Secododecahedradienes – Syntheses,Reactivity, in‐Plane Homoconjugated 3C/2e Cations, 4C/3e Radical Cations,and σ‐Bishomoaromatic 4C/2e Dications?

Secodecahedradiene 2a , featuring very proximate, perfectly syn‐periplanar and significantly pyramidalized C=C bonds, was synthesized as testing object for in‐plane(σ)‐homoconjugational electron delocalization, starting from the available pagodane 15b . The response of 2a (and in part its diester 2b ) – in π,π‐distance (average 3.08 Å), olefinic pyramidalization (average 26.9°), and π,π‐split (PE, 1.15 eV) intermediate between disecododecahedradiene 1a and 1,16‐dodecahedradiene 3a – to selected 4π‐reagents, electrophiles, and radicals was explored experimentally and by calculations. Intriguing multistep reaction sequences attest to the ease of competing stabilization pathways for the 3C/2e in‐plane homoconjugated cationic intermediates. PE, CV, and ESR measurements and calculations (DFT) characterize the radical cation generated from 2a as in‐plane homoconjugated 4C/3e‐species 2a ^.+, persistent in a Freon matrix, but only very shortly existent in solution (CIDNP). Consequently, NMR control of the two‐electron oxidation in SbF₅/SO₂ClF did not disclose the σ‐bis‐homoaromatic dication 4C/2e (see 2a ^{2 +} ), but a bis‐allylic dication 75 as persistent species. In support of 2a ^{2 +} as intermediate, evidence is presented for very limited kinetic protection offered by the secododecahedral framework to through H‐cage σ‐homoconjugated cations.     

Preparative and 1H NMR Investigation on Regioselective Silylation of Starch Dissolved in Dimethyl Sulfoxide

Reaction of starch 1 dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) with bulky thexyldimethylchlorosilane (TDSCl) in the presence of pyridine leads to regioselectively functionalized silyl ethers with a degree of substitution (DS) up to 1.8. The control of the DS_Si, of the regioselectivity, and of the reaction pathway is described in detail. The reaction proceeds homogeneously up to DS_Si of 0.6. With ongoing silylation the polymers form a separate phase incorporating the silylating agent to form TDS‐starches with DS_Si values higher than 1.0. After peracetylation of the silyl starches, the substitution pattern has been characterized not only in the anhydroglucose repeating units (AGU) but also in the non‐reducing terminal end groups (TEG) by means of two‐dimensional ¹H NMR techniques. Up to DS_Si 1.0, a very high regioselective functionalization of the primary 6‐OH groups in the AGU as well as in the TEG is detectable. With increasing silylation (DS_Si > 1.0), the subsequent silylation takes place at the 2‐OH groups of the AGU and at the 3‐OH groups of the TEG. These results are compared with our own investigations on the silylation of starch in the reaction system N‐methylpyrrolidone (NMP)/ammonia and on the silylation of cellulose in N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMA)/LiCl/pyridine solution.     

Structure and Conformation of β‐Oligopeptide Derivatives with Simple Proteinogenic Side Chains: Circular Dichroism and Molecular Dynamics Investigations

A careful CD analysis (Figs. 1 – 3 and 5; MeOH or H₂O solutions) of β‐oligopeptides ( 1 – 6 , B , C ) containing four to seven β‐amino acids reveals that seemingly small structural changes cause a switch from the CD pattern (maxima of opposite sign near 215 and 200 nm) associated with a 3₁₄‐helical structure to the CD pattern (single Cotton effect at ca. 205 nm) considered characteristic of a so‐called 12/10‐helical structure, but also exhibited by a β‐peptide adopting a hair‐pin conformation with a ten‐membered H‐bonded ring as the turn motif. Comparison of these CD spectra with those of the trans‐2‐aminocyclohexanecarboxamide oligomers, which give rise to the long‐wavelength Cotton effect only, suggests that the H‐bonded 14‐, 12‐, and 10‐membered ring conformations of the β‐peptides, and not just the entire helix structures, might actually generate the Cotton effects. This interpretation would be compatible with our previous NMR structure determinations of β‐peptides and with previously reported temperature dependences of CD and NMR spectra of β‐peptides. To further substantiate this suggestion, we have performed a statistical analysis of the β‐peptidic conformations generated by molecular‐dynamics calculations (GROMOS96) for a β‐hexapeptide ( C ; the 12/10 helix) and a β‐heptapeptide ( 6 ; the 3₁₄ helix) in MeOH (Figs. 6 – 9). Up to 400,000 conformations at 0.5‐ps intervals were analyzed from up to 200‐ns simulations (at 298 to 360 K). The analysis reveals the co‐existence of the various H‐bonded rings. Remarkably, the central section of the β‐peptide 6 (containing a β^2,3‐amino‐acid residue of like‐configuration!) adopts a ten‐membered‐ring conformation for ca. 5% of the simulation time, while the central section of the β‐peptide C adopts a 14‐membered‐ring conformation for ca. 3% of the time, according to this computational analysis. Further experimental and theoretical work will be necessary to find out to which extent the components (H‐bonded rings) and the entire helical secondary structures of β‐peptides contribute to the observed Cotton effects.