Thiazolium-catalyzed additions of acylsilanes: a general strategy for acyl anion addition reactions

A strategy utilizing N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) derived from thiazolium salts has been developed for the generation of carbonyl anions from acylsilanes. Synthetically useful 1,4-diketones and N-phosphinoyl-alpha-aminoketones have been prepared in good to excellent yields via NHC-catalyzed additions of acylsilanes to the corresponding alpha,beta-unsaturated systems and N-phosphinoylimines. These organocatalytic reactions are air- and water-tolerant methods to execute robust carbonyl anion addition reactions. Additionally, polysubstituted aromatic furans and pyrroles have been efficiently synthesized in a one-pot process using this carbonyl anion methodology. The addition of alcohols to the reaction renders the process catalytic in thiazolium salt. In an effort to synthesize a potential intermediate along the proposed reaction pathway, silylated thiazolium carbinols have been identified to provide good yields of carbonyl anion addition products when subjected to the standard reaction conditions in the presence of suitable electrophiles.     

A general and efficient synthesis of 3,6-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes

A convenient and efficient synthesis of N⁶-substituted 3,6-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes (6a-c) has been achieved starting from suitably substituted lactams, which were converted to nitroenamines followed by reductive cyclization to afford 3,6-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-2-ones in good yields. These bicyclic lactams were then reduced to the corresponding 3,6-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes and converted to the required N³,N⁶-disubstituted 3,6-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes (7a-h), which were screened for α₁-adrenoceptors antagonistic activities.     

Synthesis of chiral non-proteinogenic 4,5-dihydroxytetrahydropyran derived α-amino acids from d-mannitol

Starting from R-2,3-O-cyclohexylideneglyceraldehyde, which was obtained from d-mannitol, four tetrahydropyran derived chiral, non-proteinogenic α-amino acids have been synthesized. The key step in these syntheses is the ring closing metathesis using the first generation Grubbs’ catalyst.     

Polybutene-1 pipes exposed to pressurized chlorinated water: Lifetime and antioxidant consumption

Pipes of isotactic polybutene-1 were pressure-tested in chlorinated water at a controlled pH (6.5 ± 0.1), and the lifetime was assessed as a function of temperature (95-115 °C) and chlorine content (≤3 ppm). These data were compared with data from pressure testing in hot water (0 ppm chlorine). The lifetime shortening in chlorinated water was significant even at relatively low chlorine contents, 0.5 ppm. A further increase in chlorine content led only to a moderate shortening of the lifetime. The temperature dependence of the lifetime data obeyed the Arrhenius law. The activation energy obtained for failure data in chlorinated water was ∼140 kJ mol⁻¹, which was greater than the value of 108 kJ mol⁻¹ earlier reported for failure data from hot-water pressure testing. A 0.5-mm thick layer of material at the inner wall in the fractured pipes showed depletion of the antioxidant system and the inner wall displayed a large number of surface cracks, confirming that there was a pronounced chemical degradation of the inner wall material. The decrease in the antioxidant concentration was independent of the chlorine concentration in the range 0.5-1.5 ppm. The time to reach depletion of the antioxidant system could be predicted by linear extrapolation in an oxidation induction time (log scale)-exposure time (linear scale) diagram.     

Equilibria and structure of the lanthanide(III)-2-hydroxy-1,3-diaminopropane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetate complexes: formation of alkoxo-bridged dimers in solid state and solution

The complex formed between 1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (H4L-OH) and Nd3+ at pH 7.5 was found to be a dinuclear dimer in the solid state by X-ray crystallography. In the complex K4[Nd2(L-O)2(H2O)2].14H2O each ligand is coordinated to both Nd3+ atoms with an iminodiacetate group (the Nd3+-Nd3+ distance is 3.9283(8) A). The alcoholic OH groups are deprotonated, and the alkoxo oxygens are coordinated to both Nd3+ in a bridging position. The Nd3+ ions are nine-coordinated with one water molecule per Nd(III) ion in the inner sphere. The complex K4[Nd2(L-O)2(H2O)2].14H2O has an inversion center, and the space group is P1. Two of the K+ counterions are six-coordinated, while the other two K+ ions are eight-coordinated; polar polymeric water-K+ layers are formed between the apolar ligand layers via the bridging water molecules. The dinuclear dimer complexes are also present in aqueous solution. The proton relaxivities of the Gd3+ complex decrease with the increase of pH, and at pH > 6, the low relaxivity values indicate the probable absence of H2O in the inner sphere and the predominance of the eight-coordinated dimer species [Gd2(L-O)2].4- The results of ESI-TOF MS studies of the complexes of La3+, Nd3+, and Lu3+ proved the formation of dinuclear dimers in dilute (0.25 mM) solutions. pH-potentiometric titrations indicate the formation of complexes with 1:1 (Ln(L-OH)-, Ln(HL-OH), and Ln2(L-O)24-) and 2:1 (Ln2(L-O)+) metal-to-ligand ratios. The stability constants of the Ln(L-OH)- species increase from La3+ (log K = 10.19) to Lu3+ (log K = 14.08). The alcoholic OH group of the Ln(L-OH)- species dissociates at unusually low pH values. The pH range of dissociation shifts to lower and lower pH's with the increasing atomic number of the lanthanides. This pH range is about 4-7 for the La3+ complex and 1-4 for the Lu3+ complex. The results of 1D and 2D 1H and 13C NMR studies of the La3+ complex, the number and multiplicity of signals, and the values of coupling constants are in agreement with the dinuclear dimer structure of the complex in solution.     

Three new pentacyclic triterpenes and some flavonoids from the fruits of an Indian Ayurvedic plant Dendrophthoe falcata and their estrogen receptor binding activity

Extensive chromatographic screening of extracts of the fruits of the Indian Ayurvedic plant, Dendrophthoe falcata, resulted in the isolation of three new triterpenes, 3beta-acetoxy-1beta-(2-hydroxy-2-propoxy)-11alpha-hydroxy-olean-12-ene (1), 3beta-acetoxy-11alpha-ethoxy-1beta-hydroxy-olean-12-ene (2) and 3beta-acetoxy-1beta-hydroxy-11alpha-methoxy-olean-12-ene (3) along with nine known compounds, 3beta-acetoxy-1beta,11alpha-dihydroxy-olean-12-ene (4), 3beta-acetoxy-1beta,11alpha-dihydroxy-urs-12-ene (5), 3beta-acetoxy-urs-12-ene-11-one (6), 3beta-acetoxy-lup-20(29)-ene (7), 30-nor-lup-3beta-acetoxy-20-one (8), (20S)-3beta-acetoxy-lupan-29-oic acid (9), kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (10), quercetin-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (11), and gallic acid (12). The structures of these compounds were determined using 1D and 2D NMR and high resolution electrospray mass spectrometry. These compounds were assayed for binding to estrogen receptors-alpha and beta and kaempferol-3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (10) was found to be a ligand for both receptors with greater affinity for beta. The triterpenes (1-9) are reported for the first time in the genus Dendrophthoe and assumes taxonomic significance.     

On the tangential touch between the free and the fixed boundaries for the two-phase obstacle-like problem

In this paper we consider the following two-phase obstacle-problem-like equation in the unit half-ball

Supermacroporous cryogel matrix for integrated protein isolation. Immobilized metal affinity chromatographic purification of urokinase from cell culture broth of a human kidney cell line

A new type of supermacroporous, monolithic, cryogel affinity adsorbent was developed, allowing the specific capture of urokinase from conditioned media of human fibrosarcoma cell line HT1080. The affinity adsorbent was designed with the objective of using it as a capture column in an integrated perfusion/protein separation bioreactor setup. A comparative study between the utility of this novel cryogel based matrix and the conventional Sepharose based affinity matrix for the continuous capture of urokinase in an integrated bioreactor system was performed. Cu(II)-ion was coupled to epoxy activated polyacrylamide cryogel and Sepharose using iminodiacetic acid (IDA) as the chelating ligand. About 27-fold purification of urokinase from the conditioned culture media was achieved with Cu(II)-IDA-polyacrylamide cryogel column giving specific activity of about 814 Plough units (PU)/mg protein and enzyme yields of about 80%. High yields (95%) were obtained with Cu(II)-IDA-Sepharose column by virtue of its high binding capacity. However, the adsorbent showed lower selectivity as compared to cryogel matrix giving specific activity of 161 PU/mg protein and purification factor of 5.3. The high porosity, selectivity and reasonably good binding capacity of Cu(II)-IDA-polyacrylamide cryogel column make it a promising option for use as a protein capture column in integrated perfusion/separation processes. The urokinase peak pool from Cu(II)-IDA-polyacrylamide cryogel column could be further resolved into separate fractions for high and low molecular weight forms of urokinase by gel filtration chromatography on Sephacryl S-200. The selectivity of the cryogel based IMAC matrix for urokinase was found to be higher as compared to that of Cu(II)-IDA-Sepharose column.     

Characterization of a specific arabinosyltransferase activity involved in mycobacterial arabinan biosynthesis

Mycobacterium smegmatis strains that contain inactivated EmbA or EmbB proteins are unable to synthesize terminal Arabeta1-->2Araalpha1-->5(Arabeta1-->2Araalpha1-->3)Araalpha1-->5Araalpha1-->(Ara(6)) motif in the cell wall polysaccharide arabinogalactan. Instead, the mutants contain a linear Arabeta1-->2Araalpha1-->5Araalpha1-->5Araalpha1-->(Ara(4)) motif, suggesting that these proteins are involved in the synthesis or transfer of the disaccharide Arabeta1-->2Araalpha1--> to an internal 5-linked Ara. Therefore, we synthesized a linear Arabeta1-->2Araalpha1-->5Araalpha1-->5Araalpha1-->5Araalpha1--> with an octyl aglycon as an arabinosyl acceptor in cell-free assays. A facile assay was developed using the chemically synthesized glycan, membrane, and particulate cell wall as the enzyme source, and 5-phosphoribose diphosphate pR[(14)C]pp as the arabinose donor. The results unequivocally show that two arabinofuranosyl residues were added at the tertiary -->5Araalpha1--> of the synthetic glycan. This activity was undetectable in strains of M. smegmatis where embB or embA had been genetically disrupted. Normal activity could be restored only in the presence of both EmbA and EmbB proteins.