A NMR method for the analysis of mixtures of alkanes with different deuterium substitutions

¹³C NMR at 125.76 MHz with ¹H and ²H decoupling, ²H NMR at 76.77 MHz with ¹H decoupling, and ¹H NMR at 500.14 MHz with ²H decoupling were employed as analytical tools to study the complex mixtures of deuterated ethanes resulting from the catalytic H–D exchange of normal ethane with gas-phase deuterium in the presence of a platinum foil. Reference samples consisting of 1:1 binary mixtures of pure normal ethane and ethane-d_n (n=1–6) were used to identify the peak positions in the ¹³C, ²H, and ¹H NMR spectra due to each individual isotopomer, and the effect of isotopic substitution on the chemical shifts was determined in each case. While the NMR of all three nuclei worked well for the identification of the individual components of the 1:1 standard mixtures, both ¹H and ²H NMR suffered from inadequate resolution when studying complex reaction mixtures because of the broadening of the lines due to ¹H–¹H (¹H NMR) and ²H–²H (²H NMR) couplings. ¹³C NMR was therefore determined to be the method of choice for the quantitative analysis of the reaction mixtures. Using the ¹³C NMR results, a correlation that takes into account the primary and secondary isotope substitution effects on chemical shifts was deduced. This equation was used for the identification of the individual components of the mixtures, and integration of the individual observed resonances was then employed for quantification of their composition. This study shows that ¹³C NMR with ¹H and ²H decoupling is a viable procedure for studying mixtures of deuterated ethanes. Furthermore, the additivity of the isotopic effects on chemical shifts and the transferability of the values obtained with ethane to other molecules makes this approach general for the analysis of other isotopomer mixtures.     

Products of the addition of water molecules to Al3O3- clusters: structure, bonding, and electron binding energies in Al3O4H2-, Al3O5H4-, Al3O4H2, and Al3O5H4

Two stable products of reactions of water molecules with the Al3O3- cluster, Al3O4H2- and Al3O5H4-, are studied with electronic structure calculations. There are several minima with similar energies for both anions and the corresponding molecules. Dissociative absorption of a water molecule to produce an anionic cluster with hydroxide ions is thermodynamically favored over the formation of Al3O3-(H2O)n complexes. Vertical electron detachment energies of Al3O4H2- and Al3O5H4- calculated with ab initio electron propagator methods provide a quantitative interpretation of recent anion photoelectron spectra. Contrasts and similarities in these spectra may be explained in terms of the Dyson orbitals associated with each transition energy.     

New fluorescent probes for testing combinatorial catalysts with phosphodiesterase and esterase activities

Combinatorial development of new catalysts with phosphodiesterase and esterase activities requires specific fluorescent probes for rapid visual detection of hydrolytic activity. Such fluorescent probes have been synthesized with special attention to solubility in water and stability towards spontaneous hydrolysis at a given pH. The probes reported here include compound 5 based on a fluorescein fluorophore, compound 12 for FRET-detection of phosphodiester hydrolysis and compound 25 based on a quinolinium fluorophore.     

Counterions in poly(allylamine hydrochloride) and poly(styrene sulfonate) layer-by-layer films

The amount of counterions in layer-by-layer (LBL) films of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) has been determined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for films prepared from solutions with various NaCl concentrations. Sodium and chloride counterions are present in LBL films produced from salt solutions, which are located at the surface and in the bulk of the films. The percentage of bulk counterions increases with the ionic strength of the polyelectrolyte before reaching a constant value. The bulk sodium/sulfur percentage ratios tend to 0.8 for samples washed with pure water and for samples washed with NaCl aqueous solutions, while the bulk chlorine/nitrogen percentage ratios tend to 0.5 for the same samples. The ratio between the percentages of polyelectrolyte ionic groups lies close to unity for all samples, indicating that counterions do not contribute to charge compensation in the polyelectrolyte during the adsorption process. The presence of counterions in LBL films is explained by Manning condensation near the polyelectrolyte ionic groups, leading to inter-polyelectrolyte ionic bondings via ionic networks. It is believed that condensation leads to the formation of NaCl crystallites in these LBL films, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements.     

The synthesis and characterisation of 4,1,2-MC2B10 metallacarboranes

Reduction of the tethered carborane 1,2-(CH2)3-1,2-closo-C2B10H10 followed by treatment with CoCl2/NaCp, [(p-cymene)RuCl2]2(p-cymene=C6H4MeiPr-1,4), (PMe2Ph)2PtCl2 or (dppe)NiCl2(dppe=Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2) affords reasonable yields of the new 13-vertex metallacarboranes 1,2-(CH2)3-4-Cp-4,1,2-closo-CoC2B10H10 (1), 1,2-(CH2)3-4-(p-cymene)-4,1,2-closo-RuC2B10H10 (2), 1,2-(CH2)3-4,4-(PMe2Ph)2-4,1,2-closo-PtC2B10H10 (3) and 1,2-(CH2)3-4,4-(dppe)-4,1,2-closo-NiC2B10H10 (4), respectively. All compounds were characterised spectroscopically and crystallographically. The cobalt and ruthenium species 1 and 2 have Cs symmetry in both solution and the solid state, having henicosahedral cage structures featuring a trapezoidal C1C2B9B5 face. The platinum and nickel compounds 3 and 4 have asymmetric docosahedral cage structures in the crystal (the more so for 4 than for 3) although both appear, by 11B and 31P NMR spectroscopy, to have Cs symmetry in solution. Low-temperature experiments on the more soluble platinacarborane could not freeze out the diamond-trapezium-diamond fluctional process that we assume is operating in solution, and we therefore conclude that this process has a relatively low activation barrier, probably <35 kJ mol-1.     

Short stereocontrolled synthesis of trans and cis-tetrahydro-pyrazinoisoquinolinediones

Addition of aldehyde dimethyl acetals (here acetaldehyde) to unisolated O-trimethylsilyl derivatives of 1-acetyl-3-arylmethylpiperazine-2,5-diones (here 2,5-dimethoxyphenyl), in the presence of TMSOTf as the catalyst, gave nearly quantitatively the corresponding N-methoxyalkyl derivatives which, under acidic treatment, gave in very good yield through a Pictet-Spengler-type reaction involving N-acyliminium cations (6S*,11aR*)-2-acetyl-6-alkyl-3,6,11,11a-tetrahydro-2H-pyrazino[1,2-b]isoquinoline-1,4-diones. Epimerization of the 11a-stereocentre was accomplished by radical bromination, spontaneous hydrobromide elimination and catalytic hydrogenation, to give the (6S*,11aS*)-isomers. We propose these compounds as precursors of tetrahydroisoquinoline antitumour antibiotics.     

Soluble alpha-amino acid salts in acetonitrile: practical technology for the production of some dipeptides

Alpha-amino acids are soluble in acetonitrile when treated with phosphazene bases. As a result, the protection/deprotection events that are usually required for peptide coupling reactions can be minimized. This is illustrated in the synthesis of the important angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor enalapril. [reaction: see text]     

Antifungal activity of crown ethers

Some crown ethers were found to show significant antifungal activity against some wood-decay fungi, phytopathogenic fungi and eumycetes,Trichophytons for dermatomycosis. Their toxicity was evaluated by the paper disc method as well as by determining the values of ED₅₀, i.e., the concentration which inhibits the mycelium growth by 50%. The fungi examined areTyromyces palustris, Picnoporous coccineus, Coriolous versicolor, Pyricularia filamentosa, Fusarium sp., Trichophyton rubrum, Trichophyton sp., etc. Among the 26 crown ethers tested, 3,5-di-t-butyl-benzo-15-crown-5 showed relatively high activity, the highest ED₅₀ value of which being 8 M or 3 ppm. Other alkylbenzocrown ethers, dicyclohexyl crown ethers and Kryptofix 22DD also showed considerable activity. On the other hand, unsubstituted crown ethers, benzocrown ethers with a polar substituent, Kryptofix 222B and Kryptofix 221 were inactive.     

Theoretical and photoluminescence studies on the d10-s2 AuI-TlI interaction in extended unsupported chains

The reactions of solutions of TlPF(6) and OPPh(3) in tetrahydrofuran or acetone with NBu(4)[AuR(2)] (R=C(6)Cl(5), C(6)F(5)) gave the new complexes [Au(C(6)Cl(5))(2)](2)[Tl(OPPh(3))][Tl(OPPh(3))(L)] (L=THF (1), acetone (2)) and the previously reported [Tl(OPPh(3))(2)][Au(C(6)F(5))(2)] (3). The crystal structures of complexes 1 and 2 display extended unsupported chains with short intermolecular interactions between alternating gold(I) and thallium(I) centres. Moreover, the Tl(I) centres show two different types of geometrical environments, such as pseudotetrahedral and distorted trigonal-bipyramidal, due to the presence of solvent molecules that act as ligands in the solid-state structure. Quasirelativistic and nonrelativistic ab initio calculations were performed to study the nature of the intermetallic Au(I)-Tl(I) interactions and are consistent with the presence of a high ionic contribution (80 %) and dispersion-type (van der Waals) interaction with a charge-transfer contribution (20 %) when relativistic effects are taken into account. All complexes are luminescent in the solid state at room temperature and at 77 K. Complexes 1 and 2 show site-selective excitation, probably due to the different environments around the Tl(I) centres. The DFT and time-dependent (TD)-DFT calculations are in agreement with the experimental excitation spectra for all complexes and confirm the site-selective excitation behaviour as a function of the Tl(I) geometrical environment.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of cyclopropane amino acids using diazo compounds generated in situ

A simple and high-yielding method for the preparation of cyclopropane amino acids is described. The novel method involves the one-pot cyclopropanation of readily available dehydroamino acids using aryl and unsaturated diazo compounds generated in situ from the corresponding tosylhydrazone salts. It was found that thermal 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition followed by nitrogen extrusion gave the cyclopropane amino acid derivatives with good E selectivity, while reactions in the presence of meso-tetraphenylporphyrin iron chloride gave predominantly the corresponding Z isomers. The synthetic utility of this process was demonstrated in the synthesis of (+/-)-(Z)-2,3-methanophenylalanine [(+/-)-(Z)-1], the anti-Parkinson (+/-)-(E)-2,3-methano-m-tyrosine [(+/-)-(E)-2], and the natural product (+/-)-coronamic acid [(+/-)-3].