Inverted and suppressed direct response HMQC-TOCSY spectra - a convenient method of spectral editing

HMQC-TOCSY spectra provide a convenient means of establishing proton-proton connectivities in congested spectra of complex aromatic heterocycles. Advantage is taken of the greater dispersion of the ¹³C nmr spectrum to circumvent overlap which would preclude spectral interpretation through the usual COSY spectrum. A recently reported method for inverting direct responses (IDR) in HMQC-TOCSY spectra is demonstrated for [1]benzothieno[2,3-c]naphtho[2,1-g]quinoline. A modification of the IDR-HMQC-TOCSY method is also demonstrated which is capable of fully suppressing direct responses (SDR) without resorting to the timing of the onset of decoupling as in the original report of the HMQC-TOCSY experiment. SDR-HMQC-TOCSY has the further advantage of allowing the use of higher levels of digitization in F₂ than can be attained when broadband heteronuclear decoupling is employed.     

Ionic Liquid Crystals Formed by Self‐Assembly around an Anionic Anthracene Core

We have designed and synthesised a series of modular, mesogenic complexes based on anthracene‐2,6‐disulfonate and trialkoxybenzyl‐functionalised imidazolium cations. Each complex contains a central, rigid, dianionic anthracene core and two flexible monocations bearing paraffin chains anchored on imidazolium rings. Anthracene‐2,6‐disulfonate can be crystallised with various simple alkylammonium ions and, in the case of ⁺N(CH₃)₂(C₁₆H₃₃)₂, a crystal structure determination has shown that the long paraffinic chains are intercalated between the anthracene moieties. The dianion forms columnar mesophases with trialkoxybenzylimidazolium cations, as identified by polarising optical microscopy and X‐ray scattering measurements. Differential scanning calorimetry studies confirmed mesomorphic behaviour from room temperature to about 200 °C for alkyl chains containing 8, 12 and 16 carbon atoms. The strong luminescence of anthracene is maintained in the mesophase and fluorescence measurements confirmed the presence of J aggregates in all cases. The new functional materials described herein provide an easy access to stable and luminescent mesomorphic materials engineered by an ionic self‐assembly process.     

Scaleable processes for the synthesis of (−)-β-d-2,6-diaminopurine dioxolane (Amdoxovir,DAPD) and (−)-β-d-2-aminopurine dioxolane (APD)

An efficient and scalable synthesis of (?)-DAPD and (?)-APD has been developed. We discovered that t-butyl cyanoacetate can be used as a new additive for the sugar nucleoside base coupling step en route to DAPD with improved β-selectivity and an isolated yield four-fold greater than the original process scale method. Using this new process, (?)-DAPD has been prepared on greater than 20 g scale. In the synthesis of (?)-APD, a key enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis reaction afforded the water soluble deprotected α-anomer while leaving the β-anomer completely untouched.     

Stable Anticancer Gold(III)–Porphyrin Complexes: Effects of Porphyrin Structure

In the design of physiologically stable anticancer gold(III) complexes, we have employed strongly chelating porphyrinato ligands to stabilize a gold(III) ion [Chem. Commun. 2003 , 1718; Coord. Chem. Rev. 2009 , 253, 1682]. In this work, a family of gold(III) tetraarylporphyrins with porphyrinato ligands containing different peripheral substituents on the meso‐aryl rings were prepared, and these complexes were used to study the structure–bioactivity relationship. The cytotoxic IC₅₀ values of [Au(Por)]⁺ (Por=porphyrinato ligand), which range from 0.033 to >100 μM , correlate with their lipophilicity and cellular uptake. Some of them induce apoptosis and display preferential cytotoxicity toward cancer cells than to normal noncancerous cells. A new gold(III)–porphyrin with saccharide conjugation [Au(4‐glucosyl‐TPP)]Cl ( 2 a ; H₂(4‐glucosyl‐TPP)=meso‐tetrakis(4‐β‐D ‐glucosylphenyl)porphyrin) exhibits significant cytostatic activity to cancer cells (IC₅₀=1.2–9.0 μM ) without causing cell death and is much less toxic to lung fibroblast cells (IC₅₀>100 μM ). The gold(III)–porphyrin complexes induce S‐phase cell‐cycle arrest of cancer cells as indicated by flow cytometric analysis, suggesting that the anticancer activity may be, in part, due to termination of DNA replication. The gold(III)–porphyrin complexes can bind to DNA in vitro with binding constants in the range of 4.9×10⁵ to 4.1×10⁶ dm³ mol^?1 as determined by absorption titration. Complexes 2 a and [Au(TMPyP)]Cl₅ ( 4 a ; [H₂TMPyP]⁴⁺=meso‐tetrakis(N‐methylpyridinium‐4‐yl)porphyrin) interact with DNA in a manner similar to the DNA intercalator ethidium bromide as revealed by gel mobility shift assays and viscosity measurements. Both of them also inhibited the topoisomerase I induced relaxation of supercoiled DNA. Complex 4 a , a gold(III) derivative of the known G‐quadruplex‐interactive porphyrin [H₂TMPyP]⁴⁺, can similarly inhibit the amplification of a DNA substrate containing G‐quadruplex structures in a polymerase chain reaction stop assay. In contrast to these reported complexes, complex 2 a and the parental gold(III)–porphyrin 1 a do not display a significant inhibitory effect (<10 %) on telomerase. Based on the results of protein expression analysis and computational docking experiments, the anti‐apoptotic bcl‐2 protein is a potential target for those gold(III)–porphyrin complexes with apoptosis‐inducing properties. Complex 2 a also displays prominent anti‐angiogenic properties in vitro. Taken together, the enhanced stabilization of the gold(III) ion and the ease of structural modification render porphyrins an attractive ligand system in the development of physiologically stable gold(III) complexes with anticancer and anti‐angiogenic activities.     

The preparation and characterization of mono- and bis-chelated cadmium(II) complexes of the di-2-pyridylketone Schiff base of S-methyldithiocarbazate (Hdpksme) and the X-ray crystal structure of the [Cd(dpksme)2] · 0.5 MeOH complex

New cadmium(II) complexes of empirical formulae, [Cd(dpksme)X] (dpksme = anionic form of the Schiff base; X = NCS^–, Cl^–, I^–) and [Cd(dpksme)₂] · 0.5MeOH, respectively have been prepared and characterized. The mono-ligated cadmium(II) complexes, [Cd(dpksme)X] are four-coordinate and tetrahedral but the bis-ligand complex, [Cd(dpksme)₂] · 0.5MeOH is six-coordinate and octahedral. The crystal and molecular structure of [Cd(dpksme)₂] · 0.5MeOH has been determined by X-ray diffraction. The complex has a distorted mer-octahedral structure in which the ligands are coordinated as uninegatively charged tridentate chelating agents via the pyridine nitrogen atoms, the azomethine nitrogen atoms and the thiolate sulfur atoms. The distortion from regular octahedral geometry is ascribed to the restricted bite angles of the ligands. The Schiff base and its cadmium(II) complexes exhibit mild antibacterial activities against Shigella dysenteriae, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. They are also mildly fungitoxic against the phytopathogenic fungi, Alternaria alternata and Macrophomina phaseolina.     

Synthesis of certain 6-alkylthio-2,2′-anhydro-5-azauridines

β-D-Arabinofurano[1′,2′:4,5]oxazolo-s-triazin-4-one-6-thione ( 7b ) and its t-butyldimethylsilyl protected counterpart 7a were synthesized by treating the appropriate 2-amino-β-D-arabinofurano[1′,2′:4,5]-2-oxazoline with ethoxycarbonyl isothiocyanate. These 2,2′-anhydro-s-triazine nucleosides were then subjected to alkylation under similar reaction conditions. Alkylation of 3′,5′-bis(O-t-butyldimethylsilyl)-β-D-arabinofurano[1′,2′:-4,5]oxazolo-s-triazin-4-one-6-thione ( 7a ) provided the targeted S-alkylated nucleosides, i.e., the C6-SCH₃ ( 9a ), C6-SCH₂-CH = CH₂ ( 10a ), and C6-S-CH₂-C = CH ( 11a ), in reasonable yields. Attempted deprotection of these nucleosides failed. In order to circumvent this problem, 7b was alkylated with the same reagents. In each case, instead of the expected S-alkylated anhydronucleosides, a mixture of the 5-N-alkylanhydro-s-triazine-4,6-dione and 5-N-alkylanhydro-s-triazin-4-one-6-thione derivatives were obtained. The 2,2′-anhydro linkage of 7a was also found to be more stable than the s-triazine ring to mild base. Basic conditions displaced the C6-sulfur substituent and eventually caused ring opening of the s-triazine aglycone.     

Computer-aided selection and optimization of chromatographic columns and conditions for multicolumn analysis procedures

Clearly, the usefulness of a computer-aided column design program will depend on its ability to predict quickly and accurately, a design which will yield chromatograms closely approximating those obtained experimentally. Such a computer model for designing and specifying operating conditions for optimum performance of either single or serially coupled columns with different stationary phases is described herein. Tests have been performed in order to verify the accuracy of the model. In addition to single column optimization and the design of column combinations which can be used to achieve separations difficult or impossible on a single phase alone, the model has proven quite useful as an aid to the design and development of multicolumn analysis procedures that involve critical timing of valve-switching sequences.     

Establishing vicinal proton-proton connectivities using two-dimensional proton zero quantum coherence NMR

Phenanthro[3,4:3′,4′]phenanthro[2,1-b]thiophene ( 1 ) served as the model system to evaluate two-dimensional proton zero quantum coherence nmr in order to establish the vicinal proton-proton connectivities. The utility of the two-dimensional proton zero quantum nmr experiment has been compared with the utility of the traditional autocorrelated proton-proton (COSY) experiment. In the case of a molecule such as 1 , where the proton chemical shifts are so highly congested, the zero quantum coherence experiment provides data not obtainable from the COSY experiment.