The C-ring problem of sterol biosynthesis: TiCl(4)-induced rearrangement into the anti-Markovnikov cation corresponding to the C-ring

[reaction: see text] Cation 9, generated by the reaction of diol 8 and BF(3).Et(2)O, SnCl(4), Sc(OTf)(3), FeCl(3), TiF(4), or CF(3)SO(3)H, leads to a hydride shift, providing cation 11, which corresponds to the initiation of backbone rearrangement. On the other hand, TiCl(4) selectively induces rearrangement to secondary cation 13 by ring expansion, which corresponds to the C-ring formation of sterol biosynthesis. AlCl(3) and ZrCl(4) induce further rearrangement into six-membered ring tert-cation 16.     

Clathrate hydrate formation in (methane + water + methylcyclohexanone) systems: the first phase equilibrium data

The present study experimentally demonstrated clathrate hydrate formation in the systems of (methane + water + each of the three methylcyclohexanone isomers, i.e., 2-methylcyclohexanone, 3-methylcyclohexanone, and 4-methylcyclohexanone) and measured the first data of the quadruple (water rich liquid + hydrate + methylcyclohexanone rich liquid + methane rich vapor) equilibrium pressure and temperature conditions in these systems over the temperatures from T=273 K to T=281 K. In the three systems with methylcyclohexanone, the measured equilibrium pressure at each given temperature is ∼1.3 MPa lower than that in a structure-I hydrate forming (methane + water) system without any methylcyclohexanone, which suggests the formation of structure-H hydrates with methylcyclohexanones as large-molecule guest substances. Among the three systems, 3-methylcyclohexanone provides the highest equilibrium pressure, and 2-methylcyclohexanone, the lowest.     

Effect of pressure on electrophoretic mobility of polystyrene latex particles

A capillary electrophoresis system that can apply arbitrary helium gas pressures at both inlet and outlet reservoirs was constructed. The system was used to investigate the effect of pressure on electrophoretic behavior of polystyrene latex particles. The electrophoretic mobility of latex particles was increased with the application of pressure (< 3.0 kgf/cm2). The shrinkage of particle diameter under pressurization was observed using a microscope, however, the magnitude of shrinkage was not enough to explain the increase in electrophoretic mobility. Therefore, the application of pressure might increase the electric charge of the latex particle. Since methanol inhibited the enhancement in the electrophoretic mobility of the latex particles, water might play an important role in increasing mobility.     

Phosphorescence of biacetyl sensitized by benzene in gas phase pulse radiolysis

The phophorescence of biacetyl induced by an energy transfer to biacetyl from triplet benzene produced in the pulse radiolysis of benzene-biacetyl mixtures has been studied. The time required to reach the maximum intensity of phosphorescence, t_max, after the electron pulse, varies as a function of biacetyl pressure at constant benzene pressure (40 torr), which gives the lifetime of triplet benzene τ = (6.7 ± 3.2) × 10⁻⁶ s and the rate constant of the energy transfer k_{C6H6^*(T1) + biacetyl} = (1.6 ± 0.7) × 10⁻¹⁰ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹.     

CpRu(PN) complex-catalyzed isomerization of allylic alcohols and its application to the asymmetric synthesis of muscone

Highly efficient isomerization of allylic alcohols into saturated carbonyls is accomplished using the catalyst system of Cp*RuCl[Ph2P(CH2)2NH2-kappa2-P,N]-KOt-Bu (Cp* = eta5-C5(CH3)5) under mild conditions. Mechanistic consideration based on isotope-labeling experiments indicated the present reaction is applicable to the asymmetric isomerization of racemic sec-allylic alcohols with a prochiral olefin via dynamic kinetic resolution. A concise asymmetric synthesis of muscone has been achieved, where the asymmetric isomerization using an optically active ligand is a key reaction.     

Photostabilizing activity of tertiary hindered amines

The influence of the N-alkyl group of tertiary hindered amines on the photostabilization of polymers was studied. The photostabilizing effects of the tertiary amine derivatives of 4-benzoyloxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine ( 1a ) in polypropylene were compared. All tertiary amine derivatives having α-H to hindered N showed higher effectiveness than 1a . Model liquid phase photoxidations were carried out by irradiating (UV-lamp) the solutions of tertiary hindered amines containing tert-butyl hydroperoxide as a photoinitiator. The tertiary hindered amines were oxidized more easily than corresponding parent hindered amine and converted to the parent amine, which was identified as its salt, resulting from the carboxylic acid produced from the N-alkyl group by oxidation. The thermal reaction of the tertiary hindered amines with tert-butyl hydroperoxide was also studied in the liquid phase. The tertiary hindered amines decomposed tert-butyl hydroperoxide more rapidly than the parent secondary hindered amine, and generated the parent amine. It was also found that the photostabilizing effects of tertiary hindered amines for polyolefins were higher than that of the parent secondary hindered amine.     

Syntheses and reactions of hexavalent organotellurium compounds bearing five or six tellurium-carbon bonds

A variety of hexaorganotellurium compounds, Ar(6-n)(CH3)nTe [Ar=4-CF3C6H4, n=0 (1a), n=1 (3a), n=2 (trans-4a and cis-4a), n=3 (mer-5a), n=4 (trans-6a); Ph, n=0 (1b), n=1 (3b), n=2 (trans-4b); 4-CH3C6H4, n=0 (1c), n=1 (3c), n=2 (trans-4c), n=4 (trans-6c); 4-BrC6H4, n=0 (1d)] and Ar5(R)Te [Ar=4-CF3C6H4, R=4-CH3OC6H4 (8); Ar=4-CF3C6H4, R=vinyl (9), Ar=Ph, R=vinyl (10), Ar=4-CF3C6H4, R=PhSCH2 (11), Ar=Ph, R=PhSCH2 (12), Ar=4-CF3C6H4, R=nBu (13)] and pentaorganotellurium halides, Ar5TeX [Ar=4-CF3C6H4, X=Cl (2a-Cl), X=Br (2a-Br); Ar=Ph, X=Cl (2b-Cl), X=Br (2b-Br); Ar=4-CH3C6H4, X=Cl (2c-Cl), X=Br (2c-Br); Ar=4-BrC6H4, X=Br (2d-Br)] and (4-CF3C6H4)4(CH3)TeX [X=Cl (trans-7a-Cl) and X=Br (trans-7a-Br)] were synthesized by the following methods: 1) one-pot synthesis of 1 a, 2) the reaction of SO2Cl2 or Br2 with Ar5Te(-)Li+ generated from TeCl4 or TeBr4 with five equivalents of ArLi, 3) reductive cleavage of Ar(6-m)(CH3)(m)Te (m=0 or 2) with KC8 followed by treatment with CH3I, 4) valence expansion reaction from low-valent tellurium compounds by treatment with KC8 followed by reaction with CH3I, 5) nucleophilic substitution of Ar(6-y-z)(CH3)zTeX(y-z) (X=Cl, Br, OTf; z=0, 1; y=1, 2) with organolithium reagents. The scope and limitations and some details for each method are discussed and electrophilic halogenation of the hexaorganotellurium compounds is also described.     

Photostabilizing activity of N-acylated hindered amine

The influence of the acyl groups of N-acylated hindered amine on the photostabilization of polymers was discussed. The effects of the N-acyl derivatives of 4-benzoyloxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine ( 6 ) in the photostabilization of polypropylene were compared. Although the stabilizing effects of all the N-acyl derivatives were lower than that of the N-oxyl derivative ( 7 ), N-acryloyl ( 4 ) and N-benzoyl ( 5 ) derivatives showed higher effects than that of parent N? H 6 . To discuss the stabilizing mechanism of N-acylated hindered amine, the reaction of N-acylated hindered amine with model hydroperoxide (tert-butyl hydroperoxide) was carried out at an elevated temperature (132°C). N-Acylated hindered amine decomposed tert-butyl hydroperoxide more rapidly than corresponding secondary hindered amine, and changed into the parent secondary amine.     

Rapid and selective identification of molecular species in phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin by conditional neutral loss scanning and MS3

Analyses of molecular species of phospholipids containing choline (Ch), such as phosphatidylcholine (PC) and sphingomyelin (SM), are reported. Neutral loss scanning was applied for the selective detection of these lipids using a quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometer. By using ammonium formate as an elution buffer, both PC and SM were detected as [M+HCOO]- ions in the negative ion mode. Upon collisional activation, the [M+HCOO]- adduct ions underwent facile elimination of HCO2, to yield an ion which, in turn, readily underwent collisional-induced dissociation (CID) to eliminate CH3 to yield an [M-CH3]- ion. By selecting the proper conditions for scanning for neutral loss of 60 Da (HCO2+CH3), SM species were identified separately from PCs. Further, by selection of this [M-CH3]- ion as the precursor ion, the identities of the fatty acyl chains of PC species can be effectively obtained by MS3 experiments. Furthermore, by the MS3 analyses of [M-CH3]- specifically obtained from SM molecules, identification of sphingosine or sphinganine derivatives and their N-acyl species can also be effectively obtained. This systematic analysis of PCs and SMs by conditional neutral loss scanning, with subsequent analyses by MS3, using a linear ion trap mass spectrometer in the negative ion mode, appears to be a very effective and sensitive method. Further, MS/MS in the positive ion mode at relatively low collision energy was also effective for the identification of positional specificities in individual molecular PC species from their lysoPC-related fragments. The present paper deals only with qualitative identification of individual molecular species, and the related quantitative studies are now underway.     

Catalytic highly enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with 3-alkenoyl-2-oxazolidinones by use of a bidentate chiral bis(imine) ligand–Cu(II) triflate complex

A copper(II) triflate complex with bidentate, chiral C₂-symmetric cyclohexane-1,2-bis[(2,6-dichlorophenylmethylene)amine] catalyzed the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones with electron-deficient dipolarophiles, 3-(2-alkenoyl)-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones to give isoxazolidine cycloadducts with extremely high endo- and enantioselectivities.