Highly diastereoselective formation of spirocyclic compounds via 1,5-hydrogen transfer: a total synthesis of (-)-erythrodiene

[reaction: see text] A highly stereoselective synthesis of (-)-erythrodiene starting from 4-isopropylcyclohexanone is described. The key reactions are an asymmetric methoxycarbonylation of the starting ketone and a highly diastereoselective radical cascade involving addition of a phenylthiyl radical to a terminal alkyne followed by a 1,5-hydrogen transfer and a 5-exo-cyclization.     

Detection of new radiation-induced DNA lesions by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS/MS) has been used to search for the formation of as yet unidentified radiation-induced DNA lesions. For that purpose, the characteristic fragmentation of most of 2'-deoxyribonucleosides that corresponds to the loss of the 2-deoxyribose moiety (loss of 116 mass units) has been utilized to specifically detect modified nucleosides. Aerated aqueous solutions of DNA were exposed to ionizing radiation, and subsequently DNA was digested to nucleosides with a cocktail of endo- and exonucleases. HPLC/ESI-MS/MS analysis of the resulting 2'-deoxyribonucleoside mixture allowed us to detect four novel DNA modifications. In a subsequent step, the sensitivity of the tandem mass spectrometer was used to search for the formation of the newly detected lesions in the DNA of gamma-irradiated cells. Thus, one of the four newly detected lesions was found to be significantly generated in cellular DNA upon exposure to ionizing radiation. In addition, the latter lesion was also shown to be present in untreated cells, indicating that the modified nucleoside could be formed endogenously.     

Disjunctive networks and update schedules

In this paper, we present a study of the dynamics of disjunctive networks under all block-sequential update schedules. We also present an extension of this study to more general fair periodic update schedules, that is, periodic update schedules that do not update some elements much more often than some others. Our main aim is to classify disjunctive networks according to the robustness of their dynamics with respect to changes of their update schedules. To study this robustness, we focus on one property, that of being able to cycle dynamically.     

Photodynamic Efficacy of Cercosporin in 3D Tumor Cell Cultures

In the present work, we study the photodynamic action of cercosporin (cerco), a naturally occurring photosensitizer, on human cancer multicellular spheroids. U87 spheroids exhibit double the uptake of cerco than T47D and T98G spheroids as shown by flow cytometry on the single cell level. Moreover, cerco is efficiently internalized by cells throughout the spheroid as shown by confocal microscopy, for all three cell lines. Despite their higher cerco uptake, U87 spheroids show the least vulnerability to cerco-PDT, in contrast to the other two cell lines (T47D and T98G). While 300 μm diameter spheroids consistently shrink and become necrotic after cerco PDT, bigger spheroids (>500 μm) start to regrow following blue-light PDT and exhibit high viability. Cerco-PDT was found to be effective on bigger spheroids reaching 1mm in diameter especially under longer exposure to yellow light (~590 nm). In terms of metabolism, T47D and T98G undergo a complete bioenergetic collapse (respiration and glycolysis) as a result of cerco-PDT. U87 spheroids also experienced a respiratory collapse following cerco-PDT, but retained half their glycolytic activity.     

An improved procedure for the Beckmann rearrangement of cyclobutanones

γ-Lactams are important building blocks for the synthesis of biologically active molecules and can easily be accessed via Beckmann rearrangement of cyclobutanones. However, Beckmann fragmentation is often a competing reaction for these strained ketones. We found that performing the Beckmann rearrangement with Tamura’s reagent in the presence of aqueous HCl suppresses the undesired fragmentation reaction. This improved procedure was applied to a broad scope of substrates affording monocyclic, bicyclic, tricyclic or spirocyclic lactams.Our experimental results and DFT calculations suggest that the mechanism of the rearrangement probably involves a tetrahedral intermediate and doesn’t proceed via oxime fragmentation as in a classical Beckmann rearrangement.     

Evaluation of preconcentration methods in the analysis of synthetic musks in whole‐water samples

According to the European Water Framework Directive, environmental assessment of organic compounds should be made in whole‐water samples, but due to their hydrophobicity and strong attraction to organic content these compounds can be found bound to suspended particle matter or in the dissolved fraction. In this work, the extraction of musk compounds was studied in whole‐water samples exhibiting different amounts of dissolved organic carbon and suspended particulate matter using polyethersulfone preconcentration technique. Matrix effects in estuarine and wastewater (both influent and effluent) were evaluated for filtered and unfiltered samples. For unfiltered samples, estuarine water exhibited matrix effects <20%, while for effluent it was up to 48% and for influent ranged from 85 to 99%. To compensate matrix effects and determine total concentrations in unfiltered samples, different quantification approaches were tested: the use of deuterated analogues and standard additions. Standard additions provided the best results for unfiltered samples. Finally, filtered and unfiltered samples were analyzed using both polyethersulfone preconcentration and membrane‐assisted solvent extraction and results showed a good agreement between the two methods. In both cases unfiltered samples provided concentrations 1.5–2.6 times higher than filtered samples.     

Gold(I)/Gold(III) Catalysis that Merges Oxidative Addition and π-Alkene Activation

Heteroarylation of alkenes with aryl iodides was efficiently achieved with a (MeDalphos)AuCl complex through Au^I/Au^III catalysis. The possibility to combine oxidative addition of aryl iodides and π-activation of alkenes at gold is demonstrated for the first time. The reaction is robust and general (>30 examples including internal alkenes, 5-, 6-, and 7-membered rings). It is regioselective and leads exclusively to trans addition products. The (P,N) gold complex is most efficient with electron-rich aryl substrates, which are troublesome with alternative photoredox/oxidative approaches. In addition, it provides a very unusual switch in regioselectivity from 5-exo to 6-endo cyclization between the Z and E isomers of internal alkenols.     

Evaluating the potential and limitations of double-spiking species-specific isotope dilution analysis for the accurate quantification of mercury species in different environmental matrices

A new double-spiking approach, based on a multiple-spiking numerical methodology, has been developed and applied for the accurate quantification of inorganic mercury (IHg) and methylmercury (MeHg) by GC–ICPMS in different environmental matrices such as water, sediments and a wide range of biological tissues. For this purpose, two enriched mercury species (²⁰¹MeHg and ¹⁹⁹IHg) were added to the samples before sample preparation in order to quantify the extents of the methylation and demethylation processes, and thereby correct the final species concentrations. A critical evaluation of the applicability of this methodology was performed for each type of matrix, highlighting its main advantages and limitations when correcting for the conversion reactions of the species throughout the whole sample preparation procedure. The double-spike isotope dilution (DSIDA) methodology was evaluated by comparing it with conventional species specific isotope dilution (IDA) when analysing both certified reference materials and environmental samples (water, biotissues and sediment). The results demonstrate that this methodology is able to provide both accurate and precise results for IHg and MeHg when their relative concentrations are not too different (ratio MeHg/IHg > 0.05), a condition that holds for most natural waters and biotissues. Significant limitations on the accurate and precise determination of the demethylation factor are however observed, especially for real sediment samples in which the relative concentrations of the species are substantially different (ratio MeHg/IHg < 0.05). A determination of the sources of uncertainty in the methylation/demethylation factors has demonstrated that the accurate and precise measurement of the isotope ratios in the species involved in the transformations is crucial when quantifying the extents of these reactions. Although the double-spike methodology is established as a reference approach that permits the correction of most analytical biases and the accurate quantification of Hg species, some limitations have been identified for the first time in this work.     

α,α-Difluorophosphonohydroxamic Acid Derivatives among the Best Antibacterial Fosmidomycin Analogues

Three α,α-difluorophosphonate derivatives of fosmidomycin were synthesized from diethyl 1,1-difluorobut-3-enylphosphonate and were evaluated on Escherichia coli. Two of them are among the best 1-deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase inhibitors, with IC₅₀ in the nM range, much better than fosmidomycin, the reference compound. They also showed an enhanced antimicrobial activity against E. coli on Petri dishes in comparison with the corresponding phosphates and the non-fluorinated phosphonate.