Diastereoselective, large-scale synthesis of β-amino acids via asymmetric aza-Michael addition as α2δ ligands for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder and insomnia

Scalable synthetic routes to β-amino acids 1 and 2 are presented. These two compounds, which bind to the α2δ subunit of calcium channels and have important medical applications, have been prepared on kilogram scale in our pilot plant through an improved synthesis that avoids the use of highly toxic reagents and hazardous chemistry present in the original Medicinal Chemistry route. The two chiral centers are introduced through asymmetric Michael and aza-Michael reactions with excellent diastereoselectivity.     

The Heterotrimeric G-protein Complex Modulates Light Sensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana Seed Germination

Release of dormancy and induction of seed germination are complex traits finely regulated by hormonal signals and environmental cues such as temperature and light. The Red (R):Far-Red (FR) phytochrome photoreceptors mediate light regulation of seed germination. We investigated the possible involvement of heterotrimeric G-protein complex in the phytochrome signaling pathways of Arabidopsis thaliana seed germination. Germination rates of null mutants of the alpha (Gα) and beta (Gβ) subunits of the G-protein (At gpa1-4 and agb1-2 , respectively) and the double mutant ( agb1-2/gpa1-4 ) are lower than the wildtype (WT) under continuous or pulsed light. The Gα and Gβ subunits play a role in seed germination under hourly pulses of R lower than 0.1 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ whereas the Gβ subunit plays a role in higher R fluences. The germination of double mutants of G-protein subunits with phyA-211 and phyB-9 suggests that AtGPA1 seems to act as a positive regulator of phyA and probably phyB signaling pathways, while the role of AGB1 is ambiguous. The imbibition of seeds at 4°C and 35°C alters the R and FR light responsiveness of WT and G-protein mutants to a similar magnitude. Thus, Gα and Gβ subunits of the heterotrimeric G-protein complex modulate light induction of seed germination by phytochromes and are dispensable for the control of dormancy by low and high temperatures prior to irradiation. We discuss the possible indirect role of the G-protein complex on the phytochrome-regulated germination through hormonal signaling pathways.     

Driving forces in substitution reactions of octahedral complexes: The influence of the competitive effect

The reaction of cis-[RuCl₂(P–P)(N–N)] type complexes (P–P = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane or (1,1′-diphenylphosphino)ferrocene; N–N = 2,2′-bipyridine or 1,10-phenantroline) with monodentate ligands (L), such as 4-methylpyridine, 4-phenylpyridine and benzonitrile forms [RuCl(L)(P–P)(N–N)]⁺ species. Upon characterization of the isolated compounds by elemental analysis, ³¹P{¹H} NMR and X-ray crystallography it was found out that the type of the L ligand determines its position in relation to the phosphorus atom. While pyridine derivatives like 4-methylpyridine and 4-phenylpyridine coordinate trans to the phosphorus atom, the benzonitrile ligand (bzCN), a good π acceptor, coordinates trans to the nitrogen atom. A ³¹P{¹H} NMR experiment following the reaction of the precursor cis-[RuCl₂(dppb)(phen)] with the benzonitrile ligand shows that the final position of the entering ligand in the complex is better defined as a consequence of the competitive effect between the phosphorus atom and the cyano-group from the benzonitrile moiety and not by the trans effect. In this case, the benzonitrile group is stabilized trans to one of the nitrogen atoms of the N–N ligand. A differential pulse voltammetry experiment confirms this statement. In both experiments the [RuCl(bzCN)(dppb)(phen)]PF₆ species with the bzCN ligand positioned trans to a phosphorus atom of the dppb ligand was detected as an intermediate complex.     

Group 6 heteroatom- and non-heteroatom-stabilized carbene complexes. beta,beta'- and alpha,beta,beta'-annulation reactions of cyclic enamines

Cyclization reactions of group 6 Fischer carbene complexes with cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone enamines are described. Enamine 3a undergoes thermal alpha,beta,beta'-annulation with alkenylcarbene complexes 1 and 2 (THF, 60 degrees C), affording semibullvalenes 5. The metalate intermediates 6, resulting from beta,beta'-annulation of the enamines 3a and 4a, were quantitatively formed by running the reaction in hexane at room temperature. Acid-promoted demetalation of 6 afforded endo-2-bicyclo[3.2.1]octen-8-ones 7 and endo/exo-2-bicyclo[3.3.1]nonen-9-ones 8 (endo/exo = 5:1). Using (S)-methoxymethylpyrrolidine-derived enamines 3b and 4b,c allowed highly enantioenriched cycloadducts endo-(+)-7 as well as endo-(-)-8 and exo-(-)-8 to be accessed. The non-heteroatom-stabilized carbene complex 10 was formed from complex 6 by Me(3)SiOTf-promoted elimination of the methoxy group, characterized by (13)C NMR, and transformed into the organic compounds 7, 7-d, and 11 as well as into bicyclo[3.2.1]octan-2,8-diones 14 and cycloheptanones 15. On the basis of this sequence, enantioenriched cycloheptanones (+)-15 were efficiently prepared in one pot from carbene complexes 2 and enamine 3b (51-55% yield, 91-96% ee). Extension of this work to simple Fischer carbene complexes 16 allowed an appropriate way to generate the nonstabilized pentacarbonyl[(phenyl(alkyl)carbene]tungsten complex 17 to be designed, for which the thermal and chemical behavior leading to compounds 18-21 is described.     

Benzothiazolium-π-thiazole-dicyanomethanides: new nonlinear optical chromophores

A series of merocyanines with a benzothiazolylidene donor and a quinoidal thiazole moiety have been synthesized. Experimental results and theoretical calculations show that these compounds have zwitterionic ground states and negative second-order optical nonlinearities. Unlike most merocyanines, the degree of charge transfer does not decrease on increasing the separation between the donor and the acceptor groups, an unexpected feature related to the presence of the proaromatic thiazole fragment.     

Effects of ozone in surface modification and thermal stability of SEBS block copolymers

SEBS block copolymers were treated under mild conditions in an ozone atmosphere, producing very slightly chemically-modified surfaces. The thermal stability was analysed by chemiluminescence and related to morphological changes observed by AFM. The intrinsic thermal stability was diminished by ozone exposure, but the oxidation induction times were delayed which indicates an enhancement of thermal stability under oxidative conditions. Also, chemiluminescence analysis showed the presence of a typical order-disorder transition at temperatures around 120 °C. Two different sets of samples which showed different morphological patterns were imaged by AFM. The effects of micro-domain separation and inter-domain structure on thermal properties are discussed and explained by a coarsening of the internal interface induced by ozone. A detailed 2D Fourier transformed analysis of AFM images allowed us to identify a regular wrinkled nano-pattern induced by uniaxial strain combined with ozone treatment, offering new opportunities in applications ranging from organic electronics to bio-patterning.     

Nonaqueous catalytic water oxidation

The complex [Ru(Mebimpy)(bpy)(OH(2))](2+) [Mebimpy = 2,6-bis(1-methylbenzimidazol-2-yl)pyridine; bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine] and its 4,4'-(PO(3)H(2)CH(2))(2)bpy derivative on oxide electrodes are water oxidation catalysts in propylene carbonate and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) to which water has been added as a limiting reagent. The rate of water oxidation is greatly enhanced relative to that with water as the solvent and occurs by a pathway that is first-order in H(2)O; an additional pathway that is first-order in acetate appears when TFE is used as the solvent.     

Density functional study for the polymerization of ethylene monomer using a new nickel catalyst

The present computational study was designed to study the polymerization of ethylene catalyzed by a new Ni‐based PymNox organometallic compound. Recently, we have synthesized and tested the behavior of this type of catalyst in olefin polymerization. It has been experimentally observed that the unsubstituted catalyst Ni2 (aldimino PymNox catalyst ) is less active than the methyl substituted Ni1 (acetaldimino PymNox catalyst ) analogue. The reactivity of both catalysts was examined using density functional theory (DFT) models. Our results indicate that the methyl substituted Ni1 introduces some additional steric hindrance that probably renders a more suitable catalyst conformation for the monomer incorporation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1160–1165, 2010     

Monitoring the hydration of DNA self-assembled monolayers using an extensional nanomechanical resonator

We have fabricated an ultrasensitive nanomechanical resonator based on the extensional vibration mode to weigh the adsorbed water on self-assembled monolayers of DNA as a function of the relative humidity. The water adsorption isotherms provide the number of adsorbed water molecules per nucleotide for monolayers of single stranded (ss) DNA and after hybridization with the complementary DNA strand. Our results differ from previous data obtained with bulk samples, showing the genuine behavior of these self-assembled monolayers. The hybridization cannot be inferred from the water adsorption isotherms due to the low hybridization efficiency of these highly packed monolayers. Strikingly, we efficiently detect the hybridization by measuring the thermal desorption of water at constant relativity humidity. This finding adds a new nanomechanical tool for developing a label-free nucleic acid sensor based on the interaction between water and self-assembled monolayers of nucleic acids.