Addition reactions of nucleophiles to dibenzoylacetylene

Several enamine diones have been prepared through the nucleophilic addition of different amines to dibenzoylacetylene (DBA). Thus, the reaction of aniline, piperidine, o-aminophenol and N-phenylbenzylamine with DBA gave the corresponding 1:1 adducts namely, 1,4 - diphenyl - 2 - (N - phenylamino)but - 2 - ene -1,4 - dione (1), 1,4 - diphenyl - 2 - piperidinobut - 2 - ene - 1,4 - dione (2), 2 - (N - 2 - hydroxyphenylamino)1,4 - diphenylbut - 2 -ene - 1,4 - dione (3) and 1,4 - diphenyl - 2 - (N - phenylbenzylamino)but - 2 - ene - 1,4 - dione (4). UV absorption data reveal that the adducts 1 and 3, formed from aniline and o-aminophenol, respectively, are the E-isomers, arising through a trans-mode of addition whereas the adducts 2 and 4, formed from piperidine and N-phenyl-benzylamine are the Z-isomers, formed through a cis-mode of addition.The reaction of N-phenaeylaniline with DBA gave 2,3 - dibenzoyl - 1,4 - diphenylpyrrole (5), whereas the reaction of 1,8 - diaminonaphthalene with DBA gave a mixture of products consisting of 2 - benzoyl - 2 - phenacyl -2,3 - dihydroperimidine (11) and 2 - benzoylperimidine (12). The reaction of 2-aminopyridine with DBA gave a mixture of two 1:1-adducts, 2 - (2 - imino - 1(2H) - pyridyl) - 1,4 - diphenylbut - 2 - ene - 1,4 - dione (14) and 1,4 -diphenyl - 2 - (N - 2 - pyridylamino)but - 2 - ene - 1,4 - dione (15).     

Halide coordination to zinc porphyrin sensitizers anchored to nanocrystalline TiO2

The coordination of halide ions to 5-(3,5-dicarboxyphenyl)-10,15,20-tri- p-tolylporphinatozinc(II) anchored to mesoporous nanocrystalline (anatase) TiO 2 thin films (TiO 2/ZnP) immersed in propylene carbonate was quantified. The addition of tetrabutylammonium halide salts to the external propylene carbonate electrolyte resulted in a red shift in the absorption spectrum with the maintenance of five isosbestic points. The absorption spectra were within experimental error the same for ZnP and ZnP-X (-) compared to TiO 2/ZnP and TiO 2/ZnP-X (-): A SoretZnP = 427 nm (epsilon = 574 000 M (-1) cm (-1)), A SoretZnP-Cl (-) = 435 nm (epsilon = 905 000 +/- 12 000 M (-1) cm (-1)), A SoretZnP-Br (-) = 436 nm (epsilon = 776 000 +/- 30 000 M (-1) cm (-1)), and A SoretZnP-I (-) = 437 nm (epsilon = 620 000 +/- 56 000 M (-1) cm (-1)). Titration studies with the halides revealed sharp isosbestic points consistent with formation of a 1:1 halide/porphyrin adduct. Equilibrium constants for ZnP were found to be 1670 M (-1) for Cl (-), 96 M (-1) for Br (-), and 5.5 M (-1) for I (-), and the corresponding values for TiO 2/ZnP were significantly smaller, 780 M (-1), 70 M (-1) and 3.4 M (-1). A quasi-reversible wave was observed by cyclic voltammetry of TiO 2/ZnP, E 1/2(ZnP (+/0)) = +790 mV vs Ag/AgCl, that was shifted 160 mV after addition of excess chloride, E 1/2(ZnP-Cl (0/-)) = +630 mV. In regenerative solar cells with quinone/hydroquinone redox mediators, TiO 2/ZnP and TiO 2/ZnP-X (-), where X is Cl, Br, or I, were found to convert light into electrical power. The photocurrent action spectrum demonstrated that energy conversion was initiated by light absorption of ZnP and/or the halide adduct.     

From tetragermacyclobutene to tetragermacyclobutadiene dianion to tetragermacyclobutadiene transition metal complexes

The reaction of 3,4-dichlorotetragermetene derivative 2 with Na(2)[Fe(CO)(4)] in THF produced a (tetragermacyclobutadiene)tricarbonyliron complex, [{η(4)-((t)Bu(2)MeSi)(4)Ge(4)}]Fe(CO)(3)4, which has a slightly folded Ge(4) ring perhaptocoordinated to the Fe center. Structural and spectral characteristics of 4 show a remarkable π-donating ability of the tetragermacyclobutadiene ligand toward the transition metal, surpassing that of tetrasilacyclobutadiene and cyclobutadiene ligands. Reduction of 2 with KC(8) resulted in exclusive formation of the dipotassium salt of the tetragermacyclobutadiene dianion derivative 3(2-)·[K(+)(thf)(2)](2), representing a rare example of a 6π-electron compound that, on the basis of its structural and magnetic properties, was recognized as a nonaromatic species. Reaction of 3(2-)·[K(+)(thf)(2)](2) with CpCoI(2)(PPh(3)) produced a (cyclopentadienyl)(tetragermacyclobutadiene)cobalt complex, [{η(4)-((t)Bu(2)MeSi)(4)Ge(4)}]CoCp 7, as the first example of a sandwich compound featuring an all-germanium-containing cyclic polyene ligand.     

A Facile Route to Indolo

Treatment of 1-(2'-bromobenzyl)-3,4-dihydroisoquinolines 2 in the presence of K(2)CO(3) in boiling DMF efficiently provided a variety of alkoxy-substituted indolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines 3. Application of this cyclization to 7-benzyloxyisoquinoline derivatives, followed by further elaboration of the resultant 2-benzyloxy-5,6-dihydroindolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines 16a,b, led to the formal synthesis of dibenzopyrrocoline alkaloids, (+/-)-cryptaustoline (1a) and (+/-)-cryptowoline (1b).     

Dissociative electron attachment to gas-phase formamide

Dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to gaseous formamide, HCONH(2), has been investigated in the energy range between 0 eV and 18 eV using a crossed electron/molecule beam technique. The negative ion fragments have been comprehensively monitored and assigned to molecular structures by comparison with the results for two differently deuterated derivatives, namely 1D-formamide, DCONH(2), and N,N,D-formamide, HCOND(2). The following products were observed: HCONH(-), CONH(2)(-), HCON(-), OCN(-), HCNH(-), CN(-), NH(2)(-)/O(-), NH(-), and H(-). NH(2)(-) was also separated from O(-) by using high-resolution negative ion mass spectrometry. Four resonant dissociation channels can be resolved, the strongest ones being located between 2.0 and 2.7 eV and between 6.0 and 7.0 eV. CN(-) as the most abundant fragment and HCONH(-) are the dominant products of the first of these two resonances. The most important products of the latter resonance are NH(2)(-), CN(-), H(-), CONH(2)(-), and OCN(-). It is thus found that the loss of neutral H is a site-selective process, dissociation from the N site taking place between 2.0 and 2.7 eV while dissociation from the C site occurs between 6.0 and 7.0 eV. The suitability of these reactions and thus of formamide as an agent for electron-induced surface functionalisation is discussed.     

Cyclohexadienone diazeniumdiolates from nitric oxide addition to phenolates

Sterically hindered phenols react with nitric oxide under basic condititons to give either cyclohexadienone diazeniumdiolates or oximates. Phenols with 2,6-di-tert-butyl and 4-methyl (butylated hydroxy toluene, BHT), 4-ethyl, or 4-methoxy methylene substituents yield the corresponding 2,6-di-tert-butyl-2, 5-cyclohexadienone-4-alkyl-4-diazeniumdiolate salts (4-methyl 1a, 4-ethyl 3a, 4-methoxymethylene 5a). Phenols with 2,6-di-tert-butyl and 4-methylene (2,6-di-tert-butylphenol) substituents yield 4-methoxymethylenediazeniumdiolate (5a) together with 2, 6-di-tert-butyl benzoquinone oximate (6a), while phenols with 2, 6-di-tert-butyl and 4-methylenedimethylamino or hydrogen substituents yield exclusively 2,6-di-tert-butyl benzoquinone oximate (6a). Alkylation of the silver salts of 1a, or treating the O(2)-protonated diazeniumdiolate with diazomethane, both yield mixtures of O(1)- and O(2)-methylated isomers. All the compounds exhibit exothermic thermal decomposition except the quinuclidinium (1e, 3e, 5e) and triethylenediammonium (1f) salts which decompose endothermically. Three of the compounds namely "O(2)-protonated" (Z)-1-[4-(2, 6-di-tert-butyl-4-methyl-cyclohexadienonyl)]diazen-1-ium+ ++-1, 2-diolinic acid (1b), O(2)-methyl (Z)-1-[4-(2, 6-di-tert-butyl-4-methyl-cyclohexadienonyl)]diazen-1-ium+ ++-1,2-diolate (1c), and "O(2)-protonated" (Z)-1-[4-(2, 6-di-tert-butyl-4-methoxymethylenecyclohexadienonyl)]diazen- 1-ium-1, 2-diolinic acid (5b) were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The diazeniumdiolate framework in all the structures is coplanar with considerable pi-bonding delocalized over the O-N-N-O framework.     

Studies related to carba-pyranoses: a radical decarboxylation approach to monocarba-disaccharides

(1--> 1), (1--> 3) and (1--> 4) acetal-linked monocarba-disaccharides have been synthesised from a series of glucosylated gamma- and delta-lactonic acids prepared from common intermediate, obtained from the Diels-Alder reaction of maleic anhydride and (E)-1-(2',3',4',6'-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyloxy)-3-(trimethylsiloxy)buta-1,3-diene 1. Thiohydroxamic ester 14, prepared from gamma-lactonic acid 9, gave, upon treatment with tert-butyl thiol and light, the lactone 15. Subsequent lithium aluminium hydride reduction and acetylation gave the (1--> 3) acetal-linked monocarbadisaccharides 1,6-di-O-acetyl-3-O-(2',3',4',6'-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-2,4-dideoxy-5a-carba-beta-L-threo-hexopyranose 16. In a similar manner, protected monocarba-disaccharides 13, 19, 30, and 35 possessing L-ido, L-xylo, D-arabino and L-ido configurations of the carba-pyranose ring have been prepared. Treatment of thiohydroxamic esters 14 and 17 with either tert-butyl thiol or trityl thiol, dimethyl sulfide, oxygen and light gave alcohols 20 and 22. Subsequent lithium aluminium hydride reduction and aceytlation gave the monocarbadisaccharides 1,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-3-O-[2',3',4',6'-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl]-2-deoxy-5a-carba-beta-L-arabino-hexopyranose 21 and 1,2,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-3-O-(2',3',4',6'-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-5a-carba-beta-L-glucopyranose 23 respectively.     

Displacement method to develop highly sensitive and selective dual chemosensor towards sulfide anion

By utilizing a displacement method, a macrocyclic compound 1, could report the presence of sulfide anion, with the detection limit of 7.0 × 10(-7) mol/L; moreover, no interference was observed from other anions, including SO(3)(2-), HSO(3)(-), SO(4)(2-), ClO(4)(-), I(-), Br(-), Cl(-), F(-), IO(3)(-), HPO(4)(2-), PO(4)(3-), C(2)O(4)(2-), S(2)O(3)(2-), CO(3)(2-), AcO(-), CN(-) and P(2)O(7)(4-), making compound 1 a new, highly sensitive and selective sulfide anion chemosensor.     

Application of the valence bond mixing configuration diagrams to hypervalency in trihalide anions: a challenge to the Rundle-Pimentel model

The X(3)(-) hypercoordinated anions (H, F, Cl, Br, I) are studied by means of the breathing-orbital valence bond ab initio method. The valence bond wave functions describe the different X(3)(-) complexes in terms of only six valence bond structures and yield energies relative to the two exit channels, X(2) + X(-) and X(2)(-) + X(*), in very good agreement with reference CCSD(T) calculations. Although H(3)(-) is unstable and dissociates to H(2) + H(-), all the trihalogen anions are stable intermediates, Br(3)(-) and I(3)(-) being more stable than F(3)(-) and Cl(3)(-). As a challenge to the traditional Rundle-Pimentel model, the different energies of the hypercoordinated species relative to the normal-valent dissociation products X(2) + X(-) are interpreted in terms of valence bond configuration mixing diagrams and found to correlate with a single parameter of the X(2) molecule, its singlet-triplet energy gap. Examination of the six-structure wave functions show that H(3)(-), Cl(3)(-), Br(3)(-), and I(3)(-) share the same bonding picture and can be mainly described in terms of the interplay of two Lewis structures. On the other hand, F(3)(-) is bonded in a different way and possesses a significant three-electron bonding character that is responsible for the dissociation of this complex to F(2)(-) + F(*), instead of the more stable products F(2) + F(-). This counterintuitive preference for the thermodynamically disfavored exit channel is found to be an experimental manifestation of the large charge-shift resonance energy that generally characterizes fluorine-containing bonds.     

Electron attachment to gas-phase uracil

We present results about dissociative electron attachment (DEA) to gas-phase uracil (U) for incident electron energies between 0 and 14 eV using a crossed electron/molecule beam apparatus. The most abundant negative ion formed via DEA is (U-H)-, where the resonance with the highest intensity appears at 1.01 eV. The anion yield of (U-H)- shows a number of peaks, which can be explained in part as being due to the formation of different (U-H)- isomers. Our results are compared with high level ab initio calculations using the G2MP2 method. There was no measurable amount of a parent ion U-. We also report the occurrence of 12 other fragments produced by dissociative electron attachment to uracil but with lower cross sections than (U-H)-. In addition we observed a parasitic contaminating process for conditions where uracil was introduced simultaneously with calibrant gases SF6 and CCl4 that leads to a sharp peak in the (U-H)- cross section close to 0 eV. For (U-H)- and all other fragments we determined rough measures for the absolute partial cross section yielding in the case of (U-H)- a peak value of sigma (at 1.01 eV)=3 x 10(-20) m2.     

Simultaneous fluoride binding to ferrocene-based heteronuclear bidentate Lewis acids

A series of micro2-fluoro-bridged heteronuclear bidentate Lewis acid complexes [K(18-crown-6)THF]+ [Fc(BMeF)(SnMe2Cl)F]- (1-2F), [K(18-crown-6)THF]+ [Fc(BMeF)(SnMe2F)F]- (1-3F), [K(18-crown-6)THF]+ [Fc(BMePh)(SnMe2Cl)F]- (2-F), and [K(18-crown-6)THF]+ [Fc(BMePh)(SnMe2F)F]- (2-2F) (Fc=1,2-ferrocenediyl) was prepared. Compounds 2-F and 2-2F were obtained as a mixture of diastereomers, which arise due to the generation of a stereocenter at boron in addition to their inherent planar chirality. All compounds have been studied in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy in solution. As a result of bridging-fluoride interactions, tetrahedral boron and distorted trigonal-bipyramidal tin centers are observed. Comparison with the corresponding monofunctional ferrocenylborates further supports the bridging nature of the fluoride anion. Two-dimensional exchange spectroscopy 19F NMR studies provide evidence for facile intermolecular and intramolecular fluorine exchange processes. All complexes display reversible one-electron oxidation events at lower potentials than those of the tricoordinate ferrocenylborane precursors, which is typical of ferrocenylborate complexes.     

Ionic-liquid-promoted decaborane dehydrogenative alkyne-insertion reactions: a new route to o-carboranes

Unlike in conventional organic solvents, where Lewis base catalysts are required, decaborane dehydrogenative alkyne-insertion reactions proceed rapidly in biphasic ionic-liquid/toluene mixtures with a wide variety of terminal and internal alkynes, thus providing efficient, one-step routes to functional o-carborane 1-R-1,2-C2B10H11 and 1-R-2-R'-1,2-C2B10H10 derivatives, including R = C6H5- (1), C6H13- (2), HC[triple bond]C-(CH2)5- (3), (1-C2B10H11)-(CH2)5- (4), CH3CH2C(O)OCH2- (5), (C2H5)2NCH2- (6), NC-(CH2)3- (7), 3-HC[triple bond]C-C6H4- (8), (1-C2B10H11)-1,3-C6H4- (9), HC[triple bond]C-CH2-O-CH2- (10); R,R' = C2H5- (11); R = HOCH2-, R' = CH3- (12); R = BrCH2-; R' = CH3- (13); R = H2C=C(CH3)-, R' = C2H5- (14). The best results were obtained from reactions with only catalytic amounts of bmimCl (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride), where in many cases reaction times of less than 20 min were required. The experimental data for these reactions, the results observed for the reactions of B10H13(-) salts with alkynes, and the computational studies reported in the third paper in this series all support a reaction sequence involving (1) the initial ionic liquid promoted formation of the B10H13(-) anion, (2) addition of B10H13(-) to the alkyne to form an arachno-R,R'-C2B10H13(-) anion, and (3) protonation of arachno-R,R'-C2B10H13(-) to form the final neutral 1-R-2-R'-1,2-C2B10H10 product with loss of hydrogen.     

Aminocyclodextrins to facilitate the deprotonation of 4-tert-butyl-alpha-nitrotoluene

6A-Amino-6A-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin enhances the rate of the deprotonation of 4-tert-butyl-alpha-nitrotoluene. The rate constants for reaction of the cyclodextrin-bound species, kinc = 4 x 10(-3), 9 x 10(-3) and 19 x 10(-3) s(-1), at pH 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0, respectively, in 0.1 mol dm(-3) aqueous phosphate buffer containing 1% methanol at 298 K. These rate constants correspond to a rate acceleration (kinc/kun) of ca. 10 times at each pH. Under the same conditions, 6A-dimethylamino-6A-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin and 6A-(2-aminoethylamino)-6A-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin are more effective; at pH 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0, for the former, kinc = 3 x 10(-2), 7 x 10(-2) and 12 x 10(-2) s(-1), whilst for the latter, kinc = 4 x 10(-2), 5 x 10(-2) and 9 x 10(-2) s(-1), respectively. Each cyclodextrin also decreases the pKa of the nitrotoluene, from 6.8 in free solution, to 6.2 when bound. The accelerated deprotonation by 6A-amino-6A-deoxy-beta-cyclodextrin is reflected in the enhanced rates of hydrogen-deuterium exchange of the nitrotoluene in deuterium oxide, and in the conjugate addition of the nitrotoluene to methyl vinyl ketone in aqueous solution.     

Reactions of POxCly- ions with H and H2 from 298 to 500 K

Rate constants and product branching ratios for POxCly- ions reacting with H and H2 were measured in a selected ion flow tube (SIFT) from 298 to 500 K. PO2Cl-, PO2Cl2-, POCl2-, and POCl3- were all unreactive with H2, having a rate constant with an upper limit of <5 x 10(-12) cm3 s(-1). PO2Cl2- did not react with H atoms either, having a similar rate constant limit of <5 x 10(-12) cm3 s(-1). The rate constants for PO2Cl-, POCl2-, and POCl3- reacting with H showed no temperature dependence over the limited range of 298-500 K and were approximately 10-20% of the collision rate constant. Cl abstraction by H to form HCl was the predominant product channel for PO2Cl-, POCl2-, and POCl3-, with a small amount of Cl- observed from POCl2- + H. Reactions of O2 and O3 with the POCl- products ions from the reaction of POCl2- + H were observed to yield predominantly PO3- and PO2-, respectively. POCl- reacted with O2 and O3 with rate constants of 8.9 +/- 1.1 x 10(-11) and 5.2 +/- 3.3 x 10(-10) cm3 s(-1), respectively. No associative electron detachment in the reactions with H atoms was observed with any of the reactant ions; however, detachment was observed with a PO- secondary product ion at high H atom concentrations. Results of new G3 theoretical calculations of optimized geometries and energies for the products observed are discussed.     

Shortcut to mycothiol analogues

[structure: see text] The synthesis of a simplified thioglycosidic analogue (2) of mycothiol (1) is described. Evaluation of 2 against mycothiol S-conjugate amidase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis reveals good specific activity (7500 nmol min(-)(1) mg-protein(-)(1), vs 14 200 for 1), indicating that 2 can serve as a starting point for antitubercular drug design.     

Biotransformation of pinoresinol diglucoside to mammalian lignans by human intestinal microflora,and isolation of Enterococcus faecalis strain PDG-1 responsible for the transformation of (+)-pinoresinol to (+)-lariciresinol

By anaerobic incubation of pinoresinol diglucoside (1) from the bark of Eucommia ulmoides with a fecal suspension of humans, eleven metabolites were formed, and their structures were identified as (+)-pinoresinol (2), (+)-lariciresinol (3), 3'-demethyl-(+)-lariciresinol (4), (-)-secoisolariciresinol (5), (-)-3-(3", 4"-dihydroxybenzyl)-2-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxybenzyl)butane-1, 4-diol (6), 2-(3', 4'-dihydroxybenzyl)-3-(3", 4"-dihydroxybenzyl)butane-1, 4-diol (7), 3-(3"-hydroxybenzyl)-2-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxybenzyl)butane-1, 4-diol (8), 2-(3', 4'-dihydroxybenzyl)-3-(3"-hydroxybenzyl)butane-1, 4-diol (9), (-)-enterodiol (10), (-)-(2R, 3R)-3-(3", 4"-dihydroxybenzyl)-2-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxybenzyl)butyrolactone (11), (-)-(2R, 3R)-2-(3', 4'-dihydroxybenzyl)-3-(3", 4"-dihydroxybenzyl)butyrolactone (12), (-)-(2R, 3R)-3-(3"-hydroxybenzyl)-2-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxybenzyl)butyrolactone (13), 2-(3', 4'-dihydroxybenzyl)-3-(3"-hydroxybenzyl)butyrolactone (14), 2-(3'-hydroxybenzyl)-3-(3", 4"-dihydroxybenzyl)butyrolactone (15) and (-)-(2R, 3R)-enterolactone (16) by various spectroscopic means, including two dimensional (2D)-NMR, mass spectrometry and circular dichroism. A possible metabolic pathway was proposed on the basis of their structures and time course experiments monitored by thin-layer chromatography. Furthermore, a bacterial strain responsible for the transformation of (+)-pinoresinol to (+)-lariciresinol was isolated from a human fecal suspension and identified as Enterococcus faecalis strain PDG-1.     

间氯苯基锰卟啉-5-氟尿嘧啶配合物的合成及其对癌细胞的抑制活性

合成了4种新5-氟尿嘧啶-卟啉衍生物：5-[3-(2-(5-氟尿嘧啶-1-基)乙氧基)苯基]-10,15,20-三(3-氯苯基)卟啉(1a)、5-[3-(2-(5-氟尿嘧啶-1-基)乙氧基)苯基]- 10,15,20-三(3-氯苯基)锰卟啉(2a)、5-[3-(3-(5-氟尿嘧啶-1-基)丙氧基)苯基]-10,15,20-三(3-氯苯基)锰卟啉(2b)和5-[3-(4-(5-氟尿嘧啶-1-基)丁氧基)苯基]-10,15,20-三(3-氯苯基)锰卟啉(2c),通过UV-Vis、IR、MS及元素分析表征了它们的结构。 用噻唑蓝法（MTT法）测定了化合物2a、2b和2c对人胃癌细胞株BGC-823的抑制活性。 化合物2b的半数抑制浓度IC50为1.34 μmol/L,表明有一定的细胞毒作用。     

Transformation of arctiin to estrogenic and antiestrogenic substances by human intestinal bacteria

After anaerobic incubation of arctiin (1) from the seeds of Arctium lappa with a human fecal suspension, six metabolites were formed, and their structures were identified as (-)-arctigenin (2), (2R,3R)-2-(3',4'-dihydroxybenzyl)-3-(3",4"-dimethoxybenzyl)butyrolactone (3), (2R,3R)-2-(3'-hydroxybenzyl)-3-(3",4"-dimethoxybenzyl)butyrolactone (4), (2R,3R)-2-(3'-hydroxybenzyl)-3-(3"-hydroxy-4"-methoxybenzyl)butyrolactone (5), (2R,3R)-2-(3'-hydroxybenzyl)-3-(3",4"-dihydroxybenzyl)butyrolactone (6), and (-)-enterolactone (7) by various spectroscopic means including two dimensional (2D)-NMR, mass spectrometry, and circular dichroism. A possible metabolic pathway was proposed on the basis of their structures and the time course of the transformation. Enterolactones obtained from the biotransformation of arctiin and secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG, from the seeds of Linum usitatissium) by human intestinal bacteria were proved to be enantiomers, with the (-)-(2R,3R) and (+)-(2S,3S) configurations, respectively. Compound 6 showed the most potent proliferative effect on the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells in culture among 1 and six metabolites, while it showed inhibitory activity on estradiol-mediated proliferation of MCF-7 cells at a concentration of 10 microM. These results indicate that the transformation of 1 by intestinal flora might be essential for the manifestation of the estrogenic and antiestrogenic activity of 1.     

En route to zirconium hydrazides(2-)

The structures and properties of a series of new zirconium hydrazido(1-) complexes and the possibility of converting them to the respective hydrazido(2-) species are reported. Reaction of complex [Zr(N2TBSNpy)Cl2] (1) with the monolithiated hydrazide LiNHNMe2 gave the hydrazido(1-) complex [Zr(N2TBSNpy)(NHNMe2)Cl] (2) which exists as two isomeric forms (2a and 2b) in solution. All attempts to convert a mixture of 2a and 2b to the respective hydrazido(2-) compound by reaction with the bulky base lithium hexamethyldisilazide or via the alkyl/hydrazido(1-) complex [Zr(N2TBSNpy)(CH2SiMe3)(NHNMe2)] (3) and subsequent thermal alkane elimination failed. Reaction of 1 with LiHNNPhMe gave a mixture of stereoisomers of [Zr(N2TBSNpy)(NHNMePh)Cl] (4a and 4b), in which the hydrazido unit is end-on bound in solution and eta 2-bonded in the solid state. Reaction of this mixture with lithium hexamethyldisilazide in the presence of pyridine selectively yielded the hydrazido(2-) complex [Zr(N2TBSNpy)(NNPhMe)(py)] (5) which aggregated upon attempts to isolate it. Reaction of the insoluble precipitate with 4-dimethylaminopyridine (dmap) selectively gave the corresponding hydrazido(2-) complex [Zr(N2TBSNpy)(NNPhMe)(dmap)] (6), which could be obtained in a one-pot reaction directly from 1 and which was analytically and spectroscopically fully characterized. It appears that the isolation of stable hydrazido(2-) complexes of zirconium depends on the type of substituents at the N beta atom as well as the co-ligands coordinated to the metal centre.     

Tuned triazolatesilver(I) luminescent complexes from zero- to three-dimensionality based on bi- to tetratopic bridged ligands

The self-assembly of silver(I) salts with bitopic triazole ligands 4-(salicylideneamino)-1,2,4-triazole (L1) and 4-(2-pyridinyl)-1,2,4-triazole (L2) produced dinuclear complexes and a 1D molecular-ladder coordination polymer, while the reaction of tritopic ligand 4-(3-pyridinyl)-1,2,4-triazole (L3) with AgClO4 afforded a right-handed helical 2D network with (4,4) topology, a meso layer constructed via left- and right-handed helical chains with AgBF4, and a 2D 4.8(2) net containing no helical chain with AgNO3. Using a tetratopic triazole ligand 2,6-bis(4-triazolyl)pyridine (L4), a 3D coordination polymer was isolated. This complex contains a cationic 4.63 network with rhombic channels, accepting two columns of uncoordinated ClO4(-) anions filling into every central cavity. Our results show that (i) the increase of coordination sites of the ligands is an effective route to obtaining higher-dimensional structures and (ii) anions could influence the configuration of the ligand to tune the coordination network topology from those with helical chains to those without. In the solid state, all of the complexes exhibit strong fluorescent emission bands, which may be assigned to intraligand fluorescent emission. The luminescent properties of these complexes in a water solution varied from blue light to green light at ambient temperature.