Stilbenophane analogues of deoxycombretastatin A-4

A new family of polyoxygenated stilbenophanes has been synthesized as conformationally restricted analogues of antimitotic combretastatins. By means of the McMurry olefination process, compounds derived from diethyleneglycol and 1,6-hexanediol were obtained, whereas Grubbs' catalyst failed in producing the ring-closing metathesis to this kind of macrocyclic products.     

A facile tandem carbene-ylide route to 2-fluoropyrrole derivatives

2-Fluoropyrroles were synthesised via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of iminiodifluoromethanides derived from corresponding imines and difluorocarbene to dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate.     

Mathematical model for the analytical signal of an herbicide sensor based on the reaction centre of Rhodobacter sphaeroides

This paper introduces a mathematical model which makes it possible both to determine the concentration of photosynthetic herbicides and to obtain a quantitative parameter in order to compare their activity using a previously described sensing system. The working principle involves the changes in absorption properties at 860 nm of the reaction centre (RC) isolated from the bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides when photosynthetic herbicides are present. The method has been used for the determination and activity comparison of five photosynthetic herbicides: diuron, atrazine, terbutryn, terbuthylazine and simazine. Detection limits obtained were 2.2, 0.75, 0.046, 0.25, and 1.4 μM, respectively. The resulting order for the different herbicides according to their action on RC was: terbutryn > terbuthylazine > atrazine > simazine > diuron.     

Convenient synthesis of nucleoside and isonucleoside analogues

[reaction: see text]. A very simple methodology to stereoselectively achieve tricyclic isonucleosides (nucleobase = thymine, uracil, and 5-fluoruracil) and 3'-C-branched nucleosides (nucleobase = theophylline) was performed by means of a DBU-mediated addition process using a readily available 2-bromo sugar. The mechanism for these transformations implies the loss of both substituents at C-2 and C-3 on the sugar moiety, and although it seems that DBU is probably involved, its involvement has not yet been ascertained. Cytosine did not react under these conditions.     

31P NMR spectroscopy as a powerful tool for the determination of enantiomeric excess and absolute configurations of alpha-amino acids

An easy method for the determination of the enantiomeric excess (ee) of mixtures of alpha-amino acids, and also for the elucidation of the absolute configuration of each component of the mixture, is reported. The method is based on the formation of diastereoisomers by reaction of the enantiomerically pure acetylacetonate derivative [Pd(acac-O,O')(P(2)-dach)]ClO(4) (4) [P(2)-dach = (1R,2R)-C(6)H(10)(NHPPh(2))(2)] with d,l-mixtures of alpha-amino acids AaH (Pd:AaH = 1:1 molar ratio, refluxing MeOH). The reaction occurs with protonation of the acac ligand and N,O-coordination of the amino acidate group, giving the corresponding [Pd(Aa-N,O)(P(2)-dach)]ClO(4) complexes l-5 and d-6. The composition of these mixtures of amino acidate complexes was analyzed by integration of the corresponding peaks (four doublets, two for each diastereomer) in their (31)P((1)H) NMR spectra. A series of 14 alpha-amino acids was studied (a, alanine; b, 2-aminobutyric acid; c, valine; d, phenylalanine; e, proline; f, leucine; g, isoleucine; h, norleucine; i, serine; j, threonine; k, methionine; l, aspartic acid; m, glutamine; n, cysteine), and excellent agreement between the expected values of ee and those obtained from integration of the (31)P((1)H) NMR spectra was obtained. Moreover, the position of the signals of each isomer is diagnostic, in such a way that the outer doublets are always due to the l-derivatives 5a-l, while the inner ones are due to the d-derivatives 6a-l, allowing the assignation of absolute configurations to each isomer in the mixture.     

A density functional theory study of the gas-phase elimination reactions of 4-arylideneimino-1,2,4-triazol-3(2H )-ones and their 3(2H )-thione analogues

Theoretical studies on the thermolysis in the gas phase of 4-arylideneimino-1,2,4-triazol-3(2H)-ones and 4-arylideneimino-1,2,4-triazol-3(2H)-thiones were carried out using density functional theory methods, at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) and B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,p) levels of theory. The proposed reaction mechanism occurs in one step, leading to the formation of 3-hydroxy-(2H)-1,2,4-triazole or 3-mercapto-(2H)-1,2,4-triazole and a 4-substituted benzonitrile, via a six-membered cyclic transition state. The progress of the reactions was followed by means of the Wiberg bond indices. The results indicate that the transition states have character intermediate between reactants and products, and the calculated synchronicities show that the reactions are slightly asynchronous, in the case of triazolones, and show a higher asynchronicity in the case of triazolthiones. The bond-breaking processes are slightly more advanced than the bond-forming ones, indicating a small bond deficiency in the transition states. Kinetic and activation parameters for the reactions studied have been calculated and compared with available experimental data.From the Proceedings of the 28th Congreso deQuímicos Teóricos de Expresión Latina (QUITEL 2002)     

Electroreduction of some pyridine carboxamides on carbon electrodes in aqueous solutions

The electroreductions of the NAD⁺ model compounds nicotinamide (I), N₁-methyl nicotinamide (II), N′-methyl nicotinamide (III) and isonicotinamide (IV) on carbon electrodes have been studied in aqueous media in the pH range 0–12 by linear-sweep cyclic voltammetry (Scheme 1, I-IV). Logarithmic analyses of the reduction peaks were performed by computing the convolution of the current with time as a function of the potential. On the basis of the experimental results it was concluded that the irreversibility of the electron transfers increased when a glassy carbon electrode was used, and this irreversibility being more marked when a plastic formed carbon electrode was employed. The reduction processes occurred with more difficulty on carbon electrodes than on mercury electrodes. Both the reduction and the reoxidation (when occurred) processes changed with respect to those observed on mercury electrodes, being irreversible electron transfers the rate-determining steps in most cases. Thus, for compounds I, II and III at pH < 2 the reductions occurred by the uptake of two electrons and two H⁺ ions, and the rate determining step was found to be the first one-electron transfer, for I and III, and the irreversible second electron transfer, preceded by the uptake of an H+ ion, for II. At pH>3 the processes consisted of electrodimerization reactions, preceded by the protonation of the heterocyclic nitrogen in cases I and III. The second electron transfer of the electroreduction of IV always appeared irreversible, in contrast with that found for mercury electrodes.     

The methoxycarbonylcarbene insertion into 1,3-dithiolane and 1,3-oxathiolane rings

Treatment of substituted 1,3-dithiolanes and 1,3-oxathiolanes with methyl diazoacetate in the presence of Rh₂(OAc)₄ effects ring expansion to the corresponding substituted 1,4-dithiane-2-carboxylates and 1,4-oxathiane-3-carboxylates. The sulfur ylides initially generated in these reactions undergo Stevens rearrangement in competition with both [2,3]-C-C-sigmatropic rearrangement and intramolecular fragmentation. In the case of 2-styryl-substituted 1,3-oxathiolane and 1,3-dithiolane, ring expansion on one-, three- and four-carbons subsequently takes place.     

Indium(I) bromide-mediated coupling of dibromoacetonitrile with aldehydes followed by Boord elimination of bromine and oxygen of β-bromo alkoxides for preparation of 3-organyl-2-alkenenitriles

The organoindium compound derived from indium monobromide and dibromoacetonitrile reacts with carbonyl compounds to afford the corresponding 2-bromo-2-cyano-indium(III) alkoxide. The action of a second equivalent of indium monobromide onto the alkoxides derived from aldehydes promotes the Boord elimination of the β-related oxygen and bromine atoms leading to 2-alkenenitriles.     

Generating M-Indeterminate Probability Densities by Way of Quantum Mechanics

Probability densities that are not uniquely determined by their moments are said to be “moment-indeterminate,” or “M-indeterminate.” Determining whether or not a density is M-indeterminate, or how to generate an M-indeterminate density, is a challenging problem with a long history. Quantum mechanics is inherently probabilistic, yet the way in which probability densities are obtained is dramatically different in comparison with standard probability theory, involving complex wave functions and operators, among other aspects. Nevertheless, the end results are standard probabilistic quantities, such as expectation values, moments and probability density functions. We show that the quantum mechanics procedure to obtain densities leads to a simple method to generate an infinite number of M-indeterminate densities. Different self-adjoint operators can lead to new classes of M-indeterminate densities. Depending on the operator, the method can produce densities that are of the Stieltjes class or new formulations that are not of the Stieltjes class. As such, the method complements and extends existing approaches and opens up new avenues for further development. The method applies to continuous and discrete probability densities. A number of examples are given.