From N-sulfonyl,C-homoallyl-hydrazones to pyrazole and pyridazine (N2)-heterocycles: the ultimate aromatization process

Isomeric six- and five-membered (N₂)-aromatics, 6-methylpyridazines and 5-vinylpyrazoles, which energetic topological aromaticity is comparable to that of benzene, are shown to be efficiently produced by sequential isomerization–elimination processes from the corresponding 6-methylidene-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridazines and 5-vinylpyrazolines, respectively. The latter precursors are available from the same N-sulfonyl,C-homoallyl-hydrazone substrates by a suitable choice of previously reported conditions for Pd-catalyzed CH-oxidative C,N-ring closing processes. The generality of these cyclization, isomerization, and aromatization reactions, for which detailed mechanisms are proposed, provides a systematic access to wide ranges of 3,4,6-trisubstituted 6-methyl-1,4-dihydropyridazines and 6-methylpyridazines, and their 3,4,5-trisubstituted 5-vinylpyrazole isomers.     

Study of the luminescent and magnetic properties of a series of heterodinuclear [Zn(II)Ln(III)] complexes

Herein, we report the synthesis, structural investigation, and magnetic and photophysical properties of a series of 13 [Zn(II)Ln(III)] heterodinuclear complexes, which have been obtained employing a Schiff-base compartmental ligand derived from o-vanillin [H(2)valpn = 1,3-propanediylbis(2-iminomethylene-6-methoxy-phenol)]. The complexes have been synthesized starting from the [Zn(valpn)(H(2)O)] mononuclear compound and the corresponding lanthanide nitrates. The crystallographic investigation indicated two structural types: the first one, [Zn(H(2)O)(valpn)Ln(III)(O(2)NO)(3)], contains 10-coordinated Ln(III) ions, while in the second one, [Zn(ONO(2))(valpn)Ln(III)(H(2)O)(O(2)NO)(2)]·2H(2)O, the rare earth ions are nine-coordinated. The Zn(II) ions always display a square-pyramidal geometry. The first structural type encompasses the larger Ln ions (4f(0)-4f(9)), while the second is found for the smaller ions (4f(8)-4f(11)). The dysprosium derivative crystallizes in both forms. Luminescence studies for the heterodinuclear compounds containing Nd(III), Sm(III), Tb(III), Dy(III), and Yb(III) revealed that the [Zn(valpn)(H(2)O)] moiety acts as an antenna. The magnetic properties for the paramagnetic [Zn(II)Ln(III)] complexes have been investigated.     

Theoretical study of the hydrated Gd3+ ion: structure, dynamics, and charge transfer

The dynamical processes taking place in the first coordination shells of the gadolinium (III) ion are important for improving the contrast agent efficiency in magnetic-resonance imaging. An extensive study of the gadolinium (III) ion solvated by a water cluster is reported, based on molecular dynamics simulations. The AMOEBA force field [P. Y. Ren and J. W. Ponder, J. Phys. Chem. B 107, 5933 (2003)] that includes many-body polarization effects is used to describe the interactions among water molecules, and is extended here to treat the interactions between them and the gadolinium ion. In this purpose accurate ab initio calculations have been performed on Gd(3+)-H(2)O for extracting the relevant parameters. Structural data of the first two coordination shells and some dynamical properties such as the water exchange rate between the first and second coordination shells are compared to available experimental results. We also investigate the charge transfer processes between the ion and its solvent, using a fluctuating charges model fitted to reproduce electronic structure calculations on [Gd(H(2)O)(n)](3+) complexes, with n ranging from 1 to 8. Charge transfer is seen to be significant (about one electron) and correlated with the instantaneous coordination of the ion.     

Front Cover: In Situ Generated DBU⋅HF Acts as a Fluorinating Agent in a Hexafluoroisobutylation Tandem Reaction: An Effective Route to 5,5,5,5’,5’,5’-Hexafluoroleucine (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 10/2023)

We report the direct incorporation of the hexafluoroisobutyl group on a chiral glycine Schiff base complex mediated by 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU). The fluoroalkylation involves 2-(bromomethyl)-1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropane reagent, which generates in situ hexafluoroisobutylene (HFIB), and reacts then with the enolate through a tandem allylic shift/hydrofluorination process. We showed that the use of neutral organic base DBU generates in situ an original DBU⋅HF salt, which preserves the fluoride nucleophilicity and acts as a fluorinating agent. This fluoride salt promotes the hydrofluorination of the pentafluorinated alkene overcoming the usual fluoride β-elimination observed with α-CF₃-vinyl reagents. With alkali metal bases, by contrast, the hydrofluorination is disfavored and the pentafluorinated alkene intermediate is obtained predominantly. This study highlights the critical role of the fluoride counter ion to preserve its nucleophilicity. The protocol is amenable to multidecagram scale synthesis of enantiopure (S)- and (R)-5,5,5,5’,5’,5’-hexafluoroleucine and their N-Fmoc or N-Boc derivatives in good overall yield.     

Intramolecular rhodium-catalyzed activation of α-amino C-H bonds: decisive influence of conformational factors in the synthesis of bicyclic aminals from N-sulfamoyloxyacetyl azacycloalkanes

The activation of α-amino C-H bonds in azacycloalkanes by way of intramolecular rhodium-catalyzed amination is reported. In this study, the ‘activating’ sulfamoyloxy group is attached to the endocyclic nitrogen atom with an appropriate linker. The influence of various structural parameters was studied. Results obtained demonstrate the remarkable conformational control that is possible with such azacycloalkane systems. This work leads to the first example of a successful intramolecular catalyzed amination of a tertiary sulfamic ester, a substrate known to be highly prone to elimination and/or nucleophilic displacement.     

New N NMR Exchange Experiments for the Unambiguous Assignment of H/N Resonances of Proteins in Complexes in Slow Chemical Exchange with Free Form

Thepotentialities of a 2D proton-detected heteronuclear exchange experiment to assign the nitrogen and amide proton resonances in a uniformly ¹⁵N-enriched macromolecule involved in a complex, starting from the free form assignments, are demonstrated on a protein–DNA complex. This 2D experiment is further extended to a 3D experiment in the case of severe superpositions.