Five coordination modes of 4-aminopyrimidine with N-hydroxy-ethylethylenediaminetriacetatoruthenate(II)

Summary The complex [Ru^II(hedta)(4NH₂pym)]⁻, hedta³⁻ = N-hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetate, 4NH₂pym = 4-aminopyrimidine, exists at pH 7 as five different coordination isomers, which are most readily distinguished by their electrochemical waves in comparison with the 2-aminopyridine (2NH₂py) complex. The 2NH₂py complex exhibits N(1) (pyridine bound), exo-NH₂ (amine bound) and N(1), NH₂-chelated species. The 4NH₂pym complex forms N(1), exo-amine and N(3), NH₂-chelated isomers analogues to the 2NH₂py species, but also engages in η² (olefin bound) coordination of the dearomatized 4NH₂pym ring in C(5)–C(6), and another η² type of complex involving electron density between N(1) and N(3) of the ring (η³ form). N(1), η² and η³ isomers have also been detected for unsubstituted pyrimidine (pym), 4-methylprimidine (4CH₃pym) and 2-aminopyrimidine (2NH₂pym). Electrochemical waves (V versus NHE) for the five isomers are assigned as follows: (Ru^II/III) exo-NH₂ (0.06 V), N(1) (0.29 V), η² (0.49 V); (Ru^II/III) η³ (0.76 V); N(3), NH₂-chelated (1.09 V).     

The influence of pentaamminerhodium(III) on the1H n.m.r. spectra and pyrrole pKas of coordinated imidazoles and pyrazoles

Summary The following [(NH₃)₅RhLH]Cl₃ salts were preparedvia the [(NH₃)₅Rh(O₃SCF₃)](O₃SCF₃)₂ synthetic route; LH=1-methylimidazole (1CH₃imH), 2-methylimidazole (2CH₃imH), 4-methylimidazole (4CH₃imH), 5-methylimidazole(5CH₃imH), and pyrazole (pyzH). pK_a's at 25.0°C were determined for [(NH₃)₅RhLH]³⁺ complexes as follows: 2CH₃imH, 10.4±0.1; 5CH₃imH/4CH₃imH isomer mixture, 10.3±0.1; pyzH, 6.54±0.05. The influence on the pK_a's of imidazoles is dominated by withdrawal of the rhodium(III) centre and may be compensated by the presence of ring methylation by only 0.5log units for cobalt(III) and rhodium(III) derivatives, compared to 1.3 units for the -withdrawing ruthenium(III) centre. In the case of the -acceptor pyrazole ring, [(NH₃)₅Rh]³⁺ is observed to serve as a slight -donor and raises the pK_a above the cobalt(III) analogue. The¹H n.m.r. spectra of [(NH₃)₅RhLH]³⁺ complexes of the substituted imidazoles and pyrazole exhibit a deshielding order. C–2H>C–5H>C–4H for imidazoles and C–3H>C–5H>C–4H for pyrazole, as do their cobalt(III) analogues. The magnitude of values (=_{free L}-_complex) are virtually the same as in the cobalt(III) systems which shows that TIP influences are unimportant compared to ring rehybridization in estabilishing chemical shifts for both the cobalt(III) and rhodium(III) complexes. The imidazolato and pyrazolato complexes exhibit resonances upfield of the respective substituted imidazole or pyrazole complex in keeping with more negative charge on the rings; the influence is largest at C–2H of imidazolates and C–3H of pyrazolate.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of cyclopropane amino acids using diazo compounds generated in situ

A simple and high-yielding method for the preparation of cyclopropane amino acids is described. The novel method involves the one-pot cyclopropanation of readily available dehydroamino acids using aryl and unsaturated diazo compounds generated in situ from the corresponding tosylhydrazone salts. It was found that thermal 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition followed by nitrogen extrusion gave the cyclopropane amino acid derivatives with good E selectivity, while reactions in the presence of meso-tetraphenylporphyrin iron chloride gave predominantly the corresponding Z isomers. The synthetic utility of this process was demonstrated in the synthesis of (+/-)-(Z)-2,3-methanophenylalanine [(+/-)-(Z)-1], the anti-Parkinson (+/-)-(E)-2,3-methano-m-tyrosine [(+/-)-(E)-2], and the natural product (+/-)-coronamic acid [(+/-)-3].     

Iron-Catalyzed Halogen Exchange of Trifluoromethyl Arenes**

The facile production of ArCF₂X and ArCX₃ from ArCF₃ using catalytic iron(III)halides is reported, which constitutes the first iron-catalyzed halogen exchange for non-aromatic C−F bonds. Theoretical calculations suggest direct activation of C−F bonds by iron coordination. ArCX₃ and ArCF₂X products of the reaction are synthetically valuable due to their diversification potential. In particular, chloro- and bromodifluoromethyl arenes (ArCF₂Cl, ArCF₂Br respectively) provide access to a myriad of difluoromethyl arene derivatives (ArCF₂R). To optimize for mono-halogen exchange, a statistical method called Design of Experiments was used. Optimized parameters were successfully applied to electron rich and electron deficient aromatic substrates, and to the late stage diversification of flufenoxuron, a commercial insecticide. These methods are highly practical, being run at convenient temperatures and using inexpensive common reagents.     

Reduced field-of-view diffusion-weighted imaging of the brain at 7 T

Ventral and rostral regions of the brain are of emerging importance for the MRI characterization of early dementia, traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. Unfortunately, standard single-shot echo planar diffusion-weighted imaging of these regions at high fields is contaminated by severe imaging artifacts in the vicinity of air–tissue interfaces. To mitigate these artifacts and improve visualization of the temporal and frontal lobes at 7 T, we applied a reduced field-of-view strategy, enabled by outer volume suppression (OVS) with novel quadratic phase radiofrequency (RF) pulses, combined with partial Fourier and parallel imaging methods. The new acquisition greatly reduced the level of artifacts in six human subjects (including four patients with early symptoms of dementia).