Atropisomers of meso Tetra(N-Mesyl Pyrrol-2-yl) Porphyrins: Synthesis,Isolation and Characterization of All-Pyrrolic Porphyrins

Atropisomerism has been observed in a variety of biaryl compounds and meso-aryl substituted porphyrins. However, in porphyrins, this phenomenon had been shown only with o-substituted 6-membered aromatic groups at the meso-position. We show herein that a 5-membered heteroaromatic (N-mesyl-pyrrol-2-yl) group at the meso-position leads to atropisomerism. In addition, we report a ‘one-pot’ synthetic route for the synthesis of ‘all-pyrrolic’ porphyrin (APP) with several N-protection groups (Boc, Cbz, Ms and Ts). Among these groups, we found that only the Ms group gave four individually separable atropisomers of meso-tetra(N-Ms-pyrrol-2-yl) porphyrin. Furthermore, the reductive removal of Cbz- was achieved to obtain meso-tetra(pyrrol-2-yl) porphyrin. Thus, our synthetic procedure provides an easy access to a group of APPs and stable atropisomers, which is expected to expand the application of novel APP-based materials.     

Unveiling the complex configurational landscape of the intralayer cavities in a crystalline carbon nitride

The in-depth understanding of the reported photoelectrochemical properties of the layered carbon nitride, poly(triazine imide)/LiCl (PTI/LiCl), has been limited by the apparent disorder of the Li/H atoms within its framework. To understand and resolve the current structural ambiguities, an optimized one-step flux synthesis (470 °C, 36 h, LiCl/KCl flux) was used to prepare PTI/LiCl and deuterated-PTI/LiCl in high purity. Its structure was characterized by a combination of neutron/X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The range of possible Li/H atomic configurations was enumerated for the first time and, combined with total energy calculations, reveals a more complex energetic landscape than previously considered. Experimental data were fitted against all possible structural models, exhibiting the most consistency with a new orthorhombic model (Sp. Grp. Ama2) that also has the lowest total energy. In addition, a new Cu(i)-containing PTI (PTI/CuCl) was prepared with the more strongly scattering Cu(i) cations in place of Li, and most closely matching with the partially-disorder structure in Cmc2₁. Thus, a complex configurational landscape of PTI is revealed to consist of a number of ordered crystalline structures that are new potential synthetic targets, such as with the use of metal-exchange reactions.

The layered carbon nitride, poly(triazine imide), exhibits a complex configurational landscape for the coordination of cations within its intralayer cavities that has been elucidated for the first time.     

Determination of organophosphate esters in air samples by dynamic sonication-assisted solvent extraction coupled on-line with large-volume injection gas chromatography utilizing a programmed-temperature vaporizer

An on-line method for the determination of airborne organophosphate esters based on dynamic sonication-assisted solvent extraction and large-volume injection (LVI) gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorous detection is introduced. The LVI is performed with a programmed-temperature vaporizer. The entire extracted fraction of 800 microl (hexane-methyl-tert.-butyl ether, 7:3, v/v) is introduced directly into the GC system without any clean-up step following extraction. The extraction and analysis step were completed in less than 15 min. The limit of detection of the investigated organophosphate esters was established to be in the range of 5-32 pg/filter. The correlation coefficients (r2) were investigated in the linear range study of the entire system and established to be approximately 0.9900 for all the investigated organophosphates esters. Applications of the method was demonstrated with the extraction of air samples collected onto glass fiber filters from different indoor environments. Six organophosphate esters were found at the levels 0.4-138 ng/m3.     

Amino acid catalyzed neogenesis of carbohydrates: a plausible ancient transformation

Hexose sugars play a fundamental role in vital biochemical processes and their biosynthesis is achieved through enzyme-catalyzed pathways. Herein we disclose the ability of amino acids to catalyze the asymmetric neogenesis of carbohydrates by sequential cross-aldol reactions. The amino acids mediate the asymmetric de novo synthesis of natural L- and D-hexoses and their analogues with excellent stereoselectivity in organic solvents. In some cases, the four new stereocenters are assembled with almost absolute stereocontrol. The unique feature of these results is that, when an amino acid is employed as the catalyst, a single reaction sequence can convert a protected glycol aldehyde into a hexose in one step. For example, proline and its derivatives catalyze the asymmetric neogenesis of allose with >99 % ee in one chemical manipulation. Furthermore, all amino acids tested catalyzed the asymmetric formation of natural sugars under prebiotic conditions, with alanine being the smallest catalyst. The inherent simplicity of this catalytic process suggests that a catalytic prebiotic "gluconeogenesis" may occur, in which amino acids transfer their stereochemical information to sugars. In addition, the amino acid catalyzed stereoselective sequential cross-aldol reactions were performed as a two-step procedure with different aldehydes as acceptors and nucleophiles. The employment of two different amino acids as catalysts for the iterative direct aldol reactions enabled the asymmetric synthesis of deoxysugars with >99 % ee. In addition, the direct amino acid catalyzed C(2)+C(2)+C(2) methodology is a new entry for the short, highly enantioselective de novo synthesis of carbohydrate derivatives, isotope-labeled sugars, and polyketide natural products. The one-pot asymmetric de novo syntheses of deoxy and polyketide carbohydrates involved a novel dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation (DYKAT) mediated by an amino acid.     

Intracellular transport and localization of microsomal cytochrome P450

The cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes are mainly localized to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they function within catalytic complexes metabolizing xenobiotics and some endogenous substrates. However, certain members of families 1–3 were also found in other subcellular compartments, such as mitochondria, plasma membrane, and lysosomes. The physiological function of these enzymes in non-ER locations is not known, although plasma-membrane-associated P450s have been described to be catalytically active and to participate in immune-mediated reactions with autoantibody formation that can trigger drug-induced hepatitis. Several retention/retrieval mechanisms are active in the ER retention of the P450s and inverse integration of the translated P450 into the ER membrane appears to be responsible for transport to the plasma membrane. Furthermore, hydrophilic motifs in the NH₂-terminal part have been suggested to be important for mitochondrial import. Phosphorylation of P450s has been described to be important for increased rate of degradation as well as for targeting into mitochondria. It was also suggested that the mitochondria-targeted P450s from families 1–3 could be active in drug metabolism using an alternative electron transport chain. In this review we present an update of the field emphasizing studies concerning localization, posttranslational modification, such as phosphorylation, and intracellular transport of microsomal P450s.     

Use of a small particle solid‐core packing for improved efficiency and rapid measurement of sirolimus and everolimus by LC‐MS/MS

Measurement of whole blood sirolimus and everolimus is required in order to optimize patient treatment following solid organ transplant. Assay by LC‐MS/MS is increasingly preferred; however efficient use of the instrument and short turnaround times are crucial. Use of a 1.6 µm solid‐core packing HPLC column (Cortecs) gave significant increases in efficiency, sensitivity and throughput compared with an existing method, following simple protein precipitation of small‐volume (20 μL) whole blood samples. Sirolimus, everolimus and the stable isotopic internal standard (¹³C₂D₄ – everolimus) eluted at around 0.8 min, and total analytical run time was 2.2 min, saving almost 4 min per sample compared with an existing method. Within‐assay imprecision (CV) was 3.3–8.5%, and between‐assay imprecision was 2.2–10.8%. Retrospective assay of external quality assurance samples and comparison of patient samples assayed in parallel showed only small differences (between +6.8 and ?1.9%) in results using the Cortecs column when compared with the existing method. No significant interferences or ion suppression were observed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

(E,E,E)‐1,3,5‐Tris[4‐(acetyl­sulfan­yl)­styr­yl]­benzene toluene hemisolvate

The first crystal structure of a three‐terminal sulfur end‐capped oligo­phenyl­ene­vinyl­ene, C₃₆H₃₀O₃S₃·0.5C₇H₈, has been determined at 122 (1) K. The mol­ecular threefold symmetry is not utilized in the crystal structure. It is confirmed that the double bonds have been fully transformed into a trans configuration by iodine treatment.     

One-pot three-component reaction for the synthesis of alpha-(aminoethyl)-alpha,beta-enones

[reaction: see text] The synthesis of alpha-substituted alpha,beta-enones by a new metal iodide-promoted one-pot three-component reaction involving commercially available cyclopropyl ketones, aldehydes, and secondary amines followed by base treatment is described.