Vindoline and 16‐de­methoxy­vin­doline: two catharanthus‐derived alkaloids

Vindoline, C₂₅H₃₂N₂O₆, and 16‐de­methoxy­vindoline, C₂₄H₃₀N₂O₅, both of which are naturally occurring biologically active products derived from plants, are important as possible starting materials for the synthesis of valuable anticancer antibiotics, viz. vincristine and vinblastine, and other pharmaceuticals. The vindoline framework consists of two five‐ and three six‐membered condensed rings. One of the six‐membered rings adopts a boat conformation, one adopts a sofa conformation and the third is planar. Both five‐membered rings have envelope structures. The intramolecular hydrogen bonds present in the structures are characteristic of vinca alkaloids.     

Heat capacities of solid copoly(amino acid)s

Recently heat capacities C_p of poly(amino acid)s of all naturally occurring amino acids have been determined. In a second step the heat capacities of four copoly(amino acid) s are studied in this research. Poly(L -lysine · HBr-alanine), poly(L -Lysine · HBr-phenylalanine), poly(sodium-L -glutamate-tyrosine), and poly(L -proline-glycine-proline) heat capacities are measured by differential scanning calorimetry in the temperature range 230–390 K. This is followed by an analysis using approximate group vibrations and fitting the C_p contributions of the skeletal vibrations of the corresponding homopolymers to a two-parameter Tarasov function. Good agreement is found between experiment and calculation. Predictions of heat capacities based on homopoly(amino acid)s are thus expected to be possible for all polypeptides, and enthalpies, entropies, and Gibbs functions for the solid state can be derived.     

Orthocarbonsäure-ester mit 2,4,10-Trioxaadamantanstruktur als Carboxylschutzgruppe; Verwendung zur Synthese von substituierten Carbonsäuren mit Hilfe von Grignard-Reagenzien

Ortho Esters with 2,4,10-Trioxaadamantane Structure as Carboxyl Protecting Group; Applications in the Synthesis of Substituted Carboxylic Acids by Means of Grignard Reagents The surprising stability of 2,4,10-trioxa-3-adamantyl derivatives 1 against nucleophilic substitution by organomagnesium compounds is discussed and shown to be caused by unfavourable stereoelectronic and steric factors governing the substitution of these cage compounds (Scheme 2). As a consequence, a number of Grignard reagents 2 containing the carboxyl group masked as 2,4,10-trioxa-3-adamantyl group could be prepared and have been reacted in a second step with various electrophiles (cf. Scheme 4). In the products 7–13 and 15b the carboxyl masking group is removed by mild acid hydrolysis and saponification (cf. Scheme 3) to yield the corresponding acids 16a–21a, 22 , and 23a. Acids 21a and 23a have been further transformed to give the macrocyclic lactones 24 and 26 , isolated from Galbanum oleo-gum-resin, and acid 22 to give 12-methyl-13-tridecanolide (25) , isolated from Angelica root oil. In addition 1-bromo-ω-(2,4, 10-trioxa-3-adamantyl)alkanes 1c and 1b have been used to synthesize (±)-methyl recifeiolate (29b) and pure cis-ambrettolic acid ((Z)- 32a ).     

(–)‐2‐(1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,8,8aα‐Decahydro‐4aβ,8α‐dimethyl‐7‐oxo‐2β‐naphthyl)propionic acid: catemeric hydrogen bonding in a bicyclic sesquiterpenoid ζ‐keto acid

In the title compound, C₁₅H₂₄O₃, derived from a naturally occurring sesquiterpenoid, the asymmetric unit consists of two mol­ecules differing by 167.4 (8)° in the rotational conformation of the carboxyl group. Each molecule aggregates separately with its own type as carboxyl‐to‐ketone hydrogen‐bonding catemers [O⋯O = 2.715 (6) and 2.772 (6) Å, and O—H⋯O = 169 and 168°]. This generates two crystallographically independent single‐strand hydrogen‐bonding helices passing through the cell in the b direction, with opposite end‐to‐end orientations. One intermolecular C—H⋯O=C close contact exists for the carboxyl group of one of the mol­ecules. The structure is isostructural with that of a closely related unsaturated keto acid reported previously.     

Synthese von optisch aktiven,natürlichen Carotinoiden und strukturell verwandten Naturprodukten. IX. Synthese von (3R)-Hydroxyechinenon, (3R, 3′R)- und (3R, 3′S)-Adonixanthin, (3R)-Adonirubin,deren optischen Antipoden und verwandten Verbindungen

Synthesis of Optically Active Natural Carotenoids and Structurally Related Compounds. IX. Synthesis of (3R)-Hydroxyechinenone, (3R, 3′R)- and (3R, 3′S)-Adonixanthin, (3R)-Adonirubin, Their Optical Antipodes and Related Compounds The synthesis of racemic and optically active hydroxyechinenone ( 12–14 ), adonixanthin ( 16–19 ), adonirubin ( 22–24 ), meso-astaxanthin ( 26 ) and their corresponding diosphenols 15, 20, 21, 25, 27, 28 , and 29 ) by Wittig reaction is reported, starting from suitable C₁₅-phosphonium salts and C₁₀-aldehydes.     

Zur Konfiguration des Vitamin-D3-Metaboliten 25, 26-Dihydroxycholecalciferol: Synthese von (25S,26)- und (25R,26)-Dihydroxycholecalciferol

Configuration of the Vitamin-D₃-Metabolite 25,26-Dihydroxycholecalciferol: Synthesis of (25S,26)- and (25R,26)-Dihydroxycholecalciferol For selective synthesis of the title compounds, (25S)- 1b and (25R)- 1b (Scheme 1), the protected cholesterol precursors (25S)- 6 and (25R)- 6 were prepared from stigmasterol-derived steroid-units 4a-d and C₅-side chain building blocks 5a–d by Grignard- or Wittig-coupling (Scheme 2), the configuration at C(25) of the target compounds being already present in the C₅-units. Conversion of the cholesterol intermediates to the corresponding vitamin-D₃ derivatives was carried out via the 7,8-didehydrocholesterol compounds (25S)- 2b and (25R)- 2b (Scheme 1), using the established photochemical-thermal transformation of the 5,7-diene system to the seco-triene system of cholecalciferol. The configuration at C(25) of the cholesterol precursors as assigned on basis of the known configuration of the C₅-units used, was found to be in agreement with the result of a single crystal X-ray analysis on compound 11 . The configuration at C(25) remained untouched on conversion of the cholesterol ring system to the seco-triene system of vitamin D₃ as evident from comparison of the lanthanide-induced CD. Cotton effects observed for (25S)- 3b and (25S) 1b . 25,26-Dihydroxycholecalciferol observed as a natural vitamin-D₃ metabolite has (25S)-configuration.     

Stereochemische Korrelationen zwischen (2R,4′R,8′R)-α-Tocopherol, (25S,26)-Dihydroxycholecalciferol, (–)-(1S,5R)-Frontalin und (–)-(R)-Linalol

Stereochemical Correlations between (2R,4′R,8′R)-α-Tocopherol, (25S,26)-Dihydroxycholecalciferol, (–)-(1S,5R)-Frontalin and (–)-(R)-Linalol The optically active C₅- and C₄-building units 1 and 2 with their hydroxy group at a asymmetric C-atom were transformed to (–)-(1S,5R)-Frontalin ( 7 ) and (–)-(3R)-Linalol ( 8 ) respectively; 1 and 2 had been used earlier in the preparation of the chroman part of (2R,4′R,8′R)-α-Tocopherol ( 6a , vitamin E), and for introduction of the side chain in (25S,26)-Dihydroxycholecalciferol ((25S)- 4 ), a natural metabolite of Vitamin D₃. The stereochemical correlations resulting from these converions fit into a coherent picture with those correlations already known from literature and they confirm our earlier stereochemical assignments. A stereochemical assignment concerning the C(25)-epimers of 25,26-Dihydroxycholecalciferol that was in contrast to our findings and that initiated the conversion of 1 and 2 to 7 resp. 8 for additional stereochemical correlations has been corrected in the meantime by the authors [26].     

Methyl,ethyl, isopropyl and tert-butyl 3-oxo-2-(triphenylphosphoranyl­idene)butyrates,a common pattern for a preferred conformation

The crystal structures of four alkyl 3-oxo-2-(tri­phenyl­phospho­ranyl­idene)­butyrates, where the alkyl group is methyl (C₂₃H₂₁O₃P·0.5C₆H₆), (II), ethyl (C₂₄H₂₃O₃P), (III), isopropyl (C₂₅H₂₅O₃P), (IV), or tert-butyl (C₂₆H₂₇O₃P), (V), show all of them to have the same conformation. They present a tetrahedral P atom and an sp² yl­idic C atom, with the carbonyl groups adopting anti conformations with respect to the keto groups located close to the P atom. P—C—C—O torsion angles, bond lengths and angles indicate an effective electronic delocalization toward the keto groups. In each case, one H atom of the alkoxy group is close to one of the phenyl rings. These preferred conformations are evaluated as the result of attractive and repulsive intramolecular interactions.     

Synthesis of Methyl (20R,22E)‐ and (20S,22E)‐3‐Oxochola‐1,4,22‐ trien‐24‐oate

Methyl (22E)‐3‐oxochola‐1,4,22‐trien‐24‐oate ( 4 ; C₂₅H₃₄O₃) is a naturally occurring steroid with unknown configuration at C(20). Starting from the (20S)‐3‐oxo‐23,24‐dinorchol‐4‐en‐22‐al ( 1a ), we prepared both diastereoisomeric methyl esters 4a and 4b by a three‐step procedure (Scheme). In the case of 4b , the initial epimerization of aldehyde 1a was followed by completion of the sequence and then separation via fractional crystallization to afford pure (20R)‐methyl ester 4a and its (20S)‐diastereomer 4b . Only the analytical data of the (20S)‐compound 4b were in good agreement with those reported for the natural product.     

(+)‐2‐(1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7‐Octa­hydro‐4a,8‐di­methyl‐7‐oxo‐2‐naphthyl)­propionic acid: catemeric hydrogen bonding in a bicyclic sesquiterpenoid keto acid

The title compound, C₁₅H₂₂O₃, derived from a naturally occurring sesquiterpenoid, has two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, differing principally in the rotational conformation of the carboxyl group. Each species aggregates separately as a carboxyl‐to‐ketone hydrogen‐bonding catemer [O?O = 2.752 (4) and 2.682 (4) Å, and O—H?O = 161 (4) and 168 (4)°], producing two crystallographically independent single‐strand hydrogen‐bonding helices, with opposite end‐to‐end orientations, passing through the cell in the b direction. Three intermolecular C—H?O=C close contacts exist for the ketone.     

Face selectivity of the Diels-Alder additions and cheletropic additions of sulfur dioxide to 2- vinyl-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene derivatives

Racemic 6-ethenyl-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-2-one ( 23 ), 5-ethenyl-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-2-one ( 25 ) and their ethylene acetals 24 and 26 , respectively, were derived from the Diels-Alder adduct of furan to 1-cyanovinyl acetate ( 27 ). The Diels-Alder additions of 26 to dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, to methyl propynoate, to N-phenylmaleimide, and to methyl acrylate were highly exo-face selective, as were the cycloadditions of methyl propynoate to dienones 23 and 25 and of dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate to ethylenedioxy-diene 24 . The cheletropic additions of SO₂ to 23 – 26 gave exclusively the corresponding sulfolenes 57 – 60 resulting from the exo-face attack of the semicyclic dienes under conditions of kinetic and thermodynamic control.     

Rapid Screening and Identification of Brefeldin A in Endophytic Fungi Using HPLC-MS/MS

Brefeldin A (BFA; C₁₆H₂₄O₄, MW 280), a naturally occurring macrolide, exhibits diverse biological activities, such as antibiotic, antiviral, cytostatic, antimitotic, and antitumor effects. Owing to the wide activities of BFA, there is a need to develop a method for rapid identification of BFA in crude microbial extracts. In this paper, a method has been established and validated for screening and identification of individual as well as total BFA by high-performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry in fungal raw materials. Translated from Journal of Instrumental Analysis, 2005, 24(1) (in Chinese)     

Herstellung enantiomerenreiner, α-alkylierter Lysin-, Ornithin- und Tryptophan-Derivate

Synthesis of Enantiomerically Pure, α-Alkylated Lysine, Ornithine, and Tryptophan Derivatives The imidazolidinones 9 and 10 as well as the oxazolidinone 18a were prepared in several steps by known methods from lysine and ornithine with an overall yield of ca. 20%. After double deprotonation with LDA, the corresponding dianionic derivatives could be diastereoselectively alkylated with electrophiles (MeI, C₆H₅CH₂Br, C₆H₅CHO, CH₃CHO). Acid hydrolysis led to the two enantiomeric 2-methyl- and 2-benzyllysines and to the enzyme inhibitor (S)-2-methylornithine. Several α-alkylated tryptophan derivatives were obtained through alkylation of the heterocycles derived from various amino acids with 1-(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)-3-(bromomethyl)indole ( 26 ). Alkaline hydrolysis of the five-membered auxiliary ring of 30b followed by treatment with HCl afforded (S)-2-methyltryptophan ( 31 ).     

Cyclodimerization of 1-(Dimethoxyniethyl)-5,6-dimethylidene-7-oxa-bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene Induced by Nonacarbonyldiiron. Crystal Structure of (1RS, 2SR, 3RS, 4RS, 4aRS, 9aSR)- Tricarbonyl[C, 2,3, C-η-(1,4-epoxy-1,5-bis(dimethoxymethyl)-2,3-dimethylidene-1,2,3,4,4a,9,9a,10-octahydroanthracene)]iron

The transition-metal-carbonyl-induced cyclodimerization of 5,6-dimethylidene-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene is strongly affected by substitution at C(1) While 5,6-dimethylidene-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept–2-ene-l-methanol ( 7 ) refused to undergo [4 + 2]-cyclodimerization in the presence of [Fe₂(CO)⁹] in MeOH, 1-(dimethoxymethyl)-5,6-di-methylidene-7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene ( 8 ) led to the formation of a 1.7:1 mixture of ‘trans’ ( 19, 21, 22 ) vs. ‘cis’ ( 20, 23, 24 ) products of cyclodimerization together with tricarbonyl[C, 5,6, C-η-(l-(dimethoxymethyl)-5,6-di-methylidenecyclohexa-1,3-diene)]iron ( 25 ) and tricarbonyl[C,3,4, C-η-(methyl 5-(dimethoxymethyl)-3,4-di-methylidenecyclohexa-1,5-diene-l-carboxylate)]iron ( 26 ). The structures of products 19 and of its exo ( 21 ) and endo ( 22 ) [Fe(CO)₃(1,3-diene)]complexes) and 20 (and of its exo ( 23 ) and endo (24) (Fe(CO)₃(1,3-diene)complexes) were confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies of crystalline (1RS, 2SR, 3RS, 4RS, 4aRS, 9aSR)-tricarbonyl[C, 2,3, C-η-(1,4-epoxy-1,5-bis(dimethoxymethyl])-2,3-dimethylidene-1,2,3,4,4a,9,9a,10-octahydroanthracene)iron ( 21 ). In the latter, the Fe(CO)₃(1,3-diene) moiety deviates significantly from the usual local C_s symmetry. Complex 21 corresponds to a ‘frozen equilibrium’ of rotamers with η-alkyl, η³-allyl bonding mode due to the acetal unit at the bridgehead centre C(1).     

Solubility of bromofullerenes C<Subscript>60</Subscript>Br<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> = 6, 8, 24) in aqueous-ethanolic mixtures at 25°C

Solubility of fullerene bromoderivatives C₆₀Br _n (n = 6, 8, 24) in aqueous-ethanolic mixtures at 25°C were studied. The corresponding solubility isotherms are presented.     

Theoretical Study of the Structures,Properties and Spectroscopies on Fullerene Hydrides C<Subscript>26</Subscript>H<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> = 2, 4, 6, 8)

The structures, stability patterns of C₂₆H _n (n = 2) formed from the initial D _3h C₂₆ fullerene were investigated by use of second-order-Moller–Plesset perturbation theory. The study of the stability patterns of hydrogenation reaction on C₂₆ cage revealed that type (β) carbons were the active site and the analyses of π-orbital axis vector indicated that the reactivity of C₂₆ was the result of the high strain and the hydrogenation reaction on C₂₆ cage was highly exothermic. The calculated ¹³C NMR spectra of C₂₆H _n (n = 2) predicted that the two sp ³ hybridization carbons in C₂₆H _n (n = 2) obviously moved to high field compare with that in D _3h C₂₆. Hence, the C₂₆H₂ should be obtained and detected experimentally. Similarly, the structures and reaction energies of C₂₆H _n (n = 4, 6, 8) were further studied at HF/6-31G*, B3LPY/6-31G* and MP2/6-31G* level. The results suggested the hydrogenation products of C₂₆, C₂₆H _n (n = 4, 6, 8), were more stable than the C₂₆ cage.     

Oligosaccharide Analogues of Polysaccharides. Part 4. Synthesis of a monosaccharide-derived octamer

NaSMe in toluene leads to regioselective de-C-silylation of the bis[(trimethylsilyl)ethynyl]saccharide 2 , but to decomposition of butadiynes such as 1 or 12 . We have, therefore, combined the known reagent-controlled, regioselective desilylation of 2 and of 12 (AgNO₂/KCN) with a substrate-controlled regioselective de-C-silylation, based on C-silyl groups of different size. This combination was studied with the fully protected 3 which was mono-desilylated to 4 or to 5 (Scheme 1). Triethylsilylation of 5 (→ 6 ) was followed by removal of the Me₃Si group (→ 7 ), introduction of a (t-Bu)Me₂Si group (→ 8 ) and removal of the Et₃Si group yielded 9 ; these high-yielding transformations proceed with a high degree of selectivity. Iodination of 4 gave 10 . The latter was coupled with 5 to the homodimer 11 and the heterodimer 12 , which was desilylated to 13 . The second building block for the tetramer was obtained by coupling 14 (from 7 ) with 5 , leading to 15 and 16 . Removal of the Me₃Si group (→ 17 ) and iodination led to 18 which was coupled with 13 to the homotetramer 20 and the heterotetramer 19 (Scheme 2). Deprotection of 19 gave 21 , which was, on the one hand, iodinated to 22 , and, on the other hand, protected by the (t-Bu)Me₂Si group (→ 23 ). Removal of the Et₃Si group (→ 24 ) and coupling afforded the homooctamer 26 and the heterooctamer 25 . Yields of iodination, silylation, and desilylation were consistently high, while heterocoupling proceeded in only 50–55%. Cleavage of the (i-Pr)₃SiC and MeOCH₂O groups of 11 (→ 27 ), 15 (→ 28 ), 20 (→ 29 ) and 26 (→ 30 ) proceeded in high yields (Scheme 3). Complete deprotection in two steps of the heterocoupling products 16 (→ 31 → 32 ), 19 (→ 33 → 34 ), and 25 (→ 35 → 36 ) gave the unprotected dimer 32 , tetramer 34 , and octamer 36 in high yields (Scheme 4). Only the dimer 32 is soluble in H₂O; the ¹H-NMR spectra of 32 , 34 , and 36 in (D₆)DMSO (relatively low concentration) show no signs of association.     

Stereoselective synthesis of the C14-C26 fragment of the cytotoxic macrolide FD-891

A stereoselective synthesis of the C₁₄-C₂₆ fragment of the naturally occurring, cytotoxic macrolide FD-891, is described. Asymmetric Evans aldol reactions and aldehyde Brown allylations are key steps of the synthesis.     

Total Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of the Cytotoxic Resin Glycosides Ipomoeassin A–F and Analogues

A multitasking C‐silylation strategy using the readily available compound 26 as a surrogate for cinnamic acid represents the key design element of a total synthesis of all known members of the ipomoeassin family of resin glyosides. This protecting group maneuver allows the unsaturated acids decorating the glucose subunit of the targets to be attached at an early phase of the synthesis, prevents their participation in the ruthenium‐catalyzed ring‐closing metathesis (RCM) used to form the macrocyclic ring, and protects them against reduction during the hydrogenation of the resulting cycloalkene over Wilkinson’s catalyst. As the C‐silyl group can be concomitantly removed with the O‐TBS substituent using tris(dimethylamino)sulfonium difluorotrimethylsilicate (TASF) in acetonitrile, no separate protecting group manipulations were necessary in the final stages, thus contributing to a favorable overall “economy of steps”. In addition to the naturally occurring ipomoeassins, a small set of synthetic analogues has also been prepared by “diverted total synthesis”. The cytotoxicity of these compounds was assayed with two different cancer cell lines. The recorded data confirm previous findings that the acylation‐ and oxygenation pattern of these amphiphilic glycoconjugates is highly correlated with their biological activity profile. Ipomoeassin F turned out to be the most promising member of the series, showing IC₅₀ values in the low nanomolar range.     

A donor–acceptor compound composed of a di­nuclear zinc(II) complex of a Robson macro­cycle with 8‐methyl­quino­line

A donor–acceptor compound, di­aqua‐1κO,2κO‐[μ‐11,23‐dimethyl‐3,7,15,19‐tetra­aza­tri­cyclo­[19.3.1.1^9,13]hexacosa‐1(25),2,7,9,11,13(26),14,19,21,23‐decaene‐25,­26‐diolato‐1κ⁴N³,N⁷,O²⁵,O²⁶:­2κ⁴N¹⁵,N¹⁹,O²⁵,O²⁶]­dizinc(II) diperchlorate bis(8‐methyl­quinoline) ethanol disolvate, [Zn₂(C₂₄H₂₆N₄O₂)(H₂O)₂](ClO₄)₂·2C₁₀H₉N·2C₂H₆O, obtained by the reaction of a dinuclear zinc(II) complex of a Robson macrocycle (acceptor) and 8‐methyl­quinoline (donor), lies about an inversion centre and the coordination about the unique Zn atom is a distorted square pyramid. The fifth coordination site is occupied by the water mol­ecule, Zn—O = 2.016 (2) Å, and the average macrocyclic Zn—O and Zn—N distances are 2.059 (6) and 2.059 (3) Å, respectively.