Super acid-induced Pummerer-type cyclization reaction: improvement in the synthesis of chiral 1,3-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines

Improved synthesis of four stereoisomeric chiral 1,3-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines (1a, b, ent-1a, b) was achieved via the super acid-induced cyclization of chiral N-[1-methyl-2-(phenylsulfinyl)ethyl]-N-(1-phenylethyl)formamides (4a, b, ent-4a, b) using the Pummerer-type cyclization reaction as a key step. The cyclization leading to the isoquinoline ring proceeded in a quantitative manner when trifluoromethane sulfonic acid (TFSA) was used as the super acid, although Friedel-Crafts-type alkylation of 4-phenylsulfanyl TIQ derivatives (5) with benzene used as the solvent accompanied cyclization to yield the 4-phenyl-TIQs (7). The byproduct (7) was exclusively formed when a large excess amount of TFSA was used.     

New optically active organoantimony (BINASb) and bismuth (BINABi) compounds comprising a 1,1′-binaphthyl core: synthesis and their use in transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrosilylation of ketones

Racemic 2,2′-bis[diarylstibano]-1,1′-binaphthyls [(±)-BINASbs] and 2,2′-bis[di(p-tolyl)bismuthano]-1,1′-binaphthyl [(±)-BINABi], which are the antimony and bismuth congeners of BINAP, have been prepared from 2,2′-dibromo-1,1′-binaphthyl (DBBN) via 2,2′-dilithio-1,1′-binaphthyl intermediate by treatment with the appropriate metal halides [(p-Tol)₂SbBr, Ph₂SbBr and (p-Tol)₂BiCl]. The optical resolution of the (±)-BINASbs could be achieved via the separation of a mixture of the diastereomeric Pd-complexes derived from the reaction of (±)-BINASbs with di-μ-chlorobis{(S)-2-[1-(dimethylamino)-ethyl]phenyl-C¹,N}dipalladium(II). Optically active (R)-BINASb and (R)-BINABi could be also obtained from optically active (R)-DBBN by the same procedure. The enantiopure BINASbs have been shown to be effective chiral ligands for the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrosilylation of ketones.     

Hydrogen evolution from water by use of viologen polymers as electron transfer catalyst

The behavior of viologen polymer (P-V²⁺) as an electron transfer catalyst in the reaction of hydrogen generation was studied. In the photoirradiation system, which contains triethanolamine (TEA), Ru(bpy)³⁺₃, and P-V²⁺, the amount of hydrogen evolution was less than methyl viologen (MV²⁺); P-V²⁺, however, was more effective in sodium dithionite as the electron donor and showed higher initial rates than MV²⁺.     

Kinetic study of the electron-transfer oxidation of the phenolate anion of a vitamin E model by molecular oxygen generating superoxide anion in an aprotic medium

Electron-transfer reduction of molecular oxygen (O2) by the phenolate anion (1-) of a vitamin E model, 2,2,5,7,8-pentamethylchroman-6-ol (1H), occurred to produce superoxide anion, which could be directly detected by a low-temperature EPR measurement. The rate of electron transfer from 1- to O2 was relatively slow, since this process is energetically unfavourable. The one-electron oxidation potential of 1- determined by cyclic voltammetric measurements is sufficiently negative to reduce 2,2-bis(4-tert-octylphenyl)-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DOPPH*) to the corresponding one-electron reduced anion, DOPPH-, suggesting that 1- can also act as an efficient radical scavenger.     

Efficient synthesis of a 4,5-epoxy-2-cyclohexen-1-one derivative bearing a spirolactone via a Diels-Alder reaction with high pi-facial selectivity: a synthetic study towards scyphostatin

The Diels-Alder reaction of spirolactones with cyclopentadiene afforded the adduct with high pi-facial selectivity; a hydrophilic analogue of scyphostatin was synthesized from the Diels-Alder adduct.     

On the characterization of generalized inverses by bordered matrices

A method to characterize the class of all generalized inverses of any given matrix A is considered. Given a matrix A and a nonsingular bordered matrix T of A,

$\text{T=}\text{A}\text{P}\text{Q}\text{R}$

the submatrix, corresponding to A, of T^-1 is a generalized inverse of A, and conversely, any generalized inverse of A is obtainable by this method. There are different definitions of a generalized inverse, and the arguments are developed with the least restrictive definition. The characterization of the Moore-Penrose inverse, the most restrictive definition, is also considered.     

Synthesis of pyrimidino[4,5-b][1,5]benzodiazepin-2-ones and pyrimidino[1,6-a]benzimidazol-1-ones from 4-ethoxycarbonylamino-1H-1,5-benzodiazpine-3-carbonitrile via 4-(2-aminoanilino)pyrimidin-2(1H)-one-5-carbonitriles

Reactions of 4-ethoxycarbonylamino-1H-1,5-benzodiazepine-3-carbonitrile (2) with aliphatic primary amines gave 1-substituted 4-(2-aminoanilino)pyrimidin-2(1H)-one-5-carbonitriles 3. Analogous reactions of 2 with aromatic primary amines afforded 2-(2′-anilino-1′-cyanovinyl)benzimidazoles 5 and 6. Upon treatment with triethylamine, 3 underwent intramolecular cyclization to give 3-substituted 5-aminopyrimidino[4,5-b]-[1,5]benzodiazepin-2(3H,11H)-ones 8 . Heating of 3 with p-toluenesulfonic acid in ethanol gave 2-substituted pyrimidino[1,6-a]benzimidazol-1(2H)one-4-carbonitriles 9 . Reactions of 2 with hydrazines were also described. Mechanistic pathways are proposed to account for the products.     

Synthesis of (±)‐Kempa‐6,8‐dien‐3‐ol (=(2aRS,3SR,4aSR,7RS,7aSR,10bSR,10cSR)‐2,2a,3,4,4a,5,6,7,7a,8,10b,10c‐Dodecahydro‐2a,7,10,10c‐tetramethylnaphth[2,18‐cde]azulen‐3‐ol)

The synthesis of kempa‐6,8‐dien‐3β‐ol ( 4a ), as a synthetic leading model of the natural product 4b , was carried out starting from intermediate 12 , the synthetic route of which has been developed previously (Scheme 1). The conversion of 12 to the model compound 4a involved the elaboration of three structure modifications by three processes, Tasks A, B, and C (see Scheme 2). Task A was achieved by epoxy‐ring opening of 41 with Me₃SiCl (Scheme 9), and Task B being performed by oxidation at the 13‐position, followed by hydrogenation, and then epimerization (Schemes 4 and 5). The removal of the 2‐OH group from 12 (Task C) was achieved via 30b according to Scheme 6, whereby 30b was formed exclusively from 30a / 31a 1 : 1 (Scheme 7). In addition, some useful reactions from the synthetic viewpoint were developed during the course of the present experiments.     

Electrochemical analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms of p53 gene

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of cancer repression gene p53 were analyzed electrochemically with ferrocenyl naphthalene diimide (1) as a hybridization indicator. The SNPs studied were the transition to A from G in the codon for amino acid at positions 175, 248 or 273 and the transversion to C from G in the codon for the amino acid at position 72. Thus, 20-meric oligonucleotides carrying the SNP site were used both as a sample and a probe with the latter immobilized on an electrode. Even one base difference on the p53 gene resulted in a significant difference in the current response of 1 and the magnitude of the response correlated with the amount of the DNA hybrid on the electrode. Moreover, when PCR products of exon 4, on which the P72/R72 SNP resides, of the p53 gene were analyzed by this method, the heterozygote and homozygotes were discriminated with modest precision.     

Grinding-induced equimolar complex formation between thiourea and ethenzamide

We prepared and characterized a grinding-induced equimolar complex of thiourea with ethenzamide. When thiourea and ethenzamide were co-ground at a molar ratio of 3 : 1, new powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) peaks were observed in addition to PXRD peaks of thiourea crystals. The optimum stoichiometry of the new structure was confirmed as 1 : 1 mol/mol. Effect of grinding time on the thiourea-ethenzamide equimolar complex formation was investigated by using PXRD, differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The equimolar crystal structure was confirmed by X-ray diffraction measurements of the single crystal which was recrystallized from ethanol. It was found that the intermolecular hydrogen bond formations between thiourea and ethenzamide molecules contributed to the equimolar complex formation. The complex formation was not observed in the cases where benzamide, salicylamide or 3-ethoxybenzamide was co-ground with thiourea. 2-Alcoxyl benzamide structures should be required for the grinding-induced equimolar complex formation with thiourea.