Tandem conjugate additions and 3-aza-Cope rearrangements of tertiary allyl amines and cyclic alpha-vinylamines with acetylenic sulfones. Applications to simple and iterative ring expansions leading to medium and large-ring nitrogen heterocycles

Tertiary acyclic allyl amines and tertiary cyclic alpha-vinyl amines undergo conjugate additions to acetylenic sulfones to produce zwitterion intermediates, followed by 3-aza-Cope rearrangements. In the case of cyclic alpha-vinyl amines, the process results in ring-expansion, providing a novel route to 9- to 17-membered cyclic amines. The Hammett plot for the reaction of 8b with 2a- 2f shows rho = +1.19, which is consistent with formation of the proposed zwitterion in the rate-determining step, where electron-withdrawing substituents on the arylsulfonyl moiety stabilize the negative charge and enhance the rate of the reaction. Alternative pathways were observed in methanol in the case of 11, where a methoxy substituent promotes a dissociative mechanism of the corresponding zwitterion via a stabilized allyl cation, whereas the zwitterion derived from amine 12 undergoes ring-opening by direct attack of methanol upon the strained aziridinium moiety instead of by rearrangement. An iterative process was developed, where the product of one ring-expansion is converted into a new cyclic alpha-vinyl amine, followed by a repetition of the conjugate addition and [3,3] rearrangement. This protocol was illustrated by its application to the synthesis of motuporamine A and B.     

Growth, new growth, and amplification of carbon nanotubes as a function of catalyst composition

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been grown using Fe, Co, Ni, and Co/Fe spin-on-catalyst (SOC) systems, involving the metal salt dispersed with a spin-on-glass precursor. During initial growth runs (CH4/H2/900 degrees C), the CNT yield followed the order Co-SOC > Fe-SOC > Ni-SOC. The Fe catalysts produced the longest nanotubes at the expense of a larger average CNT diameter and broader diameter distribution than the Co-SOC system. A series of Co/Fe-SOCs were prepared where as the atomic percentage of Co is increased nucleation of CNT increases but the CNT length decreases. The linear relationship between the diameter and length of CNTs grown from the Co/Fe-SOC suggests that slow growth is beneficial with respect to control over CNT diameter. After initial CNT growth, the original samples were subjected to additional growth runs. Four individual reactions were observed in the Fe-SOC and binary Co/Fe-SOC: regrowth (amplification), double growth (a second CNT growing from a previously active catalyst), CNT etching, and nucleation from initially inactive catalysts (new growth). CNT etching was observed for the mixed catalyst systems (Co/Fe-SOC) but not for either Fe-SOC or Co-SOC. During the regrowth experiments, CNTs were observed that were not present after the initial growth run (and were not as a result of amplification or double growth). Thus, catalysts, which were initially inactive toward nucleation of CNTs in the original growth run, are capable of becoming activated when placed back into the furnace and submitted to regrowth under identical conditions.     

Mercury bis(phenyltellurolate) as a precursor for the synthesis of binary and ternary nanoclusters

The reaction of Hg(TePh)2 with AgX (X = Cl, NO3) in the presence of PPh3 and PMePh2 in dimethylformamide (DMF) affords the cluster [Hg6Ag4(TePh)16] (1) at room temperature or [Hg6Ag4Te(TePh)14]2 (2) with heating. When Hg(TePh)2 is reacted with [Co(PPh3)2Cl2] or [Ni(PPh3)2Cl2], the clusters [Hg8Te(PhTe)12Cl4]Q [3; Q = [Co(DMF)6]2+ (3a), [Ni(DMF)6]2+ (3b)] are formed. The syntheses of 1 and 2 occur with the incorporation of AgI into the cluster, and the single-crystal analyses show that the two ternary clusters consist of Hg, Ag, and Te centers occupying well-defined positions. Compounds 3a and 3b do not show the incorporation of the metal into the cluster, but the CoII and NiII salts provide the Cl atom to generate the anionic cluster 3 stabilized by the [Co(DMF)6]2+ or [Ni(DMF)6]2+ ion.     

A highly stereoselective synthesis of (-)-(ent)-julifloridine from the cyclization of an alanine-derived chloroamine with an acetylenic sulfone

The cyclization of gamma-chloroamine 11, derived from l-alanine, and acetylenic sulfone 12 afforded the dehydropiperidine 19 via conjugate addition followed by intramolecular alkylation of the corresponding sulfone-stabilized anion. An unexpected acid-catalyzed desulfonylation of 19 occurred in one step via desilylation and tautomerization of the enamine moiety to the corresponding aldehyde, followed by elimination of p-toluenesulfinic acid. The highly stereoselective reduction of the resulting unsaturated aldehyde 25 with sodium cyanoborohydride produced piperidine 23 with a diastereomeric ratio of >98:2. (-)-(ent)-Julifloridine (8) was obtained by Swern oxidation of 23, followed by Wittig olefination and hydrogenation/debenzylation.     

Hot electron spin attenuation lengths of bcc —Room temperature Magnetocurrent of 1200%

We investigate spin-dependent hot electron transport through metallic epitaxial spin valves by ballistic electron magnetic microscopy (BEMM). By variation of the thickness of one of the ferromagnetic layers we determine the spin dependent attenuation lengths which reflect hot electron transport along the vicinity of the [1 0 0]-axis of the bcc Fe₃₄Co₆₆ lattice. The majority spin attenuation length is more than 6 times larger than that of the minority spins within the measured energy interval of 1.3 up to 2 eV above the Fermi level. Consequently a Magnetocurrent effect exceeding 1200% accompanied by a monotonic bias voltage behavior is observed at room temperature.     

Application of copper(i) iodide/diorganoyl dichalcogenides to the synthesis of 4-organochalcogen isoquinolines by regioselective cn and cchalcogen bond formation

A copper-catalyzed cyclization of (ortho-alkynyl)benzaldimines with diorganoyl dichalcogenides allowed the synthesis of 4-organochalcogen isoquinolines, whereas the presence of base in the reaction medium inhibited the product formation producing the undesirable isoquinoline without the organochalcogen atom at the 4-position. The cyclization reaction was carried out by using CuI (20?%) as a catalyst with diorganoyl dichalcogenides (1.5?equiv) in the presence of DMF at 100?°C. Furthermore, the reaction did not require an argon atmosphere and was carried out in an open flask. The cyclization reaction tolerated a variety of functional groups both in ortho-alkynylbenzaldimines and diorganoyl dichalcogenides, such as trifluoromethyl, chloro, fluorine, and methoxyl, to give the six-membered heterocyclic ring exclusively through a 6-endo-dig cyclization process. The organochalcogen group present at the 4-position of the isoquinoline ring was further subjected to a selective chalcogen-lithium exchange reaction followed by the addition of aldehydes to afford the desired secondary alcohols in good yields. The obtained isoquinolines also proved to be suitable substrates for the Suzuki and Sonogashira coupling conditions affording the corresponding products through C?C bond formation.     

The presence of high level soluble herpes virus entry mediator in sera of gastric cancer patients

The development of gastric cancer (GC) is closely related to chronic inflammation caused by Helicobacter pylori infection, and herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM) is a receptor expressed on the surface of leukocytes that mediates potent inflammatory responses in animal models. However, the role of HVEM in human GC has not been studied. Previously, we showed that the interaction of HVEM on human leukocytes with its ligand LIGHT induces intracellular calcium mobilization, which results in inflammatory responses including induction of proinflammatory cytokine production and anti-bacterial activities. In this study, we report that leukocytes from GC patients express lower levels of membrane HVEM (mHVEM) and have lower LIGHT-induced bactericidal activities than those from healthy controls (HC). In contrast, levels of soluble HVEM (sHVEM) in the sera of GC patients were significantly higher than in those of HC. We found that monocyte membrane-bound HVEM is released into the medium when cells are activated by proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-8, which are elevated in the sera of GC patients. mHVEM level dropped in parallel with the release of sHVEM, and release was completely blocked by the metalloprotease inhibitor, GM6001. We also found that the low level of mHVEM on GC patient leukocytes was correlated with low LIGHT-induced bactericidal activities against H. pylori and S. aureus and production of reactive oxygen species. Our results indicate that mHVEM on leukocytes and sHVEM in sera may contribute to the development and/or progression of GC.     

High-spin isomers in W and Os nuclei; Competition betweenK-quantization and triaxiality

Results of a search for high-spin isomers in W and Os nuclei withN=104–107 are presented. Targets of⁴⁸Ca and^{48, 50}Ti are bombarded with a pulsed¹³⁶Xe beam, and delayed gamma-radiation is detected by an array of NaI- and Ge-detectors. Several new isomers, with spin values up to ～22h, are found in^178,180W and^{180, 182, 183}Os. Markedly different decay patterns and hindrance factors are found in the Os isotopes as compared to the expectations based on theK-selection rule valid for axially symmetric nuclei. The findings are ascribed to the onset of triaxial distortions.     

Observation of the hot GDR in neutron-deficient thorium evaporation residues

The giant dipole resonance built on excited states was observed in very fissile nuclei in coincidence with evaporation residues. The reaction ⁴⁸Ca + ¹⁷⁶Yb populated evaporation residues of mass A=213–220 with a cross section of 200 μb at 259 MeV. The extracted giant dipole resonance parameters are in agreement with theoretical predictions for this mass region.