Selective Hydrogen Atom Abstraction through Induced Bond Polarization: Direct α‐Arylation of Alcohols through Photoredox,HAT, and Nickel Catalysis

The combination of nickel metallaphotoredox catalysis, hydrogen atom transfer catalysis, and a Lewis acid activation mode, has led to the development of an arylation method for the selective functionalization of alcohol α‐hydroxy C?H bonds. This approach employs zinc‐mediated alcohol deprotonation to activate α‐hydroxy C?H bonds while simultaneously suppressing C?O bond formation by inhibiting the formation of nickel alkoxide species. The use of Zn‐based Lewis acids also deactivates other hydridic bonds such as α‐amino and α‐oxy C?H bonds. This approach facilitates rapid access to benzylic alcohols, an important motif in drug discovery. A 3‐step synthesis of the drug Prozac exemplifies the utility of this new method.     

Phorbasides A-E, cytotoxic chlorocyclopropane macrolide glycosides from the marine sponge Phorbas sp. CD determination of C-methyl sugar configurations

Five new cytotoxic macrolide glycosides phorbasides A-E (3-7), each possessing a macrolide ring appended to a rare ene-yne-trans-2-chlorocyclopropane, were isolated from the same Western Australian sponge (Phorbas sp.) that provided phorboxazoles A and B. The structures of 3-7 were solved by analysis of spectroscopic data including NMR, MS, and CD. A synthesis of methyl 2-O-methyl-alpha-L-evalose from L-rhamnose was completed and used for configurational assignment of the sugar residue in 3. Acid-catalyzed methanolysis of 3 followed by two-step derivatization of the liberated O-methyl glycoside gave a vicinal 4-O-naphthoyl/tertiary 3-N-(2-aminonaphthyl)carbamate derivative that exhibited exciton coupled CD identical with that of the derivative prepared from synthetic 1,2- O-dimethyl-alpha-L-evalose.     

Enantioselective Linchpin Catalysis by SOMO Catalysis: An Approach to the Asymmetric α‐Chlorination of Aldehydes and Terminal Epoxide Formation

Time for SOme MOre : For the first time SOMO (singly occupied molecular orbital) activation has been exploited to allow a new approach to the α‐chlorination of aldehydes. This transformation can be readily implemented as part of a linchpin catalysis approach to the enantioselective production of terminal epoxides.

     

Protein-cofactor interactions and EPR parameters for the Q(H) quinone binding site of quinol oxidase. A density functional study

Recent multifrequency EPR studies of the "high-affinity" quinone binding site of quinol oxidase (Q(H) site) have suggested a very asymmetric hydrogen-bonding environment for the semiquinone radical anion state. Single-sided hydrogen bonding to the O1 carbonyl position was one of the proposals, which contrasts with some previous experimental indications. Here density functional calculations of the EPR parameters (g-tensors, 13C, 1H, and 17O hyperfine tensors) for a wide variety of supermolecular model complexes have been used to provide insight into the detailed relations among structure, environment, and EPR parameters of ubisemiquinone radical anions. A single-sided binding model is not able to account for the experimentally observed low g(x) component of the g-tensor or for the observed magnitude of the asymmetry of the 13C carbonyl HFC tensors. Based on the detailed comparison between computation and experiment, a model with two hydrogen bonds to O1 and one hydrogen bond to O4 is suggested for the Q(H) site, but a model with one more hydrogen bond on each side cannot be excluded. Several general conclusions on the interrelations between EPR parameters and hydrogen bond patterns of ubisemiquinones in proteins are provided.     

Erythrolic acids A-E, meroterpenoids from a marine-derived Erythrobacter sp

Erythrolic acids A-E (1-5) are five unusual meroterpenoids isolated from the bacterium Erythrobacter sp. derived from a marine sediment sample collected in Galveston, TX. The structures were elucidated by means of detailed spectroscopic analysis and chemical derivatization. The erythrolic acids contain a 4-hydroxybenzoic acid appended with a modified terpene side chain. The side-chain modifications include oxidation of a terminal methyl substituent and in the case of 1-4 addition of a two-carbon unit to give terpene side chains of unusual length: C22 for 1 and 2, C17 for 3, and C12 for 4. The relative and absolute configurations of the meroterpenoids were determined by coupling constant, NOE, and Mosher's analysis. In vitro cytotoxicity toward a number of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines revealed only modest activity for erythrolic acid D (4) (2.5 μM against HCC44). The discovery of these unusual diterpenes, along with the previously reported erythrazoles, demonstrates the natural product potential of a previously unstudied group of bacteria for drug discovery. The unusual nature of the terpene side chain, we believe, involves an oxidation of a terminal methyl group to a carboxylic acid and subsequent Claisen condensation with acetyl-CoA.     

Hydrostibination of Alkynes: A Radical Mechanism**

The addition of Sb−H bonds to alkynes was reported recently as a new hydroelementation reaction that exclusively yields anti-Markovnikov Z-olefins from terminal acetylenes. We examine four possible mechanisms that are consistent with the observed stereochemical and regiochemical outcomes. A comprehensive analysis of solvent, substituent, isotope, additive, and temperature effects on hydrostibination reaction rates definitively refutes three ionic mechanisms involving closed-shell charged intermediates. Instead the data support a fourth pathway featuring open-shell neutral intermediates. Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations are consistent with this model, predicting an activation barrier that is in agreement with the experimental value (Eyring analysis) and a rate limiting step that is congruent with the experimental kinetic isotope effect. We therefore conclude that hydrostibination of arylacetylenes is initiated by the generation of stibinyl radicals, which then participate in a cycle featuring Sb^II and Sb^III intermediates to yield the observed Z-olefins as products. This mechanistic understanding will enable rational evolution of hydrostibination as a synthetic methodology.