Searching for precursors to metal-metal bonded dipalladium species: a study of Pd2(4+) complexes

Reactions of Pd3(OAc)6 with lithium salts of mononegative bidentate N,N-ligands, L, of various types, such as formamidinates, benzamidinates, triazinates, and guanidinates, were investigated in a search for ways to obtain Pd2(4+) compounds that could serve as precursors to paddlewheel complexes with a metal-metal bond and a Pd2(5+) core. It was found that the reactions are complex and that either square planar mononuclear or dinuclear species may be formed depending on the reaction conditions or the method of isolation. For Pd2L4 compounds, alpha and beta isomers were sometimes obtainable. In the alpha isomer, all N,N-ligands serve as bridges, whereas in the beta isomer, two ligands bridge the Pd2(4+) unit and each of the other two chelate to a metal atom. Electrochemistry shows that the paddlewheel compounds Pd2(TolNC(H)NTol)4, Pd2(PhNC(Ph)NPh)4, and Pd2(PhNC(Ph)NPh)3(OAc) and the orthometalated complex cis-Pd2[eta2-C6H4NC(Ph)N(H)Ph]2(mu-OAc)2 have reversible oxidation waves between 0.70 and 0.92 V vs Ag/AgCl, which makes them good candidates for chemical oxidation.     

Synthese und Chiralität von (5S, 6R)-5,6-Epoxy-5,6-dihydro-β,β-carotin und (5R, 6R)-5,6-Dihydro-β,β-carotin-5,6-diol,einem Carotinoid mit ungewöhnlichen Eigenschaften

Synthesis and Chirality of (5S,6R)-5,6-Epoxy-5,6-dihydro-β,β-carotene and (5R,6R)-5,6-Dihydro-β,β-carotene-5,6-diol, a Compound with Unexpected Solubility Characteristics Wittig-condensation of azafrinal ( 1e ) with the phosphorane derived from 7 leads to a (1:3)-mixture of (E)-9′- and (Z)-9′-β,β-carotene-diol 3 , from which pure and optically active 3 ((5R,6R)-5,6-dihydro-β,β-carotene-5,6-diol) has been isolated as bright violet leaflets, m.p. 168°. Due to the trans-configuration of the diol moiety and to severe steric hindrance, hydrogen bonding is reduced to such an extent, that 3 behaves much more as a hydrocarbon than as a diol. There is good evidence that the so-called ‘β-oxycarotin’ obtained by Kuhn & Brockmann [15] by chromic acid oxidation of β, β-carotene is the corresponding racemic cis-diol. 3 has been converted into (5S, 6R)-5,6-epoxy-5.6-dihydro-β,β-carotene ( 4 ), m.p. 156°. This transformation establishes for the first time the chirality of a caroteneepoxide (without other O-functions). Full spectral and chiroptical data including a complete assignement of ¹³C-chemical shifts for azafrin methyl ester and 3 are presented.     

POLYMER NETWORK-POLY(ETHYLENE GLYCOL)COMPLEXES WITH SHAPE MEMORY EFFECT

The complexes of poly(methacrylic acid-co-methyl methacrylate) network with poly(ethylene glycol) stabilized byhydrogen bonds were prepared. By introducing the poly(ethylene glycol), a large difference in storage modulus below andabove the glass transition temperature occurred and the complexes exhibited shape memory behaviors. The morphology ofcomplexes was studied by using DSC, WAXD, and DMA. The results indicate that the fixed phase of this kind of novelshape memory materials is the network, and the reversible phase is the amorphous state of PEG:PMAA complex phase. Theshape recoverability almost reaches 100%. This type of complexes can be regarded as a novel shape memory network.     

Syntheses of Diamino-dideoxylyxose Derivatives using Acylnitroso Dienophiles

N-Acylnitroso derivatives 6 which were prepared by in-situ oxidation of the corresponding hydroxamic acids 5 reacted instantaneously and in high yields with dihydropyridine 4 . The Diels-Alder adducts 8 were formed regiospecifically with the acylnitroso dienophiles 6a–c , whereas the dienophiles 6d–f gave mixtures of both regioisomers 7 and 8 . These and some other results [2] were best explained by the FMO theory. The Diels-Alder adducts 7 and 8 gave the corresponding ‘anti’-cis-glycols when reacted with OsO₄/N-methylmorpholine N-oxide. Hydrogenolysis of the N–O bond followed by peracetylation led to the expected aminolyxose derivatives 14 and 16 . A similar sequence, using 4 and the hydroxamic-acid derivative 18 of (+)-D-mandelic acid led, with a poor asymmetric induction, to a mixture of the expected optically active aminolyxose compounds 19A / 19B .     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of Cesium Hexamminesodium Decahydro‐closo‐decaborate‐Ammonia(1/1), Cs[Na(NH3)6][B10H10]·NH3

Cs[Na(NH₃)₆][B₁₀H₁₀]·NH₃ was synthesised from cesium and disodium‐decahydro‐closo‐decaborate Na₂B₁₀H₁₀ in liquid ammonia, from which it crystallized in form of temperature sensitive colorless plates (triclinic, P1¯, a = 8.4787(7) Å, b = 13.272(1) Å, c = 17.139(2) Å, α = 88.564(1)°, β = 89.773(1)°, γ = 81.630(1)°, V = 1907.5(3) ų, Z = 4). The compound is the first example of an alkali metal boranate with two different types of cations. The decahydro‐closo‐decaborate dianions [B₁₀H₁₀]^2— and the cesium cations form a equation/tex2gif-stack-1.gif[Cs₂(B₁₀H₁₀)₂]^2— layer parallel to the ac plane. These layers are separated by N—H···N‐hydrogen bonded hexamminesodium cations.     

Electron impact mass spectral fragmentation of chiral bisbenzoxazole,bisbenzothiazole and biscarbamide derivatives of 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane

The mass spectrometric fragmentation behaviour of five pairs of (R,R)- and (S,S)-4,5-bis(benzoxazol-2-yl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane derivatives, one pair of (R,R)- and (S,S)-4,5-bis(benzothiazol-2-yl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolanes, and three pairs of (R,R)- and (S,S)-N,N'-bis(2-hydroxyaryl)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane-4,5-dicarbamides, all important compounds for asymmetric catalysis (P. Jiao et al., Tetrahedron Asymmetry 2001; 12: 3081), has been studied with the aid of mass-analyzed ion kinetic energy spectrometry and accurate mass measurements under electron impact ionization conditions. The spectral observations have been rationalized in terms of fragment ion structures and fragmentation mechanisms that will provide an aid to spectral interpretation for new compounds of this type.     

Über den sterischen Verlauf der Umsetzung von Enaminen aus offenkettigen Aldehyden und Ketonen mit Nitroolefinen zu 2,3-disubstituierten 4-Nitroketonen

On the Steric Course of the Reaction of Enamines Derived from Open-Chain Aldehydes and Ketones with Nitro-olefins Yielding 2,3-Disubstituted 4-Nitroketones The relative configuration of the nitro-ketone 12 obtained by the title reaction has been proved by a Baeyer-Villiger degradation and subsequent reduction to the amino-alcohol (±)-(u)- 20 , the relative configuration of which is identical with a sample prepared from 2-methyl-3-hydroxybutyrate of known configuration (Scheme 1). The stereochemical course of the title reaction is thus as predicted by our topological rule. It is assumed that the other nitro-ketones 13–18 described here are also formed by (lk)-combination of the trigonal centers of the educts (diastereoselectivity > 90%, see Formulae and Fig. 1). It is not possible to reverse this relative topicity by employing (Z)- instead of (E)-components of the starting materials, due to the reversibility of the primary step of these Michael additions (Schemes 2 and 3, and Fig. 2).     

Gene expression analysis for high throughput screening applications

To meet growing needs for high throughput gene expression profiling, we established a new automated high throughput TaqMan RT-PCR method for quantitative mRNA expression analysis. In this method, the Allegro( trade mark ) (Zymark) system conducts all sample tracking and liquid handling steps, and ABI PRISM 7900 HT (Applied Biosystems) is used to conduct real-time determination of the C(t) value when amplification of PCR products is first detected and accumulation of inhibitory PCR products is unlikely to occur. The ABI PRISM 7900 HT Sequence Detection System features a real-time PCR instrument with 384-well-plate compatibility and robotic loading, and continuous wavelength detection, which enables the use of multiple fluorophores in a single reaction. The Allegro System offers an assembly line approach with a modular design that allows reconfiguration of the components to accommodate variations in the assay flow. In the present study, we have established and validated a new automated High Throughput (HT) TaqMan RT-PCR- based method for quantitative mRNA expression analysis. The data demonstrate that HT-Taqman PCR is a powerful tool that can be used for measuring low concentrations of mRNA, and is highly accurate, reproducible, and amenable to high throughput analysis. Results suggest that HT-TaqMan is a reliable method for the quantification of low-expression genes and a powerful tool with HT capability for target identification/validation, structure-activity relationship (SAR) study, compound selection for efficacy studies, and biomarker identification in drug discovery and development.     

Sequential superparamagnetic clustering for unbiased classification of high-dimensional chemical data

For the clustering of chemical structures that are described by the Similog, ISIS count, and ISIS binary fingerprints, we propose a sequential superparamagnetic clustering approach. To appropriately handle nonbinary feature keys, we introduce an extension of the binary Tanimoto similarity measure. In our applications, data sets composed of structures from seven chemically distinct compound classes are evaluated and correctly clustered. The comparison, with results from leading methods, indicates the superiority of our sequential superparamagnetic clustering approach.     

Chemistry and the Origin of Life

The natural genesis of life on Earth is a hypothesis of evolutionary science; it is the task of synthetic organic chemistry to test this hypothesis experimentally. The aim of an experimental aetiological chemistry is not primarily to delineate the pathways along which our (‘natural’) life on Earth could have originated, but to provide decisive experimental evidence, through the realization of model systems (‘artificial chemical life’), that life can arise as a result of the organization of organic matter.