Photocyclization of quinopimaric acid and its derivatives

Photolysis was inverstigated of quinopimaric acid derivatives under various conditions. The structure of the photolysis products was proved with ¹H, ¹³C, and mass spectra and XRD analysis.     

Quantum mechanical modeling of a transannular interaction in a bicyclic amidinium ion

A transannular donor-acceptor interaction in a bicyclic azaamidinium salt was modeled by quantum mechanical calculations using a supermolecule complex consisting of a formamidinium cation and an ammonia molecule. Molecular properties are reported at various geometries. These results are compared with the results of similar calculations on the bicyclic cation itself. The model calculations and the bicyclic cation calculations are in good agreement, but both fail to reproduce the experimentally known structure. Results from ab initio calculations on the model system are discussed, as are results from calculations which included iodide as counterion.     

The conversion of pentoses to 3,4-dihydroxyprolines

The synthesis of two naturally-occurring isomers of 3,4-dihydroxyproline is reported. l-2,3-cis-3,4-trans-3,4-Dihydroxyproline was synthesized from l-arabinose in 10 steps and 31% overall yield. The same series of reactions was employed to convert l-xylose to l-2,3-trans-3,4-trans-3,4-dihydroxyproline. Orthogonally protected versions of these amino acids were produced on gram scale, en route to the free amino acids, and these will serve as versatile intermediates in peptide synthesis. This synthetic strategy involved Nα-Fmoc protection and protection of the C3 and C4 secondary alcohols as methoxyethoxymethyl (MEM) ethers.     

A novel approach to bicyclic fused cyclopentenone derivatives

A new four-step reaction sequence leading to bicyclic fused cyclopentenone derivatives starting from cyclic ketones has been developed.     

Borinic acid-catalyzed regioselective acylation of carbohydrate derivatives

Reversible covalent interactions of organoboron compounds are exploited as the basis for regioselective borinic acid-catalyzed acylations of polyols. This catalytic protocol enables differentiation of the secondary OH groups of a wide range of carbohydrate derivatives with diverse acid chloride and chloroformate reagents, using a structurally simple diarylborinic acid-derived catalyst.     

Construction of bicyclic ring systems via a transannular SmI2-mediated ketone-olefin cyclization strategy

The development of novel methods and strategies for the formation of polycyclic ring structures is of utmost importance in organic synthesis. The present study describes the investigation of a transannular cyclization strategy for constructing bicyclic ring systems. To test the viability of the approach, the SmI2-mediated ketone-olefin coupling reaction, a method previously developed in this laboratory, was examined. Investigation of the transannular cyclization of cyclooctene, cyclodecene, and cycloundecene derivatives revealed that the process proceeds with high yield and diastereoselectivity, and in the case of larger ring-sized compounds, with excellent regioselectivity. The regioselectivity of the annulation process could be rationalized based on examining the low energy conformations of the keto alkene starting materials. These results demonstrate the efficiency and the potential of the transannular cyclization tactic for the creation of bicyclic ring systems.     

The conversion of 3,4-cis- to 3,4-trans-cannabinoids

An investigation of the conversion of Δ¹-3,4-cis-THC 1a to Δ⁶-3,4-trans-THC 2a with BBr₃ is described. By use of 1a of known optical purity it was determined that the main epimerization occurs at C-4. The small loss of optical purity observed during formation of 2a results from either competitive epimerization at C-3 or a racemization process. The conversion of 3,4-cis- to 3,4-trans-HHCs proceeds with exclusive C-4 inversion.     

Platinum(II)-coordinated phosphinous acid-catalyzed alkylidenecyclopropanation of bicyclic alkenes with terminal alkynes

New Pt(eta2-acetato){[(R)(Ph)PO]2H} complexes 3 prepared from PtCl2(CH3CN)2 and secondary phosphine oxides (SPOs) catalyzed the [2+1] cycloaddition of phenylethyne (5a) with norbornene derivatives 4 to afford benzylidenecyclopropanes.     

Ring-rearrangement metathesis of bicyclic amino acid derivatives

In this letter, we describe the ring-rearrangement metathesis (RRM) of bicyclic amino acid derivatives. The procedure is of use for the synthesis of constrained amino acid and peptide derivatives with potential as reverse-turn inducers.     

Lewis acid-catalyzed reactions of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes with furan derivatives

Lewis acid-catalyzed reactions of dialkyl 2-arylcyclopropane-1,1-dicarboxylates with 2,5-dimethylfuran were found to give products of [3+2]-cycloaddition to C(2)-C(3) bond, which contain reactive vinyl ether moiety. These adducts can be further transformed into various products depending on the Lewis acid, the nucleophilicity of aryl group in starting cyclopropane and the ratio of reagents. The vinyl ether moiety can attack the appropriate nucleophilic center in intramolecular or intermolecular mode or can undergo cycloaddition to the second equivalent of donor-acceptor cyclopropane. Alternatively, 2,5-diphenylfuran formed Friedel-Crafts products only when reacted with donor-acceptor cyclopropanes.     

Synthesis of some new bicyclic pyrazoline derivatives

2,6-Diarylidenecyclohexanones react with hydrazine to give the corresponding bicyclic pyrazolines. The synthesis of a series of twenty eight substituted pyrazolines is described. The structure of all products was confirmed by microanalyses, ir and nmr data.     

Cascade reaction synthesis of multisubstituted bicyclic pyridone derivatives

An efficient synthesis of novel bicyclic pyridone derivatives via cascade reaction of heterocyclic ketene aminals (HKAs) and 4-arylmethylene-2-phenyloxazol-5(4H)-ones in the presence of acetic acid has been established. Significantly, the protocol affords a straightforward approach to the construction of multisubstituted bicyclic pyridones in which one C–O bond was cleaved and new C–C and C–N bonds were formed in one pot under mild conditions.     

Synthesis and properties of bicyclic aziridines,derivatives of triacetoneamine

Bicyclic aziridines, derivatives of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidone (triacetoneamine), are synthesized, which by acids treatment undergo the N—C(1) or N—C(2) bonds cleavage to form the corresponding pyrrolines, pyrrolidines, and piperidines. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 508–511, March, 2007.