Amino acid dependent formation of phosphate anhydrides in water mediated by carbonyl sulfide

Carbonyl sulfide (COS), a component of volcanic gas emissions and interstellar gas clouds, is shown to be an efficient condensing agent in the context of phosphate chemistry in aqueous solutions. We report that high-energy aminoacyl-phosphate anhydrides and aminoacyl adenylates are generated in solutions containing amino acids, COS, and the corresponding phosphate molecule. We further show that the mixed anhydrides of amino acids and inorganic phosphate are phosphorylating agents, producing pyrophosphate in better than 30% yield in the presence of Ca2+ precipitates. The amino acid dependent activations of phosphate reported here, which occur in parallel with the production of peptides, suggest that these two reactions may have shared a common intermediate on the prebiotic Earth.     

Selective sp3 C-H activation of ketones at the beta position by Ir(I). Origin of regioselectivity and water effect

The reaction of the cationic (PNP)Ir(I)(cyclooctene) complex (1) (PNP = 2,6-bis-(di-tert-butylphosphinomethyl)pyridine) with 2-butanone or 3-pentanone results in the selective, quantitative activation of a beta C-H bond, yielding O,C-chelated complexes. Calculations show that the selectivity is both kinetically (because of steric reasons in the rate determingin step (RDS)) and thermodynamically controlled, the latter as a result of carbonyl oxygen coordination in the product. The RDS is formation of the eta2-C,H intermediates from the complexed ketone intermediates. Water has a strong influence on the regioselectivity, and in its presence, reaction of 1 with 2-butanone gives also the alpha terminal C-H activation product. Computational studies suggest that water can stabilize the terminal alpha C-H activation product by hydrogen bonding, forming a six-membered ring with the ketone, as experimentally observed in the X-ray structure of the acetonyl hydride aqua complex.     

Monitoring of the insecticide trichlorfon by phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance (31P NMR) spectroscopy

Trichlorfon is an organophosphorus insecticide, which is extensively being used for protection of fruit crops. Trichlorfon is a thermal labile compound, which cannot be easily determined by gas chromatography (GC) and has no suitable group for sensitive detection by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In this study, a ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (³¹P NMR) has been described for monitoring of trichlorfon without any separation step. The quantitative works of ³¹P NMR spectroscopy has been performed in the presence of an internal standard (hexamethylphosphoramide). Limit of detection (LOD) for this method has been found to be 55 mg L⁻¹, without any sample preparation, and the linear working range was 150-5500 mg L⁻¹. Relative standard deviation (R.S.D.%) of the method for three replicates within and between days was obtained ≤9%. The average recovery efficiency was approximately 99-112%. This method was applied for monitoring trichlorfon in a commercial insecticide sample and tomato sample.     

Vibrationally mediated photodissociation of ethene isotopic variants preexcited to the fourth C-H stretch overtone

H and D photofragments produced via vibrationally mediated photodissociation of jet-cooled normal ethene (C2H4), 1,2-trans-d2-ethene (HDCCDH), and 1,1-d2-ethene (CH2CD2), initially excited to the fourth C-H stretch overtone region, were studied for the first time. H and D vibrational action spectra and Doppler profiles were measured. The action spectra include partially resolved features due to rotational cooling, while the monitored room temperature photoacoustic spectra exhibit only a very broad feature in each species. Simulation of the spectral contours allowed determination of the band types and origins, limited precision rotational constants, and linewidths, providing time scales for energy redistribution. The H and D Doppler profiles correspond to low average translational energies and show slight preferential C-H over C-D bond cleavage in the deuterated variants. The propensities toward H photofragments emerge even though the energy flow out of the initially prepared C-H stretch is on a picosecond time scale and the photodissociation occurs following internal conversion, indicating a more effective release of the light H atoms.     

Lewis base activation of grignard reagents with N-heterocyclic carbenes. Cu-free catalytic enantioselective additions to gamma-chloro-alpha,beta-unsaturated esters

Direct activation of alkylmagnesium halides with a chiral bidentate N-hetrocyclic carbene (NHC), formed in situ from the imidazolinium chloride precursor, is reported. The Cu-free catalytic asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA) of alpha-alkyl-gamma-chloro-alpha,beta-unsaturated esters with alkyl-based Grignard reagents is promoted in the presence of 5-10 mol % of the chiral imidazolinium salt to afford synthetically versatile beta,gamma-unsaturated esters. Products bear all-carbon quaternary sterogenic centers generated in 3.5-13.3:1 regioselectivity, 63-98% ee, and in up to 80% isolated yield of the SN2' product. The in-situ-generated chiral NHC promotes enantioselectivity while altering the reactivity of the Grignard reagents: there is only approximately 30% conversion and <2% allylic alkylation in the absence of chiral carbene.     

Structural and electronic differences of copper(I) complexes with tris(pyrazolyl)methane and hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands

Copper(I) complexes with tripodal nitrogen-containing neutral ligands such as tris(3,5-diisopropyl-1-pyrazolyl)methane (L1') and tris(3-tertiary-butyl-5-isopropyl-1-pyrazolyl)methane (L3'), and with corresponding anionic ligands such as hydrotris(3,5-diisopropyl-1-pyrazolyl)borate (L1-) and hydrotris(3-tertiary-butyl-5-isopropyl-1-pyrazolyl)borate (L3-) were synthesized and structurally characterized. Copper(I) complexes [Cu(L1')Cl] (1), [Cu(L1')(OClO3)] (2), [Cu(L1')(NCMe)](PF6) (3a), [Cu(L1')(NCMe)](ClO4) (3b), [Cu(L1')(CO)](PF6) (4a), and [Cu(L1')(CO)](ClO4) (4b) were prepared using the ligand L1'. Copper(I) complexes [Cu(L3')Cl] (5) and [Cu(L3')(NCMe)](PF6) (6) with the ligand L3' were also synthesized. Copper(I) complexes [Cu(L1)(NCMe)] (7) and [Cu(L1)(CO)] (8) were prepared using the anionic ligand L1-. Finally, copper(I) complexes with anionic ligand L3- and acetonitrile (9) and carbon monoxide (10) were synthesized. The complexes obtained were fully characterized by IR, far-IR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR spectroscopy. The structures of both ligands, L1' and L3', and of complexes 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5, 6, 7, and 10 were determined by X-ray crystallography. The effects of the differences in (a) the fourth ligand and the counteranion, (b) the steric hindrance at the third position of the pyrazolyl rings, and most importantly, (c) the charge of the N3 type ligands, on the structures, spectroscopic properties, and reactivities of the copper(I) complexes are discussed. The observed differences in the reactivities toward O2 of the copper(I) acetonitrile complexes are traced back to differences in the oxidation potentials determined by cyclic voltammetry. A special focus is set on the carbonyl complexes, where the 13C NMR and vibrational data are presented. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are used to shed light on the differences in CO bonding in the compounds with neutral and anionic N3 ligands. In correlation with the vibrational and electrochemical data of these complexes, it is demonstrated that the C-O stretching vibration is a sensitive probe for the "electron richness" of copper(I) in these compounds.     

New cold-fiber headspace solid-phase microextraction device for quantitative extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment

A new automated headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) sampling device was developed, with the capability of heating the sample matrix and simultaneously cooling the fiber coating. The device was evaluated for the quantitative extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from solid matrices. The proposed device improves the efficiency of the release of analytes from the matrix, facilitates the mass transfer into the headspace and significantly increases the partition coefficients of the analytes, by creating a temperature gap between the cold-fiber (CF) coating and the hot headspace. The reliability and applicability of previously reported cold-fiber devices are significantly enhanced by this improvement. In addition, it can be easily adopted for full automation of extraction, enrichment and introduction of different samples using commercially available autosampling devices. Sand samples spiked with PAHs were used as solid matrices and the effect of different experimental parameters were studied, including the extraction temperature, extraction time, moisture content, and the effect of sonication and modifier under optimal experimental conditions, linear calibration curves were obtained in the range of 0.0009-1000 ng/g, with regression coefficients higher than 0.99 and detection limits that ranged from 0.3 to 3 pg/g. Reproducible, precise and high throughput extraction, monitoring and quantification of PAHs were achieved with the automated cold-fiber headspace solid-phase microextraction (CF-HS-SPME) device coupled to GC-flame ionization detection. Determination of PAHs in certified reference sediments using the proposed approach exhibited acceptable agreement with the standard values.     

A chiral Ag-based catalyst for practical, efficient, and highly enantioselective additions of enolsilanes to alpha-ketoesters

A Ag-based chiral catalyst promotes efficient and highly enantioselective aldol additions of ketone-derived enolsilanes to alpha-ketoesters in the presence of a readily available amino acid-based ligand and commercially available AgF2. alpha-Ketoester substrates may bear alkyl, alkenyl, and aryl substituents; reactions proceed to >98% conversion to afford the desired tertiary alcohols in 61->98% isolated yield and 60-96% ee. In contrast to previously reported approaches, highest enantioselectivities are observed with sterically demanding substrates, and reactions can be carried out in undistilled solvent, in air with as little as 1 mol % catalyst.     

Analysis and design of nonlinear fiber Bragg gratings and their application for optical compression of reflected pulses

We demonstrate a novel split-step solution for analyzing nonlinear fiber Bragg gratings. The solution is used for designing nonlinear fiber Bragg gratings with a low reflectivity. The structure of the grating is designed according to the profiles of the incident and reflected pulses. We demonstrate our method for nonlinear compression of a pulse reflected from a fiber Bragg grating. The method allows us to obtain compressed pulses with a very low wing intensity.     

Synthesis of new phosphorus ylides: Spectroscopic and X‐ray structural studies

Stable phosphoranes, Ar₃P = CHCOR (R = C₆H₅, C₆H₄NO₂, C₆H₄OCH₃, CH₃, OCH₂C₆H₅; Ar = p‐tolyl or phenyl), have been C‐acylated by acetic anhydride to obtain new types of phosphorus ylides. Synthesis and characterization of six phosphorus ylides of the type Ar₃PC(COCH₃)(COR) are reported. The reaction of {(p‐tolyl)₃PCHCOC₆H₅} ( I ), {(p‐ tolyl)₃PCHCOC₆H₄NO₂} ( II ), {Ph₃PCHCOC₆H₄NO₂} ( III ), {Ph₃PCHCOC₆H₄OCH₃} ( IV ), {(p‐tolyl)₃PCHCOCH₃} ( V ), and {Ph₃PCHCOOCH₂C₆H₅} ( VI ) with acetic anhydride in dry chloroform as solvent gives (p‐tolyl)₃PC(COMe)(COC₆H₅), α‐acetyl‐α‐benzoylmethy‐lenetriphenylphosphorane ( 1 ), {(p‐tolyl)₃PC(COMe) (COC₆H₄NO₂)} ( 2 ), {Ph₃PC(COMe)(COC₆H₄NO₂)} ( 3 ), {Ph₃PC(COMe)(COC₆H₄OCH₃)} ( 4 ), {(p‐tolyl)₃ PC(COCH₃)₂} ( 5 ), and {Ph₃PC(COMe)(COOCH₂ C₆H₅)} ( 6 ). Single crystal X‐ray analyses for ylides 2 , 5 , and 6 reveal the monoclinic ( 2, 5 ) and triclinic ( 6 ) crystal systems. Characterization of the obtained compounds was also performed by elemental analysis, IR, ¹H, ³¹P, and ¹³C NMR. The geometries of these compounds have been investigated using density functional theory (DFT). In addition, electronic parameters of these compounds such as HOMO and LUMO energy, Mulliken partial charge, and dipole moment were obtained. In this paper, the reactivity of these ylides is discussed in regard to the aforementioned data. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 21:475–485, 2010; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20633