A novel catalyst-free mechanochemical protocol for the synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-1H-perimidines

A rapid, efficient, and green grinding assisted method for the synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-1H-perimidines has been developed. 1,8-Diaminonaphthalene and aldehydes were ground using mortar and pestle for 5 minutes affording the product in moderate to excellent yields. The methodology minimises the use of conventional workup and column chromatographic techniques.     

Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Cyclotides from Clitoria ternatea: Xxx-Pro Bond Fragmentation as Convenient Diagnostic of Pro Residue Positioning

Cyclotides, a class of macrocyclic plant peptides, characterized by a cyclic backbone and three inter-locking disulfide bonds, may be divided into two major structural subfamilies, Möbius and Bracelet, based on the presence or absence of a specific proline residue. The present study describes the suite of cyclotides obtained from Clitoria ternatea, characterized by LC−MS and MS/MS techniques. Notable variations in product ion distributions were observed in cyclotides belonging to different structural subfamilies based on the number and positions of proline residues. For instance, Cter M which is an abundant Möbius cyclotide in this plant containing three proline residues, displayed distinct b- and y- ion characteristics in the MS/MS spectra compared to Cliotide T1, another commonly identified cyclotide but belonging to the Bracelet subfamily having two proline residues. The distinct fragmentation pattern of prototypical cyclotides of each structural subfamily, determined by Xxx-Pro bond fragmentation, was used to rapidly identify and sequence a novel cyclotide ctr pep 30 from this plant.     

Greener Ullmann-Type Coupling of Aryl Halides for Preparing Biaryls Using Reusable Pd/ZrO2 Catalyst

Biaryls with excellent yields can be prepared by the Ullmann-type coupling of aryl halides in the presence of potassium carbonate (as a base) and dimethylformamide (as a solvent), at 140 °C, using a reusable Pd (2.5 wt%)/ZrO₂ catalyst. The product yield of 4-iodoanisole coupling is strongly influenced by the catalyst preparation method, solvent, and base.     

Isolation, characterisation and cytotoxicity study of arjunolic acid from Terminalia arjuna

Arjunolic acid (AA), a triterpenoid, was isolated from the ethyl acetate and methanol extracts of Terminalia arjuna core wood. The purity of AA was analysed by its melting point, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy analyses. In?vitro cytotoxicity was assessed using Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) and Dalton's lymphoma (DAL) cell lines by incubating with different concentrations of AA. The cancer cell death percentage at 100?μg concentrations of AA ranged between 66% and 70% on the DAL and EAC cell lines, respectively. This infers that AA causes considerable membrane damage to cancer cells.     

A new diterpene from the leaves of Andrographis paniculata Nees

Phytochemical investigation of the methanolic extract of the leaves of Andrographis paniculata Nees yielded a minor, new diterpene, 21-nor-3,19-isopropylidine-14-deoxy-ent-labda-8(17),13-dien-16,15-olide (1), together with five known labdane type diterpenes, andrographolide 3, 14-deoxyandrographolide 4, 14-deoxy-12-hydroxyandrographolide 5, 14-deoxy-11,12-dihydroandrographolide 6, neoandrographolide 7, and two acids, cinnamic acid 8, and ferulic acid 9. The chemical structures were established by spectroscopic analyses, including 1D- and 2D-NMR spectroscopic experiments, and on the basis of HR-ESI MS analyses. The methanolic extract of the leaves exhibited moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities at a dose of 200 microg/mL in comparison with the reference standards.     

Synthesis and characterization of mixed ligand complexes of Zn(II) and Co(II) with amino acids: Relevance to zinc binding sites in zinc fingers

Mixed ligand complexes of Zn(II) and Co(II) with cysteine, histidine, cysteinemethylester, and histidinemethylester have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, conductivity, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and infrared,¹H NMR, TGA and FAB mass spectra. In these complexes, histidine, and histidinemethylester act as bidentate ligands involving amino and imidazole nitrogens in metal coordination. Similarly, cysteine, and cysteinemethylester also act as bidentate ligands coordinating through thiol sulphur and amino nitrogen. Tetrahedral geometry has been proposed for Zn(II) and Co(II) complexes based on experimental evidence.     

Unexpected observations during the total synthesis of calothrixin B–sodium methoxide as a source of hydride

During the total synthesis of calothrixin B, various novel and unexpected results were noticed such as cleavage of C–N bond in imine using sodium cyanoborohydride, sodium methoxide as a hydride source for reduction, deformylation in the presence of bromine, and deacylation using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN). A detailed mechanism has been proposed for the unexpected results and a few of them are generalized. Temperature dependent NMR studies have been carried out for confirmation of the structure of one of the intermediates in the synthetic sequence.     

Combination of AlCl3, Ionic Liquid,and Microwaves: An Efficient Method for Dehydration and 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition: An Unusual Observation in the Presence of Acrylonitrile

Use of a combination of ionic liquids in the presence of aluminium chloride and microwave irradiation was shown to be a very efficient and high-yielding method for the dehydration of aldoximes and also for 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. Surprisingly, the presence of acrylonitrile rendered an unusual formation of substituted amide.