C-H Bond activation and C-C bond formation in the reaction of 2,5-dimethylthiophene with TpMe2Ir compounds

The bulky 2,5-dimethylthiophene (2,5-Me2T) reacts at 60 degrees C with TpMe2Ir(C2H4)2 to give a mixture of two TpMe2Ir(III) hydride products, 3 and 4, that contain in addition a thienyl (3) or a thienyl-derived ligand (4). For the generation of 3 only sp2 C-H activation is needed, but the formation of 4 requires also the activation of an sp3 C-H bond and the formation of a new C-C bond (between vinyl and thienyl fragments). In the presence of 2,5-Me2T, compound 4 reacts further to produce a complex thiophenic structure (5, characterized by X-ray methods) that derives formally from two molecules of 2,5-Me2T and a vinyl fragment. Compounds 3-5 can be readily protonated by [H(OEt2)2][BAr'4](Ar'= 3,5-C6H3(CF3)2), with initial generation of carbene ligands (in the case of 3 and 5) as a consequence of H+ attack at the beta-carbon of the Ir-thienyl unit. Free, substituted thiophenes, derived from the original 2,5-Me2T, may be isolated in this way.     

Tautomerisation of 2‐Substituted Pyridines to N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands Induced by the 16 e− Unsaturated [TpMe2IrIII(C6H5)2] Moiety

The complex [Tp^Me2Ir(C₆H₅)₂(N₂)] reacts with several 2‐substituted pyridines to generate N‐heterocyclic carbenes resulting from a formal 1,2‐hydrogen shift from C₆ to N. In this paper we provide a detailed report of the scope and the mechanistic aspects (both experimental and theoretical) of the tautomerisation of 2‐substituted pyridines.     

Iridium(III)-induced isomerization of 2-substituted pyridines to N-heterocyclic carbenes

Steric strains (F-strain or front-strain) in the acid-base interaction between the Lewis acid [TpMe2Ir(C6H5)2] and 2-substituted pyridines Lewis bases, are responsible for the stabilization of the C-adducts (2) of the respective pyridine carbene tautomers over the expected N-adducts.     

Iminosugar C-Glycosides Work as Pharmacological Chaperones of NAGLU,a Glycosidase Involved in MPS IIIB Rare Disease**

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB is a devastating neurological disease caused by a lack of the lysosomal enzyme, α-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAGLU), leading to a toxic accumulation of heparan sulfate. Herein we explored a pharmacological chaperone approach to enhance the residual activity of NAGLU in patient fibroblasts. Capitalizing on the three-dimensional structures of two modest homoiminosugar-based NAGLU inhibitors in complex with bacterial homolog of NAGLU, CpGH89, we have synthesized a library of 17 iminosugar C-glycosides mimicking N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and bearing various pseudo-anomeric substituents of both α- and β-configuration. Elaboration of the aglycon moiety results in low micromolar selective inhibitors of human recombinant NAGLU, but surprisingly it is the non-functionalized and wrongly configured β-homoiminosugar that was proved to act as the most promising pharmacological chaperone, promoting a 2.4 fold activity enhancement of mutant NAGLU at its optimal concentration.