CoI- and Co0-bipyridine complexes obtained by reduction of CoBr2bpy: electrochemical behaviour and investigation of their reactions with aromatic halides and vinylic acetates

The electrochemical behaviour of CoBr(2)bpy (bpy=2,2'-bipyridine) catalyst precursor in acetonitrile has been studied, revealing its possible reduction into the corresponding Co(I) and Co(0) complexes. These low-valent cobalt species appear to be stable on the time scale of cyclic voltammetry. In the presence of aromatic halides, both complexes undergo oxidative addition, the latter Co(0) species allowing the activation of poorly reactive aromatic chlorides. The arylcobalt(III) and arylcobalt(II) obtained are reduced at the same potential as the original Co(II) and Co(I) complexes, respectively, resulting in the observation of overall ECE mechanisms in both cases. The electrochemical study shows that vinylic acetates competitively react with electrogenerated Co(0) species, leading to a labile complex. Preparative scale electrolyses carried out from solutions containing aromatic halides (ArX), vinyl acetate (vinylOAc) and a catalytic amount of CoBr(2)bpy lead to a mixture of biaryl (Ar-Ar) and arene (ArH) as long as the potential is set on the plateau of the Co(II) right arrow over left arrow Co(I) reduction wave. The coupling product (Ar-vinyl) is formed only if the electrolysis is performed on the plateau of the Co(I)/Co(0) reduction wave. A mechanism is proposed for the overall cobalt-catalyzed coupling reaction between aromatic halides and allylic acetates.     

Chiral capillary electrophoretic determination of the enantiomeric purity of tetrahydronaphthalenic derivatives, melatoninergic ligands, using highly sulfated beta-cyclodextrins

Using cyclodextrin capillary zone electrophoresis (CD-CZE), baseline separation of synthetic tetrahydronaphthalenic derivatives, potential melatoninergic compounds, was achieved. A method for the enantioresolution of these tetralins and determination of their enantiomeric purity was developed using anionic CDs (highly sulfated-CD or highly S-CD) as chiral selectors and capillaries dynamically coated with polyethylene oxide (PEO). Operational parameters such as the nature and concentration of the chiral selectors, buffer pH, organic modifiers, temperature and applied voltage were investigated. The use of charged CDs provides a driving force for our neutral compounds in the running buffer and enantiomeric resolution by inclusion of compounds in the CD cavity. The highly S-beta-CD was found to be the most effective complexing agent, allowing good enantiomeric resolution. The complete resolution of three tetralin compounds was obtained using 25 mM phosphate buffer at pH 2.5 containing 2.5% w/v of highly S-beta-CD at 25 degrees C with an applied field of 0.25 kV/cm. The apparent association constants of the inclusion complexes were calculated. This optimized method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and recovery. The enantiomeric purity for the three molecules was determined and the detection limit of enantiomer impurities is about 0.3-0.6%.     

Phosphines: Nucleophilic organic catalysts for the controlled ring‐opening polymerization of lactides

A new metal‐free synthetic approach to the controlled ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide with nucleophilic phosphines as transesterification catalysts is described. P(Bu)₃, PhPMe₂, Ph₂PMe, PPh₃, and related phosphines are commercially available, inexpensive catalysts that generate narrowly dispersed polylactides with predictable molecular weights. These organic catalysts must be used in combination with an initiator, such as an alcohol, to generate an alcoholate ester α‐end group upon ROP. A likely polymerization pathway is through a monomer‐activated mechanism, with minimal active species, facilitating narrow molecular weight distributions. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 844–851, 2002; DOI 10.1002/pola.10168     

Application of simultaneous excitation/detection to generate real-time excitation profiles in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

Simultaneous excitation/detection (SED), which permits observation of ion motion during an excitation event, is used to generate real-time Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) excitation profiles that track the radial extent of ion motion in a trapped-ion cell. The conventional FTICR excitation profile is collected in a series of individual experiments in which peak magnitude is monitored as excitation voltage is increased. In contrast, SED permits the single-scan detection of ion cyclotron motion within the trapped-ion cell and consequently yields the data that produces a real-time excitation profile. Data analysis techniques are presented that facilitate conversion of a time domain SED profile into an excitation profile. An order of magnitude decrease in the amount of time is required to acquire an excitation profile, while the precision of the measurement is improved. To demonstrate the utility of the technique, it is applied to the study of axial and radial ion loss mechanisms for argon, benzene, and acetophenone ions under different conditions. SED excitation profiles are also used to illustrate the facility of quadrupolar excitation for minimizing radial ion loss.     

Remarkable stereocontrol in the synthesis of 1,2,3,5-tetrasubstituted tetrahydropyrans via an asymmetric heterocycloaddition of a ketone-derived enol ether

The synthesis of chiral 1,2,3,5-substituted tetrahydropyrans has been realized via an asymmetric hetero Diels-Alder (HDA) reaction. The key step that involved a trisubstituted chiral enol ether derived from (R)-mandelic acid as the dienophile promoted the creation of three stereogenic centers with a remarkable and unprecedented endo and facial stereocontrol. The hydrogenation of the heteroadduct 2 was optimized by using Pd on charcoal and diisopropylethylamine, leading to a unique isomer. The chiral inductor was cleanly and stereoselectively removed via an acetal reduction, which demonstrated the potential of this methodology for the efficient construction of key intermediate of biologically active molecules.     

Factor Xa: Simulation studies with an eye to inhibitor design

Factor Xa is a serine protease which activates thrombin and plays a key regulatory role in the blood-coagulation cascade. Factor Xa is at the crossroads of the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways of coagulation and, hence, has become an important target for the design of anti-thrombotics (inhibitors). It is not known to be involved in other processes than hemostasis and its binding site is different to that of other serine proteases, thus facilitating selective inhibition. The design of high-affinity selective inhibitors of factor Xa requires knowledge of the structural and dynamical characteristics of its active site. The three-dimensional structure of factor Xa was resolved by X-ray crystallography and refined at 2.2 Å resolution by Padmanabhan and collaborators. In this article we present results from molecular dynamics simulations of the catalytic domain of factor Xa in aqueous solution. The simulations were performed to characterise the mobility and flexibility of the residues delimiting the unoccupied binding site of the enzyme, and to determine hydrogen bonding propensities (with protein and with solvent atoms) of those residues in the active site that could interact with a substrate or a potential inhibitor. The simulation data is aimed at facilitating the design of high-affinity selective inhibitors of factor Xa.     

Characterisation of botulinum toxins type C, D, E, and F by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation and electrospray mass spectrometry

In a follow-up of the earlier characterisation of botulinum toxins type A and B (BTxA and BTxB) by mass spectrometry (MS), types C, D, E, and F (BTxC, BTxD, BTxE, BTxF) were now investigated. Botulinum toxins are extremely neurotoxic bacterial toxins, likely to be used as biological warfare agent. Biologically active BTxC, BTxD, BTxE, and BTxF are comprised of a protein complex of the respective neurotoxins with non-toxic non-haemagglutinin (NTNH) and, sometimes, specific haemagglutinins (HA). These protein complexes were observed in mass spectrometric identification. The BTxC complex, from Clostridium botulinum strain 003-9, consisted of a 'type C1 and D mosaic' toxin similar to that of type C strain 6813, a non-toxic non-hemagglutinating and a 33 kDa hemagglutinating (HA-33) component similar to those of strain C-Stockholm, and an exoenzyme C3 of which the sequence was in full agreement with the known genetic sequence of strain 003-9. The BTxD complex, from C. botulinum strain CB-16, consisted of a neurotoxin with the observed sequence identical with that of type D strain BVD/-3 and of an NTNH with the observed sequence identical with that of type C strain C-Yoichi. Remarkably, the observed protein sequence of CB-16 NTNH differed by one amino acid from the known gene sequence: L859 instead of F859. The BTxE complex, from a C. botulinum isolated from herring sprats, consisted of the neurotoxin with an observed sequence identical with that from strain NCTC 11219 and an NTNH similar to that from type E strain Mashike (1 amino acid difference with observed sequence). BTxF, from C. botulinum strain Langeland (NCTC 10281), consisted of the neurotoxin and an NTNH; observed sequences from both proteins were in agreement with the gene sequence known from strain Langeland. As with BTxA and BTxB, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (MALDI) MS provided provisional identification from trypsin digest peptide maps and liquid chromatography-electrospray (tandem) mass spectrometry (LC-ES MS) afforded unequivocal identification from amino acid sequence information of digest peptides obtained in trypsin digestion.     

Factors affecting the electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical properties of diruthenium(III,II) complexes containing four identical unsymmetrical bridging ligands

Factors affecting the electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical properties of diruthenium(III,II) complexes containing four unsymmetrical bridging ligands are reported for seven related compounds which were isolated in one or two of the four possible isomeric forms. The investigated compounds are represented as Ru(2)(2-CH(3)ap)(4)Cl, Ru(2)(2,5-F(2)ap)(4)Cl, Ru(2)(2,6-F(2)ap)(4)Cl, and Ru(2)(2,4,6-F(3)ap)(4)Cl where 2-CH(3)ap, 2,5-F(2)ap, 2,6-F(2)ap, and 2,4,6-F(3)ap are, respectively, the 2-(2-methylanilino)pyridinate anion, the 2-(2,5-difluoroanilino)pyridinate anion, the 2-(2,6-difluoroanilino)pyridinate anion, and the 2-(2,4,6-trifluoroanilino)pyridinate anion. Ru(2)(2-CH(3)ap)(4)Cl and Ru(2)(2,5-F(2)ap)(4)Cl exist only in a (4,0) conformation while Ru(2)(2,4,6-F(3)ap)(4)Cl is present in both (3,1) and (4,0) isomeric forms. Ru(2)(2,6-F(2)ap)(4)Cl also exists in two isomeric forms, but only the (3,1) isomer was generated in sufficient quantities to be isolated and structurally characterized. This series of seven closely related metal-metal bonded complexes thus provides the first possibility to systematically examine how differences in position and number of the electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups on the anionic bridging ligands might be related to the electronic properties and structural features of the compound as well as the type and number of geometric isomers which are formed. Each diruthenium derivative undergoes three one-electron transfers in CH(2)Cl(2) containing 0.1 M tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate (TBAP). The first reduction and first oxidation products were characterized by thin-layer UV-vis spectroelectrochemistry, and the spectroscopic data, along with E(1/2) values, were then related via linear free energy relationships to the type of isomer and/or position of the electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents on the anionic ap bridge. The electrogenerated Ru(2)(6+) and Ru(2)(4+) forms of the compounds were assigned on the basis of electrochemical and UV-vis spectroscopic data as having the electronic configuration sigma(2)pi(4)delta(2)pi(2) and sigma(2)pi(4)delta(2)pi(3)delta, respectively, and seemed to be independent of the isomer type ((3,1) or (4,0)). The spectral and electrochemical properties of the compounds both vary substantially as a function of the isomer type, but this is not reflected in the structural features of the compounds which are within the range of what is seen for other Ru(2)(5+) species described in the literature. The Ru-Ru bond lengths of the four structurally characterized (4,0) isomers of the ap complexes range from 2.275 to 2.296 A while those of the three structurally characterized (3,1) isomers of ap derivatives fall in the range 2.284-2.286 A and show no significant difference among the three compounds. The Ru-Cl bond lengths of the (3,1) isomers do not vary significantly with the bridging ligand and range from 2.458 to 2.471 A whereas those of the (4,0) isomers range from 2.437 to 2.487 A and show larger variations among the compounds. The Ru-Ru-Cl bond angle is virtually independent of the bridging ligand in the case of the (4,0) isomers but decreases with the electron-withdrawing effect of the substituent in the case of the (3,1) isomers.     

Bruck nets,codes, and characters of loops

Numerous computational examples suggest that if _{k-1 k} are (k- 1)- and k-nets of order n, then rank _{p k} - rank _{p k-1} n - k + 1 for any prime p dividing n at most once. We conjecture that this inequality always holds. Using characters of loops, we verify the conjecture in case k = 3, proving in fact that if p ^e n, then rank _{p 3} 3n - 2 - e, where equality holds if and only if the loop G coordinatizing ₃ has a normal subloop K such that G/K is an elementary abelian group of order p ^e . Furthermore if n is squarefree, then rank _p = 3n - 3 for every prime p ¦ n, if and only if ₃ is cyclic (i.e., ₃ is coordinated by a cyclic group of order n).The validity of our conjectured lower bound would imply that any projective plane of squarefree order, or of order n 2 mod 4, is in fact desarguesian of prime order.     

Generalized reinhardt domains

In this paper we investigate a class of Lie group actions on , the so-calledpolar actions, that naturally generalize the standard actions. For a domain invariant under such an action (i.e., a generalized Reinhardt domain) we characterize the invariant plurisubharmonic functions and determine the envelope of holomorphy in geometric terms. For a generalized Reinhardt domain containing the origin of we also compute its automorphism group. Supported in part by NSF Grant 8602020