired 7-membered ring, the hexahydro-1H-1,4-diazepine product 19 .     

2‐(2‐Naphthyl­oxy)­acetate derivatives. II. A new class of antiamnesic agents

The title compounds, 4‐(2‐naphthyl­oxy­methyl­carbonyl)­morpholine, C₁₆H₁₇NO₃, (I), and 4‐methyl‐1‐(2‐naphthyl­oxy­methyl­carbonyl)­piper­azine, C₁₇H₂₀N₂O₂, (II), are potential antiamnesics. The morpholine ring in (I) and the piperazine ring in (II) adopt chair conformations. In (I), the mol­ecules are linked by weak intermolecular C—H⃛O interactions into chains that have a graph‐set motif of C(10), while in (II), the mol­ecules are linked by weak intermolecular C—H⃛O interactions that generate two C(7) graph‐set motifs. The dihedral angle between the naphthalene moiety and the best plane through the morpholine ring is 20.62 (4)° in (I), while the naphthalene moiety is oriented nearly perpendicular to the mean plane of the piperazine ring in (II).     

Structural analysis of rapamycin and related compounds using [M + Li]+ ions generated by liquid secondary ion mass spectrometry

Cationization of the macrocyclic immunosuppressant rapamycin with lithium ion upon liquid secondary ion mass spectrometric ionization yields a number of fragment ions, which are observable in the full-scan spectrum. These are clearly assigned using B/E linked scanning (fragment ion scanning), B²/E linked scanning (precursor ion scanning) and peak matching for accurate mass measurement. Many of the fragments are produced by processes that open the macrocyclic ring, and it is possible to observe several different pieces of the molecule as fragment ions. The diversity of fragments produced facilitates the elucidation of new rapamycin-like structures through mass spectrometry. Three structurally modified rapamycin analogues have been examined by this technique, and the modifications to the molecule may be located based on the nominal masses of their fragments.     

Studies towards the Synthesis of (+)-Dictyoxetane

The dolabellane-type diterpene dictyoxetane represents a significant challenge to synthetic organic chemistry. Methodology directed towards the total synthesis of naturally occurring (+)-dictyoxetane is reported. Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of the trans-hydrindane ring system is achieved through chemoselective deoxygenation of the Hajos-Parrish ketone. An alternative to the Garst-Spencer furan annulation is developed for the synthesis of a 2,5-dimethyl, tetrasubstituted furan, employing a tandem 5-exo-dig alcohol to alkyne cyclisation/aromatisation reaction as a key step. The (4+3) cycloaddition reaction of an oxyallyl cation with a tetrasubstituted furan is established on a cyclohexanone-derived model system, and a range of related (4+3) cycloadditions investigated on a homochiral, trans-hydrindane-fused furan, where regio- and diastereoselectivity is required for the natural product synthesis. In an alternative (4+2) Diels-Alder approach, a C₂-symmetric vinyl sulfoxide-based chiral ketene equivalent is used to prepare oxanorbornenes with the same oxygen bridge stereochemistry found in the 2,7-dioxatricyclo[4.2.1.0^3,8]nonane ring system of the natural product.