EPR Spectroscopic Studies of Lipoxygenases

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are sources of diverse natural, and chemically designed products. The enzyme lipoxygenase selectively oxidizes fatty acid acyl chains using controlled free radical chemistry; the products are regio‐ and stereo‐chemically unique hydroperoxides. A conserved structural fold of ≈600 amino acids harbors a long and narrow substrate channel and a well‐shielded catalytic iron. Oxygen, a co‐substrate, is blocked from the active site until a hydrogen atom is abstracted from substrate bis‐allylic carbon, in a non‐heme iron redox cycle. EPR spectroscopy of ferric intermediates in lipoxygenase catalysis reveals changes in the metal coordination and leads to a proposal on the nature of the reactive intermediate. Remarkably, free radicals are so well controlled in lipoxygenase chemistry that spin label technology can be applied as well. The current level of understanding of steps in lipoxygenase catalysis, from the EPR perspective, will be reviewed.     

[(p‐Cymene)RuCl2]2: An Efficient Catalyst for Highly Regioselective Allylic Alkylations of Chelated Amino Acid Ester Enolates

Chelated amino acid ester enolates are excellent nucleophiles for ruthenium‐catalyzed allylic alkylations. Although [Cp*Ru(MeCN)₃]PF₆ was found to be the most reactive catalyst investigated, with the resulting allyl complexes reacting at temperatures as low as ?78 °C, unfortunately the process took place with only moderate regio‐ and diastereoselectivity. In contrast, [(p‐cymene)RuCl₂]₂ allowed allylations to be performed with a high degree of regioretention. Secondary allyl carboxylates with a terminal double bond were found to be the most reactive substrates, giving rise to the branched amino acids with perfect regioretention and chirality transfer. In this case, no isomerization of the Ru–allyl complex formed in situ was observed, in contrast to the analogues palladium complexes. This isomerization‐free protocol can also be used for the synthesis of (Z)‐configured γ,δ‐unsaturated amino acid derivatives, starting from (Z)‐allylic substrates. Here, the more reactive phosphates were found to be superior to the carboxylates, providing the required amino acids in almost quantitative yield with perfect regio‐ and stereoretention. Therefore, the Ru‐catalyzed allylation reactions are well positioned to overcome the drawbacks of Pd‐catalyzed processes.     

Regio‐ and Enantio‐selective Chemo‐enzymatic C−H‐Lactonization of Decanoic Acid to (S)‐δ‐Decalactone

The conversion of saturated fatty acids to high value chiral hydroxy‐acids and lactones poses a number of synthetic challenges: the activation of unreactive C?H bonds and the need for regio‐ and stereoselectivity. Here the first example of a wild‐type cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP116B46 from Tepidiphilus thermophilus) capable of enantio‐ and regioselective C5 hydroxylation of decanoic acid 1 to (S)‐5‐hydroxydecanoic acid 2 is reported. Subsequent lactonization yields (S)‐δ‐decalactone 3 , a high value fragrance compound, with greater than 90 % ee. Docking studies provide a rationale for the high regio‐ and enantioselectivity of the reaction.     

Multicomponent Synthesis of Chiral Bidentate Unsymmetrical Unsaturated N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes: Copper‐Catalyzed Asymmetric CC Bond Formation

A multicomponent strategy was applied to the synthesis of chiral bidentate unsaturated hydroxyalkyl‐ and carboxyalkyl‐N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursors. The newly developed low‐cost chiral ligands derived from amino alcohols and amino acids were evaluated in copper‐catalyzed asymmetric conjugated addition and asymmetric allylic alkylation, which afforded the desired tertiary and quaternary carbon stereocenters with excellent regio‐ and enantioselectivities (up to 99:1 e.r.).     

Substrate‐Assisted,Transition‐Metal‐Free Diboration of Alkynamides with Mixed Diboron: Regio‐ and Stereoselective Access to trans‐1,2‐Vinyldiboronates

A substrate‐assisted diboration of alkynamides using the unsymmetrical pinacolato‐1,8‐diaminonaphthalenato diboron (pinBBdan) is described. The transition‐metal‐free reaction proceeds in a regio‐ and stereoselective fashion to exclusively afford trans ‐vinyldiboronates in good to excellent yields. Notably, Bdan and Bpin are installed on the α‐ and β‐carbon atoms, respectively.     

Substrate‐Assisted,Transition‐Metal‐Free Diboration of Alkynamides with Mixed Diboron: Regio‐ and Stereoselective Access to trans‐1,2‐Vinyldiboronates

A substrate‐assisted diboration of alkynamides using the unsymmetrical pinacolato‐1,8‐diaminonaphthalenato diboron (pinBBdan) is described. The transition‐metal‐free reaction proceeds in a regio‐ and stereoselective fashion to exclusively afford trans ‐vinyldiboronates in good to excellent yields. Notably, Bdan and Bpin are installed on the α‐ and β‐carbon atoms, respectively.     

Highly Enantioselective Extraction of Underivatized Amino Acids by the Uryl‐Pendant Hydroxyphenyl‐Binol Ketone

The hydroxyphenyl chiral ketone, (S)‐ 3 , reacts with D ‐amino acids bearing hydrophobic side chains exclusively over the L ‐amino acids in a two‐phase liquid–liquid extraction, and thus acts as a highly stereoselective extractant. Calculations for the energy‐minimized structures for the imine diastereomers and the comparison of the selectivities with other phenyl ketones, (S)‐ 4 and (S)‐ 5 , demonstrate that the hydrogen bond between the carboxylate group and the phenolic hydroxyl group contributes to the remarkable enantioselectivities. The multiple hydrogen bonds present in the imine of (S)‐ 3 reinforce the rigidity, and results in the difference between the stabilities of the imine diastereomers. The imine could be hydrolyzed in methanolic HCl solution, and the extraction of the evaporated residues revived the organic layer of (S)‐ 3 , which could enter into a new extractive cycle and leaves the D ‐amino acid with enantiomeric excess (ee) values of over 97 % in the aqueous layer.     

Chemoselective,Substrate‐directed Fluorination of Functionalized Cyclopentane β‐Amino Acids

This work describes a substrate‐directed fluorination of some highly functionalized cyclopentane derivatives. The cyclic products incorporating CH₂F or CHF₂ moieties in their structure have been synthesized from diexo‐ or diendo‐norbornene β‐amino acids following a stereocontrolled strategy. The synthetic study was based on an oxidative transformation of the ring carbon–carbon double bond of the norbornene β‐amino acids, followed by transformation of the resulted ?all cis“ and ?trans“ diformyl intermediates by fluorination with ?chemodifferentiation“.     

Stereoselective Csp3–Csp2 Bond‐Forming Reactions by Transition‐Metal‐Free Reductive Coupling of Cyclic Tosylhydrazones with Boronic Acids

The reactions between alkenylboronic acids and tosylhydrazones derived from substituted cyclohexanones lead to the construction of disubstituted cyclohexanes with total regio‐ and stereoselectivity. In these transition‐metal‐free processes, a Csp³?Csp² and Csp³?H bond are formed on the same carbon atom. The stereoselective reaction is general for 2‐, 3‐, and 4‐substituted cyclohexanone tosylhydrazones, as well as for 2‐substituted cyclopentanones. However, no stereoselectivity is observed for acyclic derivatives. DFT computational modeling suggests that the stereoselectivity of the reaction is determined by the approach of the boronic acid to the diazocyclohexane on its most stable chair conformation through an equatorial trajectory.     

Preparation of affinity carriers for the study of binding properties of aspartic proteinases

We have chosen aromatic amino acids and their derivatives as ligands for the affinity chromatography of aspartic proteinases (pepsins and pepsinogens). The following ligands were used: L‐tyrosine, L‐phenylalanine, tyramine, and N‐acetyl‐L‐phenylalanine, and their iodinated derivatives (mono‐ and di‐substituted) with free or blocked amino group. Two types of reactions were used for coupling ligands to Sepharose activated with divinyl sulfone (DVS): via amino group or via carboxyl group. Ligands with free amino group were directly coupled to the activated matrix (L‐tyrosine, 3‐iodo‐L‐tyrosine, 3,5‐diiodo‐L‐tyrosine, L‐phenylalanine, 4‐iodo‐L‐phenylalanine, tyramine); ligands with blocked amino group (N‐acetyl‐L‐phenylalanine, BOC‐L‐tyrosine, BOC‐3,5‐diiodo‐L‐tyrosine; BOC: tert‐butoxy carbonyl) were coupled to Sepharose containing linked ethylenediamine using the carbodiimide reaction. Alternatively, ethylenediamine was bound to free carboxyl croup using the same reaction and these ligand derivatives reacted with divinyl sulfone activated Sepharose. The prepared affinity carriers were used to study the binding properties of porcine pepsin and pepsinogen.     

Use of 19F NMR spectroscopy to probe enzymatic oxidation of fluorine‐tagged sulfides

A novel ¹⁹F NMR‐based method for monitoring the enzymatic oxidation of thia fatty acid analogues is presented. Our approach is based on the observation that methyl ω‐monofluorinated 9‐thia‐ and 10‐thiaoctadecanoates and their S‐oxide and S‐dioxide derivatives are easily distinguishable via their ¹H‐decoupled ¹⁹F spectra. These long‐range substituent effects were used to probe the regio‐ and chemoselectivity of stearoyl ACP (acyl carrier protein) Δ⁹ desaturase‐mediated sulfoxidation. The results clearly demonstrate that mono‐oxygenation of a 10‐thia analogue ACP Δ⁹ desaturase was more efficient than that of a 9‐thia substrate. A product previously undetected by TLC was observed for the first time in the product mixture obtained from 18‐fluoro‐9‐thiaoctadecanoyl‐ACP. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

过无溶剂、无催化的aza-Michael加成反应合成b氨基酸衍生物

本文报道一种安全,环境有好,经济实用的合成b氨基酸衍生物的新方法。利用α,β不饱和化合物和脂肪族胺,通过无溶剂、无催化的aza-Michael加成反应,高产率的合成b氨基酸衍生物。     

Stereocontrolled Synthesis of syn‐β‐Hydroxy‐α‐Amino Acids by Direct Aldolization of Pseudoephenamine Glycinamide

β‐Hydroxy‐α‐amino acids figure prominently as chiral building blocks in chemical synthesis and serve as precursors to numerous important medicines. Reported herein is a method for the synthesis of β‐hydroxy‐α‐amino acid derivatives by aldolization of pseudoephenamine glycinamide, which can be prepared from pseudoephenamine in a one‐flask protocol. Enolization of (R,R)‐ or (S,S)‐pseudoephenamine glycinamide with lithium hexamethyldisilazide in the presence of LiCl followed by addition of an aldehyde or ketone substrate affords aldol addition products that are stereochemically homologous with L ‐ or D ‐threonine, respectively. These products, which are typically solids, can be obtained in stereoisomerically pure form in yields of 55–98 %, and are readily transformed into β‐hydroxy‐α‐amino acids by mild hydrolysis or into 2‐amino‐1,3‐diols by reduction with sodium borohydride. This new chemistry greatly facilitates the construction of novel antibiotics of several different classes.     

Efficient Method for the Elongation of the N‐Acetylglucosamine Unit by Combined Use of Chitinase and β‐Galactosidase

A novel strategy for the regio‐ and stereoselective synthesis by two enzymatic steps of oligosaccharides having an N‐acetylglucosamine unit at the nonreducing end was developed. The first step involves a chitinase‐catalyzed highly selective β‐N‐acetyllactosamination of an oligosaccharide acceptor with a 4,5‐dihydrooxazole derivative of N‐acetyllactosamine as the glycosyl donor. The usage of a transition‐state‐analogue substrate for the chitinase under basic conditions allows the reaction to proceed only in the synthetic direction while suppressing hydrolysis of the product in aqueous media. Several chitinase mutants also catalyzed the glycosylation efficiently under neutral conditions. The second step is a regioselective cleavage of the glycosidic bond between the terminal galactose unit and the adjacent N‐acetylglucosamine unit by the action of a β‐galactosidase. This constitutes a very useful method to add an N‐acetylglucosamine unit to the nonreducing end of chito‐ and cello‐oligosaccharide derivatives in a regio‐ and stereoselective manner.     

Bispalladacycle‐Catalyzed Michael Addition of In Situ Formed Azlactones to Enones

The development and further evolution of the first catalytic asymmetric conjugate additions of azlactones as activated amino acid derivatives to enones is described. Whereas the first‐generation approach started from isolated azlactones, in the second‐generation approach the azlactones could be generated in situ starting from racemic N‐benzoylated amino acids. The third evolution stage could make use of racemic unprotected α‐amino acids to directly form highly enantioenriched and diastereomerically pure masked quaternary amino acid products bearing an additional tertiary stereocenter. The step‐economic transformations were accomplished by cooperative activation by using a robust planar chiral bis‐Pd catalyst, a Brønsted acid (HOAc or BzOH; Ac=acetyl, Bz=benzoyl), and a Brønsted base (NaOAc). In particular the second‐ and third‐generation approaches provide a rapid and divergent access to biologically interesting unnatural quaternary amino acid derivatives from inexpensive bulk chemicals. In that way highly enantioenriched acyclic α‐amino acids, α‐alkyl proline, and α‐alkyl pyroglutamic acid derivatives could be prepared in diastereomerically pure form. In addition, a unique way is presented to prepare diastereomerically pure bicyclic dipeptides in just two steps from unprotected tertiary α‐amino acids.     

Synthesis of Novel Spiro Pyrrolidine and Pyrrolizine Derivatives by 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition

The 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides derived from isatin and amino acids viz. sarcosine and proline to 2‐arylmethylidene‐5,6‐dihydroimidazo[2,1‐b]thiazol‐3(2H)‐ones afforded novel spiro pyrrolidines and pyrrolizidines regio‐ and stereoselectively in moderate yields. The products were characterized thoroughly by IR, MS, NMR together with elementary analysis.     

Enantioselective Rhodium‐Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation of β,γ‐Unsaturated α‐Amino Nitriles: Synthetic Homoenolate Equivalents

An enantioselective rhodium‐catalyzed allylic alkylation of β,γ‐unsaturated α‐amino nitriles is described. This protocol provides a novel approach for the construction of β‐stereogenic carbonyl derivatives via the catalytic asymmetric alkylation of a homoenolate equivalent. The particularly challenging nature of this transformation is highlighted by the fact that three modes of selectivity must be manipulated, namely regio‐ and enantioselectivity, in addition to geometrical control. The γ‐stereogenic cyanoenamine products can be readily hydrolyzed in situ to afford the β‐substituted carboxylic acids, which in turn provide expedient access to a number of related carbonyl derivatives. Additionally, control experiments indicate that the chiral rhodium‐allyl intermediate facilitates the selective formation of the E‐cyanoenamine products, which is critical since the Z‐isomer affords significantly lower enantiocontrol.     

Rhodium(III)‐Catalyzed [4+1] Annulation of Aromatic and Vinylic Carboxylic Acids with Allenes: An Efficient Method Towards Vinyl‐Substituted Phthalides and 2‐Furanones

A highly regio‐ and stereoselective synthesis of 3,3‐disubstituted phthalides from aryl carboxylic acids and allenes using a rhodium(III) catalyst has been demonstrated. The reaction features broad functional group tolerance and provides a simple and straightforward route to the synthesis of various 3‐vinyl‐substituted phthalides. Furthermore, the catalytic reaction can also be applied to the synthesis of biologically active 5‐vinyl‐substituted 2‐furanones from α,β‐unsaturated carboxylic acids and allenes. The reactions proceed through a carboxylate‐assisted ortho‐C?H activation and [4+1] annulation. The preliminary mechanistic studies suggest that a C?H cleavage is the rate‐determining step.     

Three‐component 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition reactions in synthesis of spiro[pyrrolidine‐2,3′‐oxindoline] derivatives

Regio‐ and stereospecific syntheses of several spiro[pyrrolidine2,3′‐oxindole] derivatives by cycloaddition trapping of azomethine ylides generated in situ, via decarboxylative condensation of isatin with α‐amino acids or by reaction of secondary amines with isatin, are reported. 2,6‐Dibenzylidenecyclohexanone, 2‐arylidene‐1‐tetralone, and arylidenemalononitrile derivatives have been efficiently used as trapping dipolarophiles. The regio‐ and stereochemistry of the additions are controlled by both frontier orbital and steric interactions. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 13:324–329, 2002; Published online in Wiley Interscience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hc.10038     

1,3‐Dipolar Cycloadditions to (5Z)‐1‐Acyl‐5‐(cyanomethylidene)‐ imidazolidine‐2,4‐diones: Synthesis and Transformations of Spirohydantoin Derivatives

Cycloadditions of various 1,3‐dipoles to (5Z)‐1‐acyl‐5‐(cyanomethylidene)‐3‐methylimidazolidine‐2,4‐diones 8 or 9 , prepared in 3 steps from hydantoin ( 1 ) (Schemes 1 and 2), were studied. In all cases, reactions proceeded regio‐ and stereoselectively. The type of product depended on the 1,3‐dipole and/or dipolarophile employed as well as on reaction conditions. Thus, with stable dipoles under neutral conditions, spirohydantoin derivatives 12 – 16 were obtained (Scheme 2), while under basic or acidic conditions, pyrazole‐ or isoxazole‐5‐carboxamides 18 and 23 – 26 and carboxylate 27 were formed via aromatization of the newly formed dihydroazole ring, followed by the simultaneous cleavage of the hydantoin ring (Schemes 3 – 5).