The Redox‐Neutral Approach to C?H Functionalization

The direct functionalization of C? H bonds is an attractive strategy in organic synthesis. Although several advances have been made in this area, the selective activation of inert sp³ C? H bonds remains a daunting challenge. Recently, a new type of sp³ C? H activation mode through internal hydride transfer has demonstrated the potential to activate remote sp³ C? H linkages in an atom‐economic manner. This Minireview attempts to classify recent advances in this area including the transition to non‐activated sp³ C? H bonds and asymmetric hydride transfers.     

Tetrathiafulvalene?Benzothiadiazoles as Redox‐Tunable Donor–Acceptor Systems: Synthesis and Photophysical Study

Electrochemical and photophysical analysis of new donor–acceptor systems 2 and 3 , in which a benzothiadiazole (BTD) unit is covalently linked to a tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) core, have verified that the lowest excited state can be ascribed to an intramolecular‐charge‐transfer (ICT) π(TTF)→π*(benzothiadiazole) transition. Owing to better overlap of the HOMO and LUMO in the fused scaffold of compound 3 , the intensity of the ¹ICT band is substantially higher compared to that in compound 2 . The corresponding CT fluorescence is also observed in both cases. The radical cation TTF^+. is easily observed through chemical and electrochemical oxidation by performing steady‐state absorption experiments. Interestingly, compound 2 is photo‐oxidized under aerobic conditions.     

Redox‐Triggered C?C Coupling of Diols and Alkynes: Synthesis of β,γ‐Unsaturated α‐Hydroxyketones and Furans by Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Hydrohydroxyalkylation

Direct ruthenium‐catalyzed C C coupling of alkynes and vicinal diols to form β,γ‐unsaturated ketones occurs with complete levels of regioselectivity and good to complete control over the alkene geometry. Exposure of the reaction products to substoichiometric quantities of p‐toluenesulfonic acid induces cyclodehydration to form tetrasubstituted furans. These alkyne‐diol hydrohydroxyalkylations contribute to a growing body of merged redox‐construction events that bypass the use of premetalated reagents and, hence, stoichiometric quantities of metallic by‐products.     

Is the μ‐Oxo‐μ‐Peroxodiiron Intermediate of a Ribonucleotide Reductase Biomimetic a Possible Oxidant of Epoxidation Reactions?

Density functional calculations on a mu-oxo-mu-peroxodiiron complex (1) with a tetrapodal ligand BPP (BPP=N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-3-aminopropionate) are presented that is a biomimetic of the active site region of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR). We have studied all low-lying electronic states and show that it has close-lying broken-shell singlet and undecaplet (S=0, 5) ground states with essentially two sextet spin iron atoms. In strongly distorted electronic systems in which the two iron atoms have different spin states, the peroxo group moves considerably out of the plane of the mu-oxodiiron group due to orbital rearrangements. The calculated absorption spectra of (1,11)1 are in good agreement with experimental studies on biomimetics and RNR enzyme systems. Moreover, vibrational shifts in the spectrum due to (18)O(2) substitution of the oxygen atoms in the peroxo group follow similar trends as experimental observations. To identify whether the mu-oxo-mu-1,2-peroxodiiron or the mu-oxo-mu-1,1-peroxodiiron complexes are able to epoxidize substrates, we studied the reactivity patterns versus propene. Generally, the reactions are stepwise via radical intermediates and proceed by two-state reactivity patterns on competing singlet and undecaplet spin state surfaces. However, both the mu-oxo-mu-1,2-peroxodiiron and mu-oxo-mu-1,1-peroxodiiron complex are sluggish oxidants with high epoxidation barriers. The epoxidation barriers for the mu-oxo-mu-1,1-peroxodiiron complex are significantly lower than the ones for the mu-oxo-mu-1,2-peroxodiiron complex but still are too high to be considered for catalytic properties. Thus, theory has ruled out two possible peroxodiiron catalysts as oxidants in RNR enzymes and biomimetics and the quest to find the actual oxidant in the enzyme mechanism continues.     

C?C Cross‐Coupling Reactions of O6‐Alkyl‐2‐Haloinosine Derivatives and a One‐Pot Cross‐Coupling/O6‐Deprotection Procedure

Reaction conditions for the C? C cross‐coupling of O⁶‐alkyl‐2‐bromo‐ and 2‐chloroinosine derivatives with aryl‐, hetaryl‐, and alkylboronic acids were studied. Optimization experiments with silyl‐protected 2‐bromo‐O⁶‐methylinosine led to the identification of [PdCl₂(dcpf)]/K₃PO₄ in 1,4‐dioxane as the best conditions for these reactions (dcpf=1,1′‐bis(dicyclohexylphosphino)ferrocene). Attempted O⁶‐demethylation, as well as the replacement of the C‐6 methoxy group by amines, was unsuccessful, which led to the consideration of Pd‐cleavable groups such that C? C cross‐coupling and O⁶‐deprotection could be accomplished in a single step. Thus, inosine 2‐chloro‐O⁶‐allylinosine was chosen as the substrate and, after re‐evaluation of the cross‐coupling conditions with 2‐chloro‐O⁶‐methylinosine as a model substrate, one‐step C? C cross‐coupling/deprotection reactions were performed with the O⁶‐allyl analogue. These reactions are the first such examples of a one‐pot procedure for the modification and deprotection of purine nucleosides under C? C cross‐coupling conditions.     

Use of LC–HRMS in full scan‐XIC mode for multi‐analyte urine drug testing – a step towards a ‘black‐box’ solution?

The influx of new psychoactive substances (NPS) has created a need for improved methods for drug testing in toxicology laboratories. The aim of this work was to design, validate and apply a multi‐analyte liquid chromatography–high‐resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS) method for screening of 148 target analytes belonging to the NPS class, plant alkaloids and new psychoactive therapeutic drugs. The analytical method used a fivefold dilution of urine with nine deuterated internal standards and injection of 2 μl. The LC system involved a 2.0 μm 100 × 2.0 mm YMC‐UltraHT Hydrosphere‐C₁₈ column and gradient elution with a flow rate of 0.5 ml/min and a total analysis time of 6.0 min. Solvent A consisted of 10 mmol/l ammonium formate and 0.005% formic acid, pH 4.8, and Solvent B was methanol with 10 mmol/l ammonium formate and 0.005% formic acid. The HRMS (Q Exactive, Thermo Scientific) used a heated electrospray interface and was operated in positive mode with 70 000 resolution. The scan range was 100–650 Da, and data for extracted ion chromatograms used ± 10 ppm tolerance. Product ion monitoring was applied for confirmation analysis and for some selected analytes also for screening. Method validation demonstrated limited influence from urine matrix, linear response within the measuring range (typically 0.1–1.0 μg/ml) and acceptable imprecision in quantification (CV <15%). A few analytes were found to be unstable in urine upon storage. The method was successfully applied for routine drug testing of 17 936 unknown samples, of which 2715 (15%) contained 52 of the 148 analytes. It is concluded that the method design based on simple dilution of urine and using LC–HRMS in extracted ion chromatogram mode may offer an analytical system for urine drug testing that fulfils the requirement of a ‘black box’ solution and can replace immunochemical screening applied on autoanalyzers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is Cyanide Really a Strong‐Field Ligand?

Iron man or weakling? Ligand‐field strengths are conveniently expressed by the empirical spectrochemical series. Although cyanide has been deeply entrenched as a strong‐field ligand, a couple of recent examples cast doubt toward the position of this ligand, namely the high‐spin (S=2) states of [Cr^II(CN)₅]^3? and [Fe^II(tpp)(CN)]^?. tpp=meso‐tetraphenylporphinate.

     

Are we approaching a post‐monolithic era?

Thirty years after their introduction, monolithic stationary phases are an important member of chromatographic phases. When compared to conventional particulate materials, the continuous internal structure of both inorganic silica and organic polymer monoliths allows some hydrodynamic and analytical possibilities that are not provided by conventional particulate stationary phases. Polymer‐based monolithic stationary phases offer simple preparation and straightforward surface modification, which makes them very versatile materials that are applicable, for example, as chromatographic stationary phases, sample enrichment units, enzymatic reactors, and external trigger‐responding materials. On the other hand, current polymer monoliths cannot compete with efficiency provided by superficially porous and sub 2 µm particles. In this highlight article, I take advantage of the 30th anniversary of their introduction to discuss several concerns related to polymer‐based monolithic stationary phases. Particularly, I focus on preparation repeatability, porous properties, swelling of the polymers in organic solvents, column efficiency for small molecules, and heterogeneity of dominant flow‐through pores. In the end, I offer three possible approaches on how to overcome drawbacks related to stationary phases heterogeneity to further increase the applicability of polymer‐based monolithic stationary phases.     

Starch?Sulfuric Acid (SSA) as Catalyst for a One‐Pot Synthesis of 1,5‐Diaryl‐1H‐pyrazoles

Protocols with starch? sulfuric acid (SSA) as reusable catalyst for the synthesis of aryl‐1H‐pyrazoles are described. SSA acted as an efficient and environmentally friendly catalyst for the regioselective condensation of Baylis? Hillman adducts 1 with phenylhydrazine hydrochloride leading to the new 1,5‐diaryl‐1H‐pyrazole 2a – 2e in excellent yields (Scheme and Table 1).     

Ligand‐Enabled Catalytic C?H Arylation of Aliphatic Amines by a Four‐Membered‐Ring Cyclopalladation Pathway

A palladium‐catalyzed C H arylation of aliphatic amines with arylboronic esters is described, proceeding through a four‐membered‐ring cyclopalladation pathway. Crucial to the successful outcome of this reaction is the action of an amino‐acid‐derived ligand. A range of hindered secondary amines and arylboronic esters are compatible with this process and the products of the arylation can be advanced to complex polycyclic molecules by sequential C H activation reactions.     

A Straightforward Synthesis of 2‐[1‐Alkyl‐5,6‐bis(alkoxycarbonyl)‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐2‐oxopyridin‐3‐yl]acetic Acid Derivatives via Domino Michael Addition?Cyclization Reaction

A new and efficient synthesis of 2‐[1‐alkyl‐5,6‐bis(alkoxycarbonyl)‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐2‐oxopyridin‐3‐yl]acetic acid derivatives by a one‐pot three‐component reaction between primary amine, dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylate, and itaconic anhydride (=3,4‐dihydro‐3‐methylidenefuran‐2,5‐dione) is reported. The reaction was performed without catalyst and under solvent‐free conditions with excellent yields. Notably, the ready availability of the starting materials, and the high level of practicability of the reaction and workup make this approach an attractive complementary method to access to unknown 2‐[1‐alkyl‐5,6‐bis(alkoxycarbonyl)‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydro‐2‐oxopyridin‐3‐yl]acetic acid derivatives. The structures were corroborated spectroscopically (IR, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR, and EI‐MS) and by elemental analyses. A plausible mechanism for this type of domino Michael addition? cyclization reaction is proposed (Scheme 2).