Bromoallenes as allyl dication equivalents in the presence or absence of palladium(0): direct construction of bicyclic sulfamides containing five- to eight-membered rings by tandem cyclization of bromoallenes

A highly regioselective synthesis of bicyclic sulfamides is described. Based on our recent discovery that bromoallenes can act as allyl dication equivalents in the presence of a palladium catalyst and alcohol, we investigated tandem cyclization of bromoallenes bearing a sulfamide group. It is found that some bromoallenes act as allyl dication equivalents even in the absence of a palladium(0) catalyst to afford cyclosulfamides containing five- or six-membered rings. While the palladium-free cyclization is dependent on the substrate structure affording the bicyclic sulfamides through the first cyclization onto the proximal or central carbon atom of the bromoallenes, the palladium-catalyzed reaction strongly promotes the first cyclization onto the central allenic carbon atom to afford bicyclic sulfamides containing a seven- or eight-membered ring. Formation of two types of bicyclic sulfamides from single bromoallenes by simply changing the reaction conditions is also described.     

Kinetics and stereoregulation in the isotactic-specific and living polymerization of methyl methacrylate

Kinetic studies on the isotactic-specific living polymerization of methyl methacrylate with t-C₄H₉MgBr were carried out in toluene at −78°C and the kinetic orders with respect to the monomer and initiator were found to be unity. Propagation rate in the early stage of polymerization and the initiation rate were studied by kinetic measurement and analysis of oligomer distribution. The rate constants for the propagation of the unimer (k₁), dimer (k₂), and trimer anions (k₃) were found to be in the following order; k₁ >> k₂ > k₃. ¹³C NMR spectra of the oligomer anions indicated the coordination of penultimate and antepenultimate ester groups to Mg counterion. Possible mechanism for stereoregulation in the early stage of polymerization was discussed.     

Dynamic mechanical properties of extruded rods of poly(dimethylsilylene‐co‐methyl‐n‐propylsilylene)

Tractable polysilanes were prepared by the copolymerization of a methyl‐n‐propylsilylene (MP) unit into poly(dimethylsilylene), which neither dissolves in common solvents nor melts before decomposition. Although poly(dimethylsilylene‐co‐methyl‐n‐propylsilylene) has poor solubility in the composition range of the dimethylsilylene (DM) unit to the MP unit (DM/MP = 7/3 ∼ 9/1), the copolymers form the columnar mesophase at elevated temperatures. Highly oriented rods were prepared via the extrusion of the copolymers with a circular tube die in a temperature range in which the transition to the columnar mesophase began to occur (70°C when DM/MP = 7/3 and 8/2 and 120°C when DM/MP = 9/1). The extruded rods were characterized in detail by dynamic viscoelasticity and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) to clarify the structure–mechanical‐property relationship. The orientation functions of the extruded rods were determined by the azimuthal intensity distribution of the WAXD reflection. The orientation function and dynamic storage modulus increased with an increasing extrusion ratio. The dynamic storage modulus at −150°C was 8 ∼ 10 GPa at the highest extrusion ratio and correlated well with the crystal orientation function. The dynamic storage modulus at room temperature was lowered by the structural relaxations at −100 ∼ +30°C, which corresponded to the molecular motion of the rigid molecular chains of the copolymer and the local molecular motion of the MP unit. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 38: 698–706, 2000     

Cupin Variants as a Macromolecular Ligand Library for Stereoselective Michael Addition of Nitroalkanes

Cupin superfamily proteins (TM1459) work as a macromolecular ligand framework with a double‐stranded β‐barrel structure ligating to a Cu ion through histidine side chains. Variegating the first coordination sphere of TM1459 revealed that H52A and H54A/H58A mutants effectively catalyzed the diastereo‐ and enantioselective Michael addition reaction of nitroalkanes to an α,β‐unsaturated ketone. Moreover, calculated substrate docking signified C106N and F104W single‐point mutations, which inverted the diastereoselectivity of H52A and further improved the stereoselectivity of H54A/H58A, respectively.     

Synthesis of jaspine B regioisomers through palladium-catalyzed stereoselective tetrahydrofuran formation: Insight into the ligand recognition of sphingosine kinases

We recently reported a structure-activity relationship study of 4-epi-jaspine B derivatives toward sphingosine kinase (SphK) and identified selective inhibitors of two SphK isoforms. In this study, we designed and synthesized jaspine B regioisomers on the basis of palladium-catalyzed tetrahydrofuran formation and late-stage cross metathesis reactions to investigate the influence of the substitution position of functional groups on SphK inhibition. Evaluation of the jaspine B regioisomers SphK inhibitory activities revealed that several of these compounds exhibited comparable SphK1/2 inhibitory potency to that of 4-epi-jaspine B.     

A practical method to access enantiopure β-perfluoroalkyl-β-amino acids: diastereoselective reduction of cyclic enamino-esters

A highly practical method to access enantiopure β-perfluoroalkyl-β-amino acids was developed, which could be conducted without any expensive reagent, special apparatus/technique, nor tedious chromatographic separation. The condensation of methyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutanoate with (S)-2-amino-2-phenylethanol, followed by an intramoleculer transesterification, gave an enamino-ester with a seven-membered ring structure. The hydride reduction of the cyclic enamino-ester proceeded with excellent diastereoselectivity (dr = 95:5-97:3) to give the corresponding cyclic amino-ester. The major isomer of the cyclic amino-ester was readily separated from the minor one and successfully converted into (S)-3-amino-4,4,4-trifluorobutanoic acid (five steps, 38% overall yield, >99% ee). Concerning the key step of this synthesis, the same strategy was applicable to another substrate; the asymmetric hydride reduction of a cyclic enamino-ester with a pentafluoroethyl group also proceeded in excellent diastereoselectivity (dr = 96:4).     

Poly(sulfonated phenylene)‐block‐Polyimide Copolymers for Fuel Cell Applications

Novel poly(2‐(3‐sulfo)benzoyl‐1,4‐phenylene)‐block‐polynaphthalimide (PSP‐b‐PI) copolymers were successfully synthesized by Ni(0)‐catalyzed copolymerization of 2,5‐dichloro‐3′‐sulfo‐benzophenone and dichloro‐terminated naphthalimide oligomer. The membranes exhibited a microphase‐separated structure and good hydrolytic stability at 130 °C. They showed a fairly strong anisotropy of membrane swelling with much smaller in‐plane swelling, but a rather weak anisotropy of proton conductivity. The membranes had a fairly high through‐plane conductivity in water and even under low relative humidity. The PSP‐b‐PI copolymer with an IEC of 1.5 meq · g⁻¹ showed high PEFC performance due to the high through‐plane conductivity.

     

Formal [4+2] Reaction between 1,3‐Diynes and Pyrroles: Gold(I)‐Catalyzed Indole Synthesis by Double Hydroarylation

Indole synthesis by a gold(I)‐catalyzed intermolecular formal [4+2] reaction between 1,3‐diynes and pyrroles has been developed. This reaction involves the hydroarylation of 1,3‐diynes with pyrroles followed by an intramolecular hydroarylation to give the 4,7‐disubstituted indoles. This reaction can also be applied to the synthesis of carbazoles when indoles are used as the nucleophiles instead of pyrroles.