Cyclodextrin-initiated polymerization of cyclic esters in bulk: formation of polyester-tethered cyclodextrins

Cyclodextrins were found to initiate ring-opening polymerization of some cyclic esters selectively to give a polyester with a CD at the chain end.     

Chirality in Dynamic Supramolecular Nanotubes Induced by a Chiral Solvent

Amplification of chirality has been reported in polymeric systems. It has also been shown that related effects can occur in polymer‐like dynamic supramolecular aggregates, if a subtle balance between noncovalent interactions allows the coupling between a chiral information and a cooperative aggregation process. In this context, we report a strong majority‐rules effect in the formation of chiral dynamic nanotubes from chiral bisurea monomers. Furthermore, similar helical nanotubes (with the same circular dichroism signature) can be obtained from racemic monomers in a chiral solvent. Competition experiments reveal the relative strength of the helical bias induced by the chiral monomer or by the chiral solvent. The nanotube handedness is imposed by the monomer chirality, whatever the solvent chirality. However, the chirality of the solvent has a significant effect on the degree of chiral induction.     

6‐Azido‐6‐deoxy‐l‐idose as a Hetero‐Bifunctional Spacer for the Synthesis of Azido‐Containing Chemical Probes

The design of 6‐azido‐6‐deoxy‐l ‐idose for use as a hetero‐bifunctional spacer is reported. The hemiacetal at one terminus is an equivalent of an aldehyde and can react with nucleophiles, such as amino groups and electron‐rich aromatics. The azido group at the other terminus bio‐orthogonally undergoes a Hüisgen [3+2] cycloaddition with an acetylene. The idose derivative exhibited a higher level of reactivity towards oxime formation than a corresponding glucose derivative. The ¹³C NMR spectrum of the uniformly ¹³C‐labeled 6‐azido‐idose indicated that the acyclic forms of the sugar totaled 0.3 % of all the isomers, whereas those of glucose totaled 0.01 %. The larger population of the acyclic forms of the idose derivative would result in higher reactivity towards electrophilic addition in comparison with glucose derivatives. Finally, we prepared a C‐idosyl epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) that bears an azido group through C‐glycosylation of EGCG with 6‐azido‐idose. This glycosyl form of the C‐idosyl EGCG exhibited a cytotoxicity against U266 cells that was comparable to that of EGCG. These results suggested that the EGCG derivative could be used as an effective chemical probe for the elucidation of EGCG biological functions.     

The Synthesis of trans‐Flavan‐3‐ol Gallates by Regioselective Oxidative Etherification and Their Cytotoxicity Mediated by 67 LR

We report on a chiral pool approach for the synthesis of trans‐flavan‐3‐ol gallates from epichlorohydrin. The trans‐flavan‐3‐ol gallates were prepared by the cycloetherification of the phenol at the C2 benzylic position of 2‐acylozyl‐1,3‐diarylpropane during regioselective C?H oxidation. The 1,3‐diarylpropanes were prepared starting from epichlorohydrin by epoxide opening with A and B ring precursors, followed by acylation of the resultant alcohol with galloyl chloride. The availability of both the enantiomers of epichlorohydrin allowed the preparation of the corresponding enantiomer using the same procedure. The cytotoxicity of the compounds against U266 cells was tested, in which 5‐deoxy‐7,3′‐O‐dimethyl gallocatechin gallate exhibited cytotoxicity that was more than ten times stronger than natural (?)‐EGCG. In addition, the absolute configuration of the derivatives did not critically affect the biological activity.     

Stereoselective Complex Formation between Polybutadiene and Cyclodextrins in Bulk

Polybutadienes (PBs) are found to form inclusion complexes with cyclodextrins (CDs) stereoselectively to give crystalline compounds in bulk. These complexes have been isolated and characterized by means of ¹H NMR and ¹³C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction. Although α‐CD did not form inclusion complexes with any kinds of PBs in aqueous solutions, α‐CD did form inclusion complexes with PBs having 1,4‐cis‐ and 1,4‐trans‐butadiene units in bulk by heating at 100 °C. On the other hand, PB having 79% of a 1,2‐structure did not form inclusion complexes with α‐CD. The yield of the inclusion complexes increases with an increase in the content of the 1,4‐cis‐structure of PB and decreases with the molecular weights of the PBs.

     

Surface characterization of imidazolium ionic liquids by high-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The surface composition of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM] [PF₆]) and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([BMIM] [DCA]) are studied by high-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Although [BMIM] [PF₆] is almost stoichiometric up to the topmost molecular layer, considerable deviation from the theoretical stoichiometry is observed for [BMIM] [DCA] in a surface layer of ～1.5 nm thickness. Nitrogen is almost completely depleted in this layer while carbon is enhanced. In addition, there are oxygen impurities of ～3 × 10¹⁴ atoms/cm² in this surface layer. With the help of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements it is concluded that the surface of [BMIM] [DCA] is covered by ～1.7 × 10¹⁴ molecules/cm² of esters and/or carboxylic acids. These contaminant molecules have a preferred orientation, i.e. the carbonyl groups are on the surface of [BMIM] [DCA] and the alkyl chains are pointing towards vacuum. The origin of the contamination layer could be the surface segregation of bulk impurities.     

Novel Synthesis of Optically Active 2‐Ethylhexanoic Acid, 2‐Ethylhexanol,and 2‐Ethylhexylamine via the Asymmetric Favorskii Rearrangement

The asymmetric Favorskii rearrangement of optically active α‐haloketones, which are easily prepared from chiral menthyl‐4‐toluenesulfoxide in several steps using primary or secondary amines, yields their corresponding secondary or tertiary chiral amides. The secondary chiral amides were converted to acids or amines using acylation followed by hydrolysis or reduction. In addition, the tertiary amides were directly reduced to alcohol with Super‐Hydride^®.     

Au nanorod arrays tailored for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

We have demonstrated surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) on arrays of Au nanorods aligned in line by a dynamic oblique deposition technique. For light polarized along the major axes of the nanorods, the plasma resonance of the Au nanorods has been tuned to a wavelength suitable for Raman spectroscopy. Raman scattering on the discrete nanorods is significantly enhanced compared with that on semicontinuous Au films. Since the preparation process is physically bottom-up, it is robust in its selection of the materials and is useful for providing SERS sensors at low cost.     

Remote induction of stereoselective 1,2-addition of aryl Grignard reagents to β-sulfinyl enones

Optically active tert-allylic alcohols constitute important and often challenging targets in organic synthesis. In this work, we employed a β-sulfinyl moiety as a remote chiral auxiliary to effect asymmetric 1,2-addition of aryl Grignard reagents to enones to form a variety of optically active tert-allylic alcohols. The absolute configuration of a representative alcohol product was determined by X-ray crystallography.