Diastereoselective formation of glycoluril dimers: isomerization mechanism and implications for cucurbit[n]uril synthesis

Cucurbit[6]uril (CB[6]) is a macrocyclic compound, prepared in one pot from glycoluril and formaldehyde, whose molecular recognition properties have made it the object of intense study. Studies of the mechanism of CB[n] formation, which might provide insights that allow the tailor-made synthesis of CB[n] homologues and derivatives, have been hampered by the complex structure of CB[n]. By reducing the complexity of the reaction to the formation of S-shaped (12S-18S) and C-shaped (12C-18C) methylene bridged glycoluril dimers, we have been able to probe the fundamental steps of the mechanism of CB[n] synthesis to a level that has not been possible previously. For example, we present strong evidence that the mechanism of CB[n] synthesis proceeds via the intermediacy of both S-shaped and C-shaped dimers. The first experimental determination of the relative free energies of the S-shaped and C-shaped dimers indicates a thermodynamic preference (1.55-3.25 kcal mol(-)(1)) for the C-shaped diastereomer. This thermodynamic preference is not because of self-association, solvation, or template effects. Furthermore, labeling experiments have allowed us to elucidate the mechanism of this acid-catalyzed equilibrium between the S-shaped and C-shaped diastereomers. The equilibration is an intramolecular process that proceeds with high diastereoselectivity and retention of configuration. On the basis of the broad implications of these results for CB[n] synthesis, we suggest new synthetic strategies that may allow for the improved preparation of CB[n] (n > 8) and CB[n] derivatives from functionalized glycolurils.     

Synthesis and Crystal Structure of Two One—dimensional Chain Copper Complexes [Cu（TTA）2（4,4‘’—azpy）] and [Cu（TTA）2（3,3‘’—azpy）

Two copper complexes [Cu(TTA)₂(4,4′‐azpy)] (1) and [Cu‐(TTA)₂(3,3′‐azpy)] (2) (HTTA = 1,1,1‐trifluoro‐3‐(2‐thenoyl)‐acetone, 4,4′‐azpy = 4,4′‐azobispyridine, 3,3′‐azpy = 3,3′‐azobispyridine) were synthesized and characterized. The crystal structures were determined by X‐ray diffraction analysis. The crystal 1 belongs to triclinic with space group P1 , a = 0.8515(2) nm, b = 0.9259(2) nm, c = 0.9468(2) nm, a = 66.126(9)°, β = 79.667(9)°, γ = 90.13(1)°, Z = 1, V = 0.6692(2) nm³, D_c = 3.425 g/cm³, γ = 2.113 mm^?1, F(000) = 694, R₁ = 0.0594, wR₂ = 0.1499. The crystal 2 belongs to monoclinic with space group P2₁/c, a = 1.0661(2) nm, b = 1.4296(3) ran, c = 1.0041(3) nm, β = 114.50(3)°, V = 1.3926(5) nm³, Z = 2, D_c = 1.646 g/ cm³, μ = 1.015 mm^?1, F(000) = 694, R₁, = 0.0535, wR₂ = 0.1113. In the crystals of complexes 1 and 2, the copper atoms have distorted octahedral symmetry. The two compounds possess very similar one‐dimensional linear chains linked through the rodlike 4,4′‐azpy ligands or 3,3′‐azpy ligands.     

Main‐chain viologen polymers with organic counterions exhibiting thermotropic liquid‐crystalline and fluorescent properties*

A series of viologen polymers with bromide, tosylate, and triflimide as counterions were prepared by either the Menshutkin reaction or metathesis reaction in a common organic solvent. Their polyelectrolyte behavior in methanol was determined by solution viscosity measurements, and their chemical structures were determined by Fourier transform infrared and Fourier transform NMR spectroscopy. They were characterized for their thermotropic liquid‐crystalline properties with a number of experimental techniques. Each of the viologen polymers with organic counterions had a low melting transition or fusion temperature above which it formed either a high‐order smectic phase or a low‐order smectic phase. Each of them also exhibited a smectic‐to‐isotropic transition. The ranges of the liquid‐crystalline phase were 80–88 °C for viologen polymers with tosylate as a counterion and 120–146 °C for viologen polymers with triflimide as a counterion. They had excellent thermal stability. The ranges of thermal stability were 288–329 °C for viologen polymers with tosylate as a counterion and 343–350 °C for viologen polymers with triflimide as a counterion. The fluorescence property for all of the viologen polymers in either aqueous or methanol solution was also included in this study. For example, the viologen polymer containing the 4,4′‐bipyridinium and p‐xylyl units along the backbone of the polymer chain with triflimide as a counterion had an absorption spectrum (λ_max = 265 nm), an excitation spectrum (λ_ex values = 357, 443, and 454 with monitoring at 533 nm), and an emission spectrum (λ_em = 536 nm with excitation at 430 and 450 nm) in methanol. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 659–674, 2002; DOI 10.1002/pola.10134     

Synthesis and structures of a 3-sila-beta-diketiminatomagnesium bromide, ketenimide and triflate

The crystalline compounds [Mg(Br)(L)(thf)].0.5Et2O [L = {N(R)C(C6H3Me2-2,6)}2SiR, R = SiMe3] (1), [Mg(L){N=C=C(C(Me)=CH)2CH2}(D)2] [D = NCC6H3Me2-2,6 (2), thf (3)] and [{Mg(L)}2{mu-OSO(CF3)O-[mu}2] (4) were prepared from (a) Si(Br)(R){C(C6H3Me2-2,6)=NR}2 and Mg for (1), (b) [Mg(SiR3)2(thf)2] and 2,6-Me2C6H3CN (5 mol for (2), 3 mol for (3)), and (c) (2) + Me3SiOS(O)2CF3 for (4); a coproduct from (c) is believed to have been the trimethylsilyl ketenimide Me3SiN=C=C{C(Me)=CH}2CH2 (5).     

Ru2(ap)4(sigma-oligo(phenyleneethynyl)) molecular wires: synthesis and electronic characterization

Reported in this contribution are the synthesis, characterization, and charge transport properties of wire-like Ru2(ap)4(OPEn), where ap is 2-anilinopyridinate and OPE is -(CCC6H4)nSCH2CH2SiMe3 with n = 1 (1) and 2 (2). Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements of compound 2 inserted into a SAM of C11 thiol reveal that molecule 2 exhibits (i) the stochastic switching characteristic of wire molecules embedded in insulating SAMs and (ii) higher conductivity than the C11 thiol SAM. More importantly, analysis of the molecular electronic decay constant (beta) exhibits a decrease of at least 15% as compared to purely organic molecular analogues. Hence, the transport characteristics of molecules can be significantly improved for nanoscale electronics through the incorporation of a Ru2 fragment into conjugated backbone.     

Potential-energy surface for the electronic ground state of NH3 up to 20,000 cm-1 above equilibrium

Ab initio coupled cluster calculations with single and double substitutions and a perturbative treatment of connected triple excitations [CCSD(T)] with the augmented correlation-consistent polarized valence triple-zeta aug-cc-pVTZ basis at 51 816 geometries provide a six-dimensional potential-energy surface for the electronic ground state of NH3. At 3814 selected geometries, CBS+ energies are obtained by extrapolating the CCSD(T) results for the aug-cc-pVXZ(X=T,Q,5) basis sets to the complete basis set (CBS) limit and adding corrections for core-valence correlation and relativistic effects. CBS** ab initio energies are generated at 51,816 geometries by an empirical extrapolation of the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ results to the CBS+ limit. They cover the energy region up to 20,000 cm-1 above equilibrium. Parametrized analytical functions are fitted through the ab initio points. For these analytical surfaces, vibrational term values and transition moments are calculated by means of a variational program employing a kinetic-energy operator expressed in the Eckart-Sayvetz frame. Comparisons against experiment are used to assess the quality of the generated potential-energy surfaces. A "spectroscopic" potential-energy surface of NH3 is determined by a slight empirical adjustment of the ab initio potential to the experimental vibrational term values. Variational calculations on this refined surface yield rms deviations from experiment of 0.8 cm-1 for 24 inversion splittings and 0.4 (3.0) cm-1 for 34 (51) vibrational term values up to 6100 (10,300) cm-1.     

Fast protein analysis enabled by high-temperature hydrolysis

While the bottom-up protein analysis serves as a mainstream method for biological studies, its efficiency is limited by the time-consuming process for enzymatic digestion or hydrolysis as well as the post-digestion treatment prior to mass spectrometry analysis. In this work, we developed an enzyme-free microreaction system for fast and selective hydrolysis of proteins, and a direct analysis of the protein digests was achieved by nanoESI (electrospray ionization) mass spectrometry. Using the microreactor, proteins in aqueous solution could be selectively hydrolyzed at the aspartyl sites within 2 min at high temperatures (∼150 °C). Being free of salts, the protein digest solution could be directly analyzed using a mass spectrometer with nanoESI without further purification or post-digestion treatment. This method has been validated for the analysis of a variety of proteins with molecular weights ranging from 8.5 to 67 kDa. With introduction of a reducing agent into the protein solutions, fast cleavage of disulfide bonds was also achieved along with high-temperature hydrolysis, allowing for fast analysis of large proteins such as bovine serum albumin. The high-temperature microreaction system was also used with a miniature mass spectrometer for the determination of highly specific peptides from Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens, showing its potential for point-of-care analysis of protein biomarkers.

A high-temperature microreaction system is developed for fast and selective hydrolysis of proteins, enabling direct analysis of protein biomarkers by mass spectrometry.     

Ab initio and direct dynamics studies of the reaction of singlet methylene with acetylene and the lifetime of the cyclopropene complex

The energetics of the (1)CH(2) + C(2)H(2) --> H + C(3)H(3) reaction are accurately calculated using an extrapolated coupled-cluster/complete basis set (CBS) method based on the cc-pVDZ, cc-pVTZ, and cc-pVQZ basis sets. The reaction enthalpy (0 K) is predicted to be -20.33 kcal/mol. This reaction has no classical barrier in either the entrance or exit channel. However, there are several stable intermediates-cyclopropene (c-C(3)H(4)), allene (CH(2)CCH(2)), and propyne (CH(3)CCH)-along the minimum energy path. These intermediates with zero-point energy corrections lie below the reactants by 87.11 (c-C(3)H(4)), 109.69 (CH(2)CCH(2)), and 110.78 kcal/mol (CH(3)CCH). The vibrationally adiabatic ground-state (VAG) barrier height for c-C(3)H(4) isomerization to allene is obtained as 45.2 kcal/mol, and to propyne as 37.2 kcal/mol. In addition, the (1)CH(2) + C(2)H(2) reaction is investigated utilizing the dual-level "scaling all correlation" (SAC) ab initio method of Truhlar et al., i.e., the UCCSD(SAC)/cc-pVDZ theory. Results show that the reaction occurs via long-lived complexes. The lifetime of the cyclopropene intermediate is obtained as 3.2 +/- 0.4 ps. It is found that the intermediate propyne can be formed directly from reactants through the insertion of (1)CH(2) into a C-H bond of C(2)H(2). However, compared to the major mechanism in which the propyne is produced through a ring-opening of the cyclopropene complex, this reaction pathway is much less favorable. Finally, the theoretical thermal rate constant exhibits a negative temperature dependence, which is in excellent agreement with the previous results. The temperature dependence is consistent with the earlier RRKM results but weaker than the experimental observations at high temperatures.     

Effect of PEG on the crystallization of PPDO/PEG blends

A new biodegradable polymer system, poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) blend was prepared by a solvent casting method using chloroform as a co-solvent. The PPDO/PEG blends have different weight ratios of 95/5, 90/10, 80/20 and 70/30. Crystallization of homopolymers and blends were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). When 5% of PEG was blended, the crystallization exothermal peaks (T_c) of PPDO increased sharply and the crystallization exothermal peaks (T_c) of PEG decreased slightly compared with the homopolymers. The crystallization rates of both components increased, and caused greater relative crystallization degree (X_t%). But when the content of PEG was more than 5%, the crystalline behaviors of blends had no more significant changes accordingly. The melting points of each sample varied little over the entire composition range in this study. The nonisothermal crystallization of PPDO homopolymer and blend (PPDO/PEG = 70/30) were also studied by DSC. The crystallization began at a higher temperature when the cooling rates were slower. The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of blends was analyzed by Ozawa equation. The results showed that the Ozawa equation failed to describe the whole crystallization of the blend, but Mo equation could depict the nonisothermal crystallization perfectly.     

The reactions of a dinuclear ferric complex (oxo) di-iron(III) triethylenetetraamminehexaacetate, Fe2O(ttha), with oxidizing and reducing free radicals. A pulse radiolysis study

The rate constants at which oxidizing and reducing radicals react with the dinuclear iron(III) complex Fe₂O(ttha)²⁻ were measured in neutral aqueous solution. The rate constants for reduction of the complex by ·CO₂^.− CH₃^.CHOH and O₂^.− were found to be comparable with rate constants previously measured in mononuclear iron(III) polyaminocarboxylate systems. Fe₂O(ttha)²⁻ reacts slowly with O₂^.− (k₈ = (1.2 ± 0.2) × 10⁴ dm³ mol⁻¹ s⁻¹) and, hence, is a relatively poor catalyst for the dismutation of superoxide radical. The hydrated electron reduces the complex at a diffusion-controlled rate in a process which consumes one proton: e_aq⁻ + Fe₂O(ttha)²⁻ → Fe₂^III,IIO(ttha)³⁻ The reduction by carbon-centered radicals produces a (III,II) mixed-valence complex with an absorption spectrum different from that of the Fe₂(II,III) species produced from reduction by the hydrated electron. The oxidizing radicals ^.OH and ·CO₃⁻ appear to act as reductants of the complex via ligand oxidation rather than by oxidation of the Fe₂^IIIO core to Fe₂^III,IVO. In the former case ligand attack appears to occur mainly at the methylene carbon of a glycinate group. The decarboxylation product, CO₂, was detected by its aquation reaction in the presence of a pH sensitive dye, bromthymol blue.