Total synthesis of solandelactones E and F, homoeicosanoids from the hydroid Solanderia secunda

Asymmetric total syntheses of solandelactones E and F confirmed that hydroxyl configuration at C11 in these oxylipins had been misassigned and that the stereochemistry at this center should be reversed. Key steps in the synthesis involved a Nagao asymmetric acetate aldol reaction, a directed Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation, a Holmes-Claisen rearrangement to establish the unsaturated octalactone, and a Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi coupling to connect two major fragments at C11-C12.     

Stereocontrolled asymmetric synthesis of syn-E-1,4-diol-2-enes using allyl boronates and its application in the total synthesis of solandelactone F

The solandelactones A-H comprise a novel class of oxygenated fatty acids bearing an eight-membered lactone, trans cyclopropane, and a 2-ene-1,4-diol subunit. The relative stereochemistry of the 1,4-diol subunit is anti in solandelactones A, C, E & G, and syn in solandelactones B, D, F & H. Having prepared one member of the solandelactones bearing anti stereochemistry (solandelactone E), we have targeted the syn series and developed methodology for the synthesis of enantioenriched syn-2-ene-1,4-diols. The methodology comprises asymmetric deprotonation of an alkyl 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzoate using sBuLi/sparteine, followed by addition of the α-lithiobenzoate to β-silyl vinyl boronic acid ethylene glycol ester. The boron-ate complex generated undergoes a 1,2-metallate rearrangement furnishing an intermediate allyl boronic ester which is trapped by an aldehyde in the presence of MgBr(2) to furnish anti-β-hydroxy E-allylsilanes in good yields, high diastereoselectivity and high enantioselectivity. These sensitive products were oxidized using mCPBA to the corresponding epoxides and subsequently treated with acid to furnish syn-E-2-ene-1,4-diols (~4:1 d.r.). Application of the methodology to appropriately functionalized aldehyde and ω-alkenyl 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzoate coupling partners, led to a short, highly selective route to solandelactone F (bearing a syn-E-2-ene-1,4-diol).     

Total synthesis of mauritines A, B, C, and F: cyclopeptide alkaloids with a 14-membered paracyclophane unit

A unified strategy for the synthesis of mauritines A (5), B (6), C (7), and F (10) has been developed based on a key intramolecular nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction (S(N)Ar) for the formation of the strained 14-membered paracyclophane. It was demonstrated that the outcome of the cycloetherification is independent of the stereochemistry of the peptide backbone and that both (1R)-16 and (1S)-16 cyclized smoothly to provide the corresponding macrocycle. On the other hand, dehydration of the secondary benzylic alcohol, via the phenylselenide intermediate, is configuration dependent. (1R)-25 underwent the two-step syn-elimination much more easily than (1S)-22. A modified reductive deamination procedure via the diazonium intermediate was developed. A complete assignment of proton and carbon NMR spectroscopy signals for these natural products is reported for the first time.     

Array of aromatic amino acid side chains located near the chromophore of photoactive yellow protein

The role of the array of aromatic amino acid side chains located close to the chromophore binding loop of photoactive yellow protein (PYP) was studied using the alanine-substitution mutagenesis. Phe92, Tyr94, Phe96 and Tyr98 were replaced with alanine (F92A, Y94A, F96A and Y98A, respectively), then these mutants were characterized by UV-visible absorption spectra, circular dichroism (CD) spectra, thermal stability and photocycle kinetics. Absorption maxima of F92A, Y94A, F96A and Y98A were 444, 442, 439 and 447 nm, respectively, different to wild type (WT) at 446 nm. Far-UV CD spectra of mutants other than F92A were different from WT, indicating that Tyr94, Phe96 and Tyr98 maintain the native secondary structure of PYP. Mid-point temperatures of thermal denaturation of F92A, Y94A and F96A, estimated by the CD signal at 222 nm, were 5-10 degrees C lower than WT. Time constants of the photocycle estimated by flash-induced absorbance change were 0.36 s for WT and 1.4 s for Y98A, however, 100, 30 and 3000 times slower than WT for F92A, Y94A and F96A, respectively. Tyr98 is located in the loop region, whereas Phe92, Tyr94 and Phe96 are incorporated in the beta4 strand, showing that aromatic amino acid residues in the beta-sheet regulate the absorption spectrum, thermal stability and photocycle of PYP. Aromatic rings of Phe92, Tyr94 and Phe96 lie nearly perpendicular to the aromatic ring of Phe75 or chromophore. Possible weak hydrogen bonds between the aromatic ring hydrogen and pi-electrons of these residues are discussed.     

A chiron approach to the cyclopropyl lactone oxylipins

Enantiomerically pure key intermediates for the synthesis of constanolactones A and B and solandelactones A, B, E and F, the hydroxy-protected (3S,5Z)-undec-1-yn-5-en-3-ol and (3S,1E,5Z)-1-iodoundec-1,5-dien-3-ol, have been obtained in nine steps starting from (S)-malic acid.     

Asymmetric reduction of benzil to (S)-benzoin with whole cells of Bacillus cereus

Benzil (1) was selectively reduced to (S)-benzoin (2) in the presence of a wild-type Bacillus cereus Tim-r01. A 92% yield of 2 with 94% enantiomeric excess ratio was attained in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (pH 7.5) by using glucose as a nutrient at 37 degrees C for 12 h. Compound 2 was not reduced further to hydrobenzoin (3) at all. The reduction activity differed greatly depending on the strain of B. cereus. Under these conditions the B. cereus strains IFO3001, IFO15305, IAM1110, IAM1229, IAM1656, and IAM1729 gave 2 in yields ranging from 23 to 46% and the configuration of 2 was (S)-form (7 to 86% ee).     

Total synthesis of rhizoxin D,a potent antimitotic agent from the fungus Rhizopus chinensis

Rhizoxin D (2) was synthesized from four subunits, A, B, C, and D representing C3-C9, C10-C13, C14-C19, and C20-C27, respectively. Subunit A was prepared by cyclization of iodo acetal 21, which set the configuration at C5 of 2 through a stereoselective addition of the radical derived from dehalogenation of 21 at the beta carbon of the (Z)-alpha,beta-unsaturated ester. Aldehyde 29 was obtained from phenylthioacetal 24 and condensed with phosphorane 30, representing subunit B, in a Wittig reaction that gave the (E,E)-dienoate 31. This ester was converted to aldehyde 33 in preparation for coupling with subunit C. The latter in the form of methyl ketone 55 was obtained in six steps from propargyl alcohol. An aldol reaction of 33 with the enolate of 55 prepared with (+)-DIPCl gave the desired beta-hydroxy ketone 56 bearing a (13S)-configuration in a 17-20:1 ratio with its (13R)-diastereomer. After reduction to anti diol 57 and selective protection as TIPS ether 58, the C15 hydroxyl was esterified to give phosphonate 59. An intramolecular Wadsworth-Emmons reaction of aldehyde 62, derived from delta-lactone 60, furnished macrolactone 63, which was coupled in a Stille reaction with stannane 68 to give 2 after cleavage of the TIPS ether.     

Studies toward the enantioselective syntheses of oxylipins: total synthesis and structure revision of solandelactone E

An efficient and general entry to unsaturated cyclopropane- and lactone-containing oxylipins of marine origin has been designed and applied to the first enantioselective total synthesis of solandelactone E. The synthesis, which proceeds in a total of 23 steps from commercially available materials, features a diastereoselective acetal-directed cyclopropanation of an electron-deficient diene, a regioselective Sharpless enantioselective dihydroxylation, and a stereoselective [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of a selenoxide to effect a 1,3-transposition of an allylic alcohol. Comparison of spectral data for the synthetic solandelactone, thus prepared, with data in the literature led to a revision of the original structural assignments of the C(11)-epimeric solandelactones.     

Synthesis,Crystal Structure and Antibacterial Activity of （E）-N1,N4-Bis（2,3,4-trimethoxy-6- methylbenzylidene）butane- 1,4-diamine

The title compound （E）-N1,N4-bis（2,3,4-trimethoxy-6-methylbenzylidene） butane- 1,4- diamine （C26H36N2O6, Mr = 472.57） was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectra and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The crystal belongs to triclinic, space group C2/c with a = 36.102（4）, b = 5.6620（11）, c = 13.015（2）A,β = 105.491 （2）°, V = 2563.7（7）A3, Z = 4, Dc = 1.224 g/cm3, 2 = 0.71073 A,μ（MoKα） = 0.087 mm^-1, F（000） = 1016, the final R = 0.0456 and wR = 0.1257 for 2255 observed reflections with I 〉 2σ（I）. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the molecule adopts an E configuration about the central C=N functional bond. The phenyl rings of two 2,3,4-trimethoxy-6-methylbenzaldehyde groups are parallel by symmetry. The molecules are linked through π-π and C-H…π stacking interactions and C-H…O hydrogen bonding interactions. The title compound possesses moderate antibacterial activity.     

Aristolochene synthase: mechanistic analysis of active site residues by site-directed mutagenesis

Incubation of farnesyl diphosphate (1) with Penicillium roqueforti aristolochene synthase yielded (+)-aristolochene (4), accompanied by minor quantities of the proposed intermediate (S)-(-)germacrene A (2) and the side-product (-)-valencene (5) in a 94:4:2 ratio. By contrast, the closely related aristolochene synthase from Aspergillus terreus cyclized farnesyl diphosphate only to (+)-aristolochene (4). Site-directed mutagenesis of amino acid residues in two highly conserved Mg(2+)-binding domains led in most cases to reductions in both k(cat) and k(cat)/K(m) as well as increases in the proportion of (S)-(-)germacrene A (2), with the E252Q mutant of the P. roqueforti aristolochene synthase producing only (-)-2. The P. roqueforti D115N, N244L, and S248A/E252D mutants were inactive, as was the A. terreus mutant E227Q. The P. roqueforti mutant Y92F displayed a 100-fold reduction in k(cat) that was offset by a 50-fold decrease in K(m), resulting in a relatively minor 2-fold decrease in catalytic efficiency, k(cat)/K(m). The finding that Y92F produced (+)-aristolochene (4) as 81% of the product, accompanied by 7% 5 and 12% 2, rules out Tyr-92 as the active site Lewis acid that is responsible for protonation of the germacrene A intermediate in the formation of aristolochene (4).     

Araguspongines B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and J, new vasodilative bis-1-oxaquinolizidine alkaloids from an okinawan marine sponge, Xestospongia sp

Nine new vasodilative alkaloids, araguspongines A, B (1), C (2), D (3), E (4), F (5), G (6), H (7), and J (8), were isolated from an Okinawan marine sponge, Xestospongia sp. On the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence, the absolute stereostructures of araguspongines B, D, E, F, G, H, and J were determined respectively as 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and the relative stereostructure of araguspongine C was determined as 2 having two 1-oxaquinolizidine moieties. Araguspongines B, D, and E each comprised a pair of the enantiomers, 1a and 1b, 3a and 3b, and 4a and 4b, respectively.     

Rastronole A,B, C,D, E,F, G und H; eine Gruppe multioxygenierter Diterpenbitterstoffe der ent-Kauran-Reihe aus Englerastrum scandens ALSTON

Rastronols A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, a group of multioxygenated bitter principles with ent-kaur-16-en-15-one structure from Englerastrum scandens ALSTON (Labiatae) We have isolated from the leaves of Englerastrum scandens from Kenya eight new, highly oxygenated ent-kaur-16-en-15-ones named rastronol A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H, and determined their structures mainly by spectroscopic techniques as 1, 8, 14, 17, 20, 29, 39 , and 51 respectively.     

Two-channel dissociation of chemically and thermally activated n-butylbenzene cations (C10H14+)

The charge-transfer reaction O(2)(+) + n-butylbenzene (C(10)H(14)) --> O(2) + C(10)H(14)(+) was studied in a turbulent ion flow tube at temperatures between 423 and 548 K and pressures between 15 and 250 Torr in the buffer gases He and N(2). Under chemical activation conditions stabilization vs dissociation ratios S/D of vibrationally highly excited C(10)H(14)(+)* as well as branching ratios of the fragments C(7)H(7)(+) (m/z = 91) vs C(7)H(8)(+) (m/z = 92) of the dissociation of C(10)H(14)(+)* were measured. Under thermal activation conditions, the rate constant of the dominating dissociation channel 92 was measured at 498 and 523 K. Employing information on the specific rate constants k(E) of the two channels 91 and 92 and on collisional energy transfer rates from the literature, the measured S/D curves and branching ratios 91/92 could be modeled well. It is demonstrated that the charge transfer occurs approximately equally through resonant transfer and complex-forming transfer. The thermal dissociation experiments provide a high precision value of the energy barrier for the channel 92, being 1.14 (+/-0.02) eV.     

Pseudo Jahn-Teller origin of nonplanarity and rectangular-ring structure of tetrafluorocyclobutadiene

It is shown that the pseudo Jahn-Teller effect (PJTE) in combination with ab initio calculations explains the origin of instability of the planar configuration of tetrafluorocyclobutadiene, C(4)F(4), with respect to a puckered structure and square-to-rectangle distortion of the carbon ring, and rationalizes its difference from the planar-rectangular geometry of C(4)H(4) and nonplanar (puckered) structure of Si(4)H(4). The two types of instability and distortion of the high-symmetry D(4h) configuration in these systems emerge from the PJT coupling of the ground B(2g) state with the excited A(1g) term producing instability along the b(2g) coordinate (elongation of the carbon or silicon square ring), and with the excited E(g) term resulting in e(g) (puckering) distortion. A rhombic distortion b(1g) of the ring is also possible due to the coupling between excited A(1g) and B(1g) terms. For C(4)F(4), ab initio calculations of the energy profiles allowed us to evaluate the PJTE constants and to show that the two instabilities, square-to-tetragonal b(2g) and puckering e(g) coexist, thus explaining the origin of the observed geometry of this system in the ground state. The preferred cis-trans (e(g) type) puckering in C(4)F(4) versus trans-trans puckering (b(2u) distortion) in Si(4)H(4) follows from the differences in the energy gaps to their excited electronic E(g) and A(1u) terms causing different PJTE in these two cases.     

Stereospecific thermal isomerization of 2, 2-dimethylbenzocyclobutenols to 2-isopropenylphenyl alcohols

Thermolysis of the 1-alkyl-2,2-dimethylbenzocyclobutenol 3 at 160 degrees C gave the 2-isopropenylphenyl alcohol 8 through an (E)-dienol intermediate by a 1,5-sigmatropic hydrogen shift from the isopropylidene methyl group to the carbon bearing hydroxy group. In the thermolysis of each of the diastereomeric 2, 2-dimethylbenzocyclobutenols 6 and 7 which have a hydroxy group on the beta-carbon of the quaternary C(1)-alkyl substituent, the isomerization to the 2-isopropenylphenyl alcohols 10 and 11 took place stereospecifically through a twisted (E)-dienol intermediate. The configuration of the newly formed chiral center in 10 and 11 was the same as that of the ring carbon bearing hydroxy group in the starting 6 and 7.     

CRYSTAL STRUCTURE OF p—PROPIONYLCALIX [4]ARENE

<正> The title compound was synthesized by Friedel-Crafts reaction of tetrahydroxycalix [4] arene and propionyl choride, and its crystal structure was determined by X-ray diffraction technique. C10O8H40,Mr = 648. 75, triclinic, space group P1 with cell parameters, a = 9. 930(5), b = 11. 838(3), c=14. 522(7) A,α= 94. 92(3),β=102. 96(4),γ= 98. 32(3)°, V = 1635A3, Z = 2, Dc = 1. 399g/ cm3, μ(CuKa) = 3. 27cm-1, F (000) = 344. The final R = 0. 075, Rw = 0.092 for 5716 independent reflections with I>3σ(I). The crystal structure analysis shows that the molecule exists in fine cone conformation.     

Total synthesis of (-)-fumiquinazolines A,B, C,E, H,and I. Approaches to the synthesis of fiscalin A

The first syntheses of (-)-fumiquinazolines A, B, and I, which proceed in 14 steps from protected tryptophan, anthranilic acid, leucine, and alanine in 7% overall yield, are described. Tricycle 30 was formed by a palladium-catalyzed cyclization. Oxidation of 30a with saccharine-derived oxaziridine 21 for fumiquinazolines A and B and oxidation of 30b with dimethyldioxirane for fumiquinazoline I selectively formed the appropriate imidazoindolone stereoisomers. Application of the Ganesan-Mazurkiewicz cyclization completed the syntheses. Efficient 14-step syntheses of (-)-fumiquinazolines C (7) and E (3) and a 15-step synthesis of (-)-fumiquinazoline H (8) using FmocNHCH(CH2SePh)CO2H as a dehydroalanine precursor that spontaneously eliminated benzeneselenol without oxidation under the cyclization conditions are also reported. Model 86 for fiscalins A with the H and OH anti to each other has been prepared, but the procedure that worked for the model failed with the fully functionalized side chain.     

A modular total synthesis of aculeatins A, B, E, F and 6-epi-aculeatins E, F

The total synthesis of aculeatins A, B, E and F confirming the assigned absolute configuration of recently isolated aculeatins E and F is documented. A convergent approach has been designed by the addition of both the terminal units (phenol and side chain) at an advanced stage. The central 1,3,5-triol unit with the requisite stereochemistry was prepared from the commercially available α-d-glucoheptonic-γ-lactone. Selective O-debenzylation during the hydrogenolysis of the diyne intermediate and the one pot phenolic oxidation with concomitant spiroketalization highlight the accomplished total syntheses.     

Enantiospecific total synthesis of (-)-(E)16-epiaffinisine, (+)-(E)16-epinormacusine B,and (+)-dehydro-16-epiaffinisine as well as the stereocontrolled total synthesis of alkaloid G

An efficient strategy is described for the total synthesis of the sarpagine-related indole alkaloids (-)-(E)16-epiaffinisine (1), (+)-(E)16-epinormacusine B (2), and (+)-dehydro-16-epiaffinisine (4). A key step employed the chemospecific and regiospecific hydroboration/oxidation at C(16)-C(17); this method has also resulted in the synthesis of (+)-dehydro-16-epinormacusine B (5). The oxy-anion Cope rearrangement followed by protonation of the enolate that resulted under conditions of kinetic control has been employed to generate the key asymmetric centers at C(15), C(16), and C(20) in alkaloid G (7) in a highly stereocontrolled fashion (>43:1). Conditions that favor control of the sarpagine stereochemistry at C(16) vs the epimeric ajmaline configuration at the same stereocenter have been determined. The formation of the required cyclic ether in 4, 5, and 7 was realized with complete control from the top face on treatment of the corresponding alcohols with DDQ/THF or DDQ/aq THF in excellent yields.     

Medicinal flowers. XXI. Structures of perennisaponins A, B, C, D, E, and F, acylated oleanane-type triterpene oligoglycosides, from the flowers of Bellis perennis

Six new acylated oleanane-type triterpene oligoglycosides, perennisaponins A (1), B (2), C (3), D (4), E (5), and F (6), were isolated from the flowers of Bellis perennis (Daisy flower) together with 14 saponins, nine flavonoids, and two glycosides. The structures of 1-6 were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence.