Lebensmittelinhaltsstoffe und ‐kontaminanten: Aus toxikologischer Sicht

Food contains a variety of compounds of natural origin that may be harmful when consumed too frequently or at a very high dose level or under inappropriate conditions. Examples for such constituents include the glucosinolates in cabbage or tyrpsin inhibitors in raw beans. Other constituents such as vicin in broad beans or glycyrrhizic acid in liquorice may be harmful for a subpopulation only, e.g., in patients suffering from high blood pressure or in individuals bearing certain genetic defects of metabolism. Furthermore, food may contain compounds which have been added by purpose (legal food additives) such as emulsifiers, preservatives, synthetic colors etc. These compounds are under strict regulation and their safety has been tested rigorously. Contaminants in food such as dioxins, pesticides, drug residues etc. may originate from illegal or inappropriate production or treatment. At lower levels they may reflect background contamination, e.g., in the environment. Finally, nutritional supplements and ingredients of ‘functional food’ require special toxicological testing and evaluation since not all compounds considered as ‘healthy’ in certain concentrations are also beneficial or safe when consumed at higher doses.     

Pressure‐Induced Diels–Alder Reactions in C6H6‐C6F6 Cocrystal towards Graphane Structure

Pressure‐induced polymerization (PIP) of aromatics is a novel method for constructing sp³‐carbon frameworks, and nanothreads with diamond‐like structures were synthesized by compressing benzene and its derivatives. Here by compressing a benzene‐hexafluorobenzene cocrystal (CHCF), H‐F‐substituted graphane with a layered structure in the PIP product was identified. Based on the crystal structure determined from the in situ neutron diffraction and the intermediate products identified by gas chromatography‐mass spectrum, we found that at 20 GPa CHCF forms tilted columns with benzene and hexafluorobenzene stacked alternatively, and leads to a [4+2] polymer, which then transforms to short‐range ordered H‐F‐substituted graphane. The reaction process involves [4+2] Diels–Alder, retro‐Diels–Alder, and 1‐1′ coupling reactions, and the former is the key reaction in the PIP. These studies confirm the elemental reactions of PIP of CHCF for the first time, and provide insight into the PIP of aromatics.     

Electrochemically Induced Diels‐Alder Reaction: An Overview

One of the most important name reactions in organic chemistry, is the Diels‐Alder cycloaddition reaction. It is a chemical reaction between a conjugated diene and a substituted alkene, commonly termed the dienophile to construct a substituted cyclohexene derivative. It is the stereotypical example of a pericyclic reaction with a concerted mechanism. In synthesis, the use of electricity instead of stoichiometric amounts of oxidant or reducing agents is definitely appealing for economic, ecological and selective, reasons. In this review, we try to underscore the combination of the electrosynthesis with Diels‐Alder cycloaddition reaction to establish of a powerful synthetic tool which may encourage synthetic organic chemists to use it in the future.