Lissoclibadins 8-14, polysulfur dopamine-derived alkaloids from the colonial ascidian Lissoclinum cf. badium

Seven new polysulfur alkaloids, lissoclibadins 8 (1)-14 (7), were isolated from an ascidian, Lissoclinum cf. badium, collected in Indonesia. The structures were assigned on the basis of their spectroscopic data and computational modeling study. Lissoclibadin 8 (1) had four identical dopamine-derived units, and this is the first instance of a tetramer. Lissoclibadin 9 (2) was the second example of trimers next to lissoclibadin 1 (8). Lissoclibadins 10 (3)-12 (5) were symmetric dimers, and 13 (6) had a dopamine and ethyl units connected by sulfide and disulfide bonds. Lissoclibadin 14 (7) was a varacin-type monomer. These compounds inhibited the colony formation of Chinese hamster V79 cells and cell proliferation of murine leukemia L1210 cells.     

Synthesis, molecular structure and catalytic activity of chiral benzamidinate nickel complexes

Two new nickel complexes containing the chiral benzamidinate ligation: [PhC(N-SiMe₃)(N′-myrtanyl)]₂Ni(py)₂(3) and {[PhC(NH)(N′-myrtanyl)]₂Ni}₂ (6) have been synthesized and characterized. The solid-state molecular structures of these complexes have been determined by low-temperature X-ray diffraction analysis. Complex 3 was obtained via two different procedures. In complex 3, the metal adopts a nearly ideal octahedral environment, whereas in complex 6 the two divalent nickel metals are coordinated in a square-planar geometry, forming a dimer. Complex 3 activated with MAO has been found to oligomerize propylene producing a mixture of dimers, trimers and tetramers with a turnover frequency of 5200 h⁻¹, whereas complex 6 being activated with MAO oligomerizes ethylene to a mixture of dimers and trimers with a high turnover frequency of 15,400 h⁻¹. In addition, when activated with MAO both complexes showed a good activity for the vinyl-type polymerization of norbornene.     

Absolute structures of C-glucosides of resveratrol oligomers from Shorea uliginosa

Two C-glucosides of resveratrol dimers (uliginoside A (1) and hemsleyanoloside B (2)) consisting of enantiomeric aglycones and two C-glucosides of resveratrol trimers (uliginosides B (3) and C (4)) consisting of diastereomeric aglycones were isolated from Shorea uliginosa (Dipterocarpaceae). These structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis including NMR experiments, and their absolute configurations were determined based on circular dichroism data. Resveratrol oligomers of C-glucosides with a 1,2-diaryldihydrobenzofuran ring are produced with specific biogenetic routes.     

Some reactions of persistent benzofuranone radicals related to the ‘old’ diazonamide structure

The benzofuranone dimers 9 and 10/11 readily (ca. 75 °C) dissociate to the persistent radicals 16 and 17 respectively, which are stable to, dioxygen. The OMe analog 25 dissociates to form the radical 24, which reacts with dioxygen of TEMPO to give 26.     

Synthesis and photochromic reactivity of diarylethene trimers bridged by ethenyl and ethynyl unit

Two diarylethene trimers bridged by ethenyl and ethynyl groups were synthesized and their photochromic behaviors were examined. Upon irradiation of the trimers 2 and 4 with UV light, one-three photoinduced cyclization reactions occur. Each isomer was isolated and analyzed by ¹H NMR spectrum. The quantum yield of 2 and 4 is 0.52 and 0.311, respectively.     

Bisleuconins A-D: a pair of epimeric ent-kauranoid dimers and two new asymmetric analogues isolated from Isodonleucophyllus

A phytochemical investigation of Isodon leucophyllus led to the isolation of four novel ent-kauranoid dimers: bisleuconins A-D (1-4), and one known compound, rabdoloxin A (5). It was interesting that the structures of bisleuconins A (1) and B (2) were elucidated as a pair of epimeric ent-kauranoid dimers with unique linkage pattern C-16→C-17′ to connect two monomers. Bisleuconins C (3) and D (4) were two new asymmetric ent-kauranoid dimers. A possible biogenetic pathway of 1 and 2 was also proposed.     

N-Methylanilinium trifluoroacetate-promoted Prins reaction of α-methylene-α-tetralone dimers: generation of new molecular scaffolds

α-Methylene-α-tetralone dimers (8-10) are shown to undergo a diastereoselective Prins reaction with paraformaldehyde in the presence of N-methylanilinium trifluoroacetate resulting in 2, 4, and 5. The structure of the new scaffold 2 was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis.     

Light-harvesting composites of directly connected porphyrin-phthalocyanine dyads and their coordination dimers

Directly linked porphyrin (Por)-phthalocyanine (Pc) heterodyads (H₂Por-H₂Pc and H₂Por-ZnPc) with an imidazolyl group at porphyrin’s meso-position were synthesized. Introduction of a zinc ion into the porphyrin afforded stable complementary dimers of the heterodyads. The heterodyads and their dimers gave extensive and strong absorption bands owing to the porphyrin and phthalocyanine components and induced an efficient energy transfer from porphyrin to phthalocyanine. Strong fluorescence from phthalocyanine was observed in the case of H₂Por-H₂Pc.     

Structure and electronic properties of quinone dimers connected with acetylene and diacetylene linkages

Quinone dimers connected with acetylene (QAQ) and diacetylene linkages (QAAQ) have been synthesized and their structure and electronic properties studied. X-ray analysis, DFT calculations, and UV-vis measurements showed that, unlike directly connected quinone dimers (QQ), they had planar and thus efficiently extended π conjugation systems. The respective reduction potentials of QAQ and QAAQ were considerably raised, and QAQ thereby behaved as a mild oxidizing agent.     

Unexpected dimerization during hydrogenation of 2-(2-pyridylmethylene)-3(2H)-benzofuran-3-ones

Palladium catalyzed hydrogenation of 2-(2-pyridylmethylene)-3(2H)-benzofuran-3-ones (1-3) gave besides the expected 2,α-dihydro products 8-10 pentacyclic dimers formed by an attack of a semihydrogenated species on the substrate.     

Self-assembly of a new series of quadruply hydrogen bonded heterotrimers driven by the donor-acceptor interaction

This paper describes the self-assembly of a new series of heterotrimers in chloroform-d by utilizing the cooperative interaction of hydrogen bonding and donor-acceptor interaction. Compounds 1 and 11, in which an 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone unit is connected to 34-crown-10 or 36-crown-10, were used as donor monomer, and 2 and 19, in which an 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinone unit is connected to NDI, were used as acceptor monomer, while linear compound 4, which contains two diamido-1,8-naphthyridines, was used as template. A large tri-p-(t-butyl)phenylmethoxyl group was introduced to 19 in order to compare its assembling behavior with that of 2. Mixing 4 with dimer 1·2 caused 1·2 to fully decompose and to afford 55% of ‘in-in’-oriented heterotrimer 1·4·2. Adding 4 to the solution of 2·11 or 11·19 in chloroform-d also led to full dissociation of the dimers. However, in these systems the ‘in-in’-arranged heterotrimer 2·4·11 or 11·4·19 could be produced exclusively.     

New pentacyclic polyketide dimeric peroxides from a Taiwanese marine sponge Petrosia elastica

Two novel pentacyclic polyketide dimers, dihalenaquinolides A (1) and B (2), have been isolated from the marine sponge Petrosia elastica collected in Nan-wan, Taiwan. The structures 1 and 2 were established on the basis of extensive spectral analysis.     

Perezoperezone and curcuperezone: bisabolane dimers from the soft coral Pseudopterogorgia rigida

Perezoperezone (1), curcuperezone (2), and diperezone (3), belonging to the rare class of bisabolane dimers, were isolated as minor constituents of the organic extract of the Caribbean soft coral, Pseudopterogorgia rigida. The structures of the new compounds 1 and 2 were established by detailed analyses of their NMR and MS data.     

Multistalides A and B, two novel sesquiterpenoid dimers from Chloranthus multistachys

Two novel sesquiterpenoid dimers, multistalides A and B (1-2), were isolated from the whole plant of Chloranthus multistachys. Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configuration of 1-2 was determined by CD exciton chirality method.     

Homohelicity-enriched zinc bilinone dimers with chiral aliphatic spacers. Synthesis and application to chiral induction of a nematic liquid crystal

The zinc bilinone (ZnBL) dimers 4 and 5 bearing chiral aliphatic spacers ((2S,4S)-2,4-pentanedioxy and (3S,5S)-2,6-dimethyl-3,5-heptanedioxy for 4 and 5, respectively) were newly prepared, and their conformational distribution was investigated. The ¹H NMR and circular dichroism spectra revealed that the present dimers predominantly adopted the homohelicity conformation (MM and PP for 4 and 5, respectively), although the reference monomers with the corresponding subunit structures exhibited poor helicity enrichment. The helical twisting powers of these ZnBL dimers for a nematic liquid crystal (N-(4-methoxybenzylidene)-4-butylaniline, MBBA) were also investigated. With the dimers doped into MBBA, highly efficient chiral nematic induction was achieved. Especially, the dimer 5 exhibited the β_M value of +1800 μm⁻¹.     

Unusual ether-type resin glycoside dimers from the seeds of Cuscuta chinensis

Two new resin glycosides, cuses 3 (1) and 4 (2), were initially obtained from the seeds of Cuscuta chinensis. Both of them contained a reducing glucose unit, and thus existed as a pair of isomers. In order to solve the existing problem of tautomerism, the remanent resin glycoside fraction was converted into aminoalditol derivatives with p-anisidine, and then another eight new resin glycosides cuses 5–12 (3–10) were further isolated. Cuses 7–12 (6–10) were considered to be generated via glycosidation of two acylated oligosaccharides, and thus characterized as ether-type resin glycoside dimers. Their structures including absolute stereochemistry were elucidated by a combination of spectroscopic and chemical methods. Compounds 3–10 exhibited cytotoxic activity toward MCF-7, SMMC-7721, and MG-63 cell lines with IC₅₀ values ranging from 8.72 to 59.35 μg/mL.     

Unusual formation of β-carboline dimers under Bischler-Napieralski reaction conditions: an old reaction with a new direction

l-N-Formyl tryptophan methyl ester (3) underwent a Bischler-Napieralski reaction with POCl₃ at room temperature or under microwave irradiation, resulting in the unusual formation of β-carboline dimers 5 and 6. Most importantly, acetylation using Ac₂O of each of the dimers 5 and 6 separately afforded 1-[3′-carbomethoxy-β-carbolinyl]-3-carbomethoxy-9-acetyl-β-carboline (7) as the only product, the structure of which was confirmed by X-ray crystallography studies.     

Stilbene like carbazole dimer-based electroluminescent materials

Two carbazole dimers (1 and 10) were synthesized from 9-ethyl-9H-carbazole-3-carbaldehyde and 6-bromo-9-ethyl-9H-carbazole-3-carbaldehyde by McMurry C-C coupling reaction. Palladium(0)-catalyzed C-N coupling reactions of 10 and various diarylamines result in the formation of stable carbazole derivatives in good yields. These compounds are fluorescent in blue to yellow region with moderate to good quantum yields. Also, they are thermally stable and capable of hole-transporting due to the presence of the carbazole moieties. The electroluminescent devices fabricated using 1, 2, and 3 as hole-transporters/emitters with a bilayer structure ITO/Cpd/TPBI or Alq₃/LiF/Al (Cpd=1, 2, and 3) exhibit good performance (e.g., η_ext=1.0-2.1%; η_p=0.9-1.9 lm/W; η_c=2.4-4.8 cd/A at a current density of 100 mA/cm²).     

A FeCl3-promoted highly atropodiastereoselective cascade reaction: synthetic utility of radical cations in indolostilbene construction

The FeCl₃-promoted oxidative cyclization/coupling of acetamidostilbenes possessing 3-methoxy, 4-methoxy and 3,5-methoxy substitutions (21), (22) and (23) is described. Only 3,5-substitution gave rise to novel indolostilbenes, each possessing two stereogenic axes (axially chiral but racemic dimers (39) and (40)). The 4-methoxy substituted acetamidostilbenes, by contrast, yielded the bisindoline dimer (36).     

Molecules to supermolecules and self assembly: a study of some cocrystals of cyanuric acid

The preparation and structure elucidation of cocrystals 1a, 1b, 2a-4a, formed from cyanuric acid (CA) and the aza-donor compounds 4,7-phenanthroline, 1,7-phenanthroline, phenazine and 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane, respectively, have been reported. While CA forms different types of self-assembling modes—monomers (1a), dimers (1b and 4a) and infinite tapes (2a and 3a)—the recognition of the constituents, however, is through a triple hydrogen-bonding pattern, consisting of an N-H?N and two C-H?O hydrogen bonds, except in 4a.