Photochemistry of iminium salts : Electron transfer mechanisms for singlet quenching and photoaddition of n-electron donating alcohols and ethers

Several aspects of past and current studies in the area of iminium salt photochemistry are discussed. Investigations of olefin-iminium salt photoaddition and photocyclization reactions are reviewed and conclusions about electron-transfer pathways for fluorescence quenching and reaction are discussed. The results of recent studies of alcohol and ether photoaddition to 2-phenyl-1-pyrrolinium salts are presented. These C-C bond forming processes occur in moderate yields to produce β-amino alcohol or ether products. In addition, alcohols and ethers serve as efficient quenchers of pyrrolinium salt fluorescence. Rate constants for quenching appear to be dependent upon both the oxidation potential of the alcohols and ethers and the availability of C-H bond α to oxygen. This data along with deuterium isotope effects on quenching combine to suggest a common mechanism for both fluorescence quenching and photoaddition. The nature of this mechanism is tested using the comparative quenching effeciencies of the tertiary alcohols t-butyl alcohol and 1,2,2-trimethyl-1-cyclopropanol. The latter alcohol having a weak C-C bond adjacent to the hydroxyl function quenches the fluorescence of 2-phenyl-1-pyrrolium salts at a rate two orders of magnitude greater than for t-butyl alcohol. The observations made are interpreted in terms of a sequential electron-proton transfer mechanism for quenching and photoaddition. Lastly, the relationship of iminium salt photochemical studies to other investigations of electron-transfer photochemistry is discussed.     

Two dimensional reversed-phase-reversed-phase separations isomeric separations incorporating C18 and carbon clad zirconia stationary phases

Informational theory and a geometric approach to factor analysis were employed to evaluate the degree of orthogonality of a two-dimensional reversed-phase-reversed-phase chromatographic system. The system incorporated a C18 column as one dimension and a carbon clad zirconia column as the second dimension. In order to study the resolving power of this system, the separation of a sample matrix containing an artificial mix of 32 isomers (structural and diastereoisomers) was evaluated. Using this system, between 25 and 28 of the 32 isomers could be separated, depending on the mobile phase combinations--with resolution that could not possibly be achieved in a single one dimensional separation. The results from this study indicate that in order to fully evaluate the resolving power of a 2D system multiple methods of analysis are most appropriate. This becomes increasingly important when the sample contains components that are very closely related and the retention of solutes is clustered in one quadrant of the 2D space. Ultimately, the usefulness of the 2D separation is determined by the goals of analyst.     

Rearrangement of phenylethenes on reaction with iodine-xenon difluoride

Phenyl-substituted ethenes react with iodine and xenon difluoride to provide difluorinated products. Iodofluoro intermediates react with xenon difluoride to produce transient iodine difluoride species that lose IF and F(-) and produce carbocations.     

Computational studies of Cu(II)/Met and Cu(I)/Met binding motifs relevant for the chemistry of Alzheimer's disease

A systematic study of the binding motifs of Cu(II) and Cu(I) to a methionine model peptide, namely, N-formylmethioninamide 1, has been carried out by quantum chemical computations. Geometries of the coordination modes obtained at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory are discussed in the context of copper coordination by the peptide backbone and the S atom of a methionine residue in peptides with special emphasis on Met35 of the amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) of Alzheimer's disease. The relative binding free energies in the gas phase, DeltaG(g), are calculated at the B3LYP/6-311+G(2df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory, and the solvation affects are included by means of the COSMO model to obtain the relative binding energies in solution, DeltaG(aq). A free energy of binding, DeltaG(aq) = -19.4 kJ mol(-1), relative to aqueous Cu(II) and the free peptide is found for the most stable Cu(II)/Met complex, 12. The most stable Cu(I)/Met complex, 23, is bound by -15.6 kJ mol(-1) relative to the separated species. The reduction potential relative to the standard hydrogen electrode is estimated to be E degrees (12/23) = 0.41 V. On the basis of these results, the participation of Met35 as a low affinity binding site of Cu(II) in Abeta, and its role in the redox chemistry underlying Alzheimer's disease is discussed.     

Synthesis of [ethylene-1-(eta(5)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1-indenyl)-2- (eta(5)-4',5',6',7'-tetrahydro-2'-indenyl)]titanium dichloride, the elusive isomer of the Brintzinger-type ansa-titanocenes

We present a short synthesis of 1-(2-indenyl)-2-(3-indenyl)ethane (5) and a method for its conversion to the ansa-metallocene [ethylene(eta5-inden-1-yl)(eta5-inden-2-yl)]titanium dichloride (13). The synthetic strategy applied to prepare bisindene 5 relies on the efficient alkylation of 2-(phenylsulfonyl)indane followed by HMPA-assisted E1cB-elimination of phenylsulfinate. This tandem sequence circumvents the predisposition of indene to undergo C(1)-alkylation and enables access to C(2)-substituted indenes. The key step in the synthesis of the title ansa-titanocene (4) features a previously unreported equilibration step to generate the bis(indenide anion) of 5. Complexation with TiCl4.(THF)2 followed by hydrogenation of the product metallocene furnishes ansa-titanocene 4.     

A general strategy for the diastereoselective synthesis of 2,6-diaryl-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane lignans

A strategy for the stereoselective synthesis of all the possible diastereoisomers of the 2,6-diaryl-3,7-dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octane (furofuran) lignans from a single dihydrofuran precursor is described. The key steps involve a diastereocontrolled templated cationic cyclization followed by stereoselective reduction of the resulting methyl glycoside.     

Molecular recognition in a uradinyl-functionalized stable radical

Stable radical 2-(6-uradinyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-1-oxyl (1) binds to hydrogen-bonding complement 2,6-di(propylamido)pyridine (DAP) in chloroform with Ka=220 M(-1) at 33 degrees C; ESI-MS shows not only 1:DAP complementary dyad formation, but also 1:(DAP)2 formation at higher concentrations of DAP.     

Clustering of nucleosides in the presence of alkali metals: Biologically relevant quartets of guanosine,deoxyguanosine and uridine observed by ESI-MS/MS

Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectra of nucleosides, recorded in the presence of alkali metals, display alkali metal ion-bound quartets and other clusters that may have implications for understanding non-covalent interactions in DNA and RNA. The tetramers of guanosine and deoxyguanosine and also their metaclusters (clusters of clusters), cationized by alkali metals, were observed as unusually abundant magic number clusters. The observation of these species in the gas phase parallels previous condensed-phase studies, which show that guanine derivatives can form quartets and metaclusters of quartets in solution in the presence of metal cations. This parallel behavior and also internal evidence suggest that bonding in the guanosine tetramers involves the bases rather than the sugar units. The nucleobases thymine and uracil are known to form magic number pentameric adducts with K+, Cs+ and NH4+ in the gas phase. In sharp contrast, we now show that the nucleosides uridine and deoxythymidine do not form the pentameric clusters characteristic of the corresponding bases. More subtle effects of the sugars are evident in the fact that adenosine and cytidine form numerous higher order clusters with alkali metals, whereas deoxyadenosine and deoxycytidine show no clustering. It is suggested that hydrogen bonding between the bases in the tetramers of dG and rG are the dominant interactions in the clusters, hence changing the ribose group to deoxyribose (and vice versa) generally has little effect. However, the additional hydroxyl group of RNA nucleosides enhances the non-selective formation of higher-order aggregates for adenosine and cytidine and results in the lack of highly stable magic number clusters. Some clusters are the result of aggregation in the course of ionization (ESI) whereas others appear to be intrinsic to the solution being examined.     

A catalytic asymmetric method for the synthesis of gamma-unsaturated beta-amino acid derivatives

Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of beta-amino acid derivatives is an area of intense interest, due to the importance of these compounds as components in pharmaceutical agents and peptidomimetics. In this report, we present the first catalytic enantioselective method for the synthesis of gamma-unsaturated beta-amino acids and their corresponding 1,3-amino alcohol derivatives. This methodology takes advantage of a highly enantioselective vinylzinc addition to an aldehyde to set chirality. The resulting allylic alcohols are then transformed into the corresponding allylic amines via Overman's [3,3]-sigmatropic imidate rearrangement, and subsequent one-pot deprotection-oxidation of a pendant oxygen leads to the gamma-unsaturated beta-amino acid derivatives of high enantiopurity.     

Strategy of analysis for the estimation of the bioavailability of zinc in foodstuffs

After the application of simulated digestive fluids (gastric and intestinale fluid) as extraction solutions, AAS and differential pulse anodic-stripping voltammetry (DPASV) were used as analytical methods in combination with ion-exchange procedures for the determination of zinc species and total zinc contents. The ion exchange procedure and the shifting of electrochemical potentials as well as changes of the calibration slope after standard addition in the polarographic analysis allowed discriminating statements with regard to a possible resorption of zinc. On the basis of these methods, a strategy is presented for in vitro investigations of the bioavailability of zinc in foodstuffs.