Diastereoselective hydroformylation of 2-substituted allylic o-DPPB-esters-on the origin of 1,2-asymmetric induction

2-Substituted secondary alcohol o-DPPB esters (o-DPPB=ortho-diphenylphosphanylbenzoyl) have been prepared and their o-DPPB-directed diastereoselective hydroformylation examined. It was found that the diastereoselectivity increased as a function of the steric demand of the substituents both at the stereogenic center and in the alkene 2-position. Hydrolytic cleavage of the o-DPPB group afforded-via the lactols 29-the corresponding lactones 30, the relative configurations of the vicinal stereogenic centers of which were ascertainable by 2D-NOESY spectroscopy. In addition, a crystal structure analysis of the hydroformylation product 2 d provided further confirmation of the relative configuration. Replacement of the ester carbonyl group of the o-DPPB by a methylene unit resulted in significantly worse diastereoselectivity in the course of the hydroformylation (34-->35), which indicates a decisive role for the ester carbonyl function. All the experimental observations were combined in a model of the origin of the 1,2-asymmetric induction during the title reaction. The key feature is the consideration of diastereomeric trigonal-bipyramidal rhodium-hydrido-olefin complexes I and II, capable on the basis of the Hammond postulate of acting as good models for the transition states of the selectivity-determining hydrometalation step. Investigation of these complexes by force-field methods indicated good correlation between theoretically predicted and experimentally determined diastereoselectivities.     

‘Non-Koopmans’ States in Stilbene Cations and a Remarkable Example to the «SDT-Equation»: Indeno [2,1-a]indene

The radical cations of indeno [2, 1-a]indene ( 1 ), stilbene ( 2 ) and 3, 5, 3', 5'-tetramethylstilbene ( 3 ) were prepared by γ-irradiation of the neutral precursors in an electron-scavenging matrix at 77 K . Their electronic spectra were recorded and compared to the photoelectron spectra ( PE .) of the neutral precursors. The results show that either the fourth or the fifth excited doublet state of the cations is of «Non-Koopmans» type, with specific doublet energy (D) D (²B_g)=2.74 eV ( 1 ⁺), =2.59 eV ( 2 ⁺), =2.49 eV ( 3 ⁺). Remarkably, 1 ⁺ possesses two electronic states in the 2.7-2.8 eV energy range: ²A_u («Koopmans»-type) and ²B_g («Non -Koopmans»-type). The «SDT»-equation \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ {\rm D} = \sqrt {{\rm S} \cdot {\rm T}} $\end{document} approximately connecting excited singlet (S) and triplet (T) states of a neutral alternant system with the excited doublet (D) states of its radical cation - provided e-promotion occurs For all three excited states between the same (paired) orbitals-is satisfyingly exemplified by 1 : S¹ = 3.92 eV and T¹= 2.06 eV for 1 , D^{4 or 5}=2.74 eV for 1 ⁺.     

CdSe and CdSe/CdS nanorod solids

We demonstrate the self-organization of CdSe nanorods into nematic, smectic, and crystalline solids. Layered colloidal crystals of CdSe nanorods grow by slow destabilization of a nanocrystal solution upon allowing the diffusion of a nonsolvent into the colloidal solution of nanocrystals. The colloidal crystals of nanorods show characteristic birefringence, which we assign to specific spherulite-like texture of each nanorod assembly. To demonstrate the general character of nanorod self-assembly technique, CdSe/CdS heterostructure nanorods were organized into highly luminescent superlattices.     

X-ray magnetic circular dichroism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa nickel(II) azurin

We show that X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) can be employed to probe the oxidation states and other electronic structural features of nickel active sites in proteins. As a calibration standard, we have measured XMCD and X-ray absorption (XAS) spectra for the nickel(II) derivative of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin (NiAz). Our analysis of these spectra confirms that the electronic ground state of NiAz is high-spin (S = 1); we also find that the L(3)-centroid energy is 853.1(1) eV, the branching ratio is 0.722(4), and the magnetic moment is 1.9(4) mu(B). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations on model NiAz structures establish that orbitals 3d(x2-y2) and 3d(z2) are the two valence holes in the high-spin Ni(II) ground state, and in accord with the experimentally determined orbital magnetic moment, the DFT results also demonstrate that both holes are highly delocalized, with 3d(x2-y2) having much greater ligand character.     

Antimalarial activity of n(6)-substituted adenosine derivatives (part 2)

We have investigated the in vitro antimalarial activity of a new series of adenosine derivatives. The results show that N(6)-(1-naphthylmethyl)-5'-deoxy-5'-(amido)adenosines as well as N(6)-(4-phenylbenzyl)-5'-deoxy-5'-(amido)adenosines display significant activity against the malaria-causing parasites, with the sterically demanding bisubstituted species reported being active in most cases in the low-micromolar range. The novel compounds with unusual substitution pattern were obtained applying an efficient convergent polymer-assisted solution-phase (cPASP) synthesis protocol. Thus, we were able to prepare a series of substituted derivatives in parallel that would have been difficult to synthesize by standard techniques. The scope and limitations of the synthetic methodology are discussed.     

A New Generation of "Cholaphanes": Steroid-Derived Macrocyclic Hosts with Enhanced Solubility and Controlled Flexibility

The macrocyclic "cholaphanes" 3a-c were synthesized from the inexpensive steroid cholic acid. Like earlier relatives they feature substantial cavities with inward-directed hydroxyl groups, suitable for binding polar molecules such as carbohydrates in nonpolar media. New features are the externally directed alkyl chains, promoting solubility in organic solvents, and (in the case of 3b/c) reduced conformational freedom resulting from truncation of the steroidal side-chain. In particular, modeling shows that the smallest macrocycle 3c possesses very little flexibility, preferring an open conformation which is also revealed in the X-ray crystal structure of its pentahydrate. NMR studies indicated that all three cholaphanes form 1:1 complexes with octyl beta-D-glucoside in CDCl(3), with K(a) = 600-1560 M(-)(1). Cholaphanes 3b/c proved able to extract methyl beta-D-glucoside from aqueous solutions into CHCl(3). The transport of methyl beta-D-glucoside across a chloroform barrier was also demonstrated for 3c.     

Structural and Chemical Analysis of Materials with High Spatial Resolution

 An understanding of the correlation between microstructures and properties of materials require the characterization of the material on many different length scales. Often the properties depend primarily on the atomistics of defects, such as dislocations and interfaces. The different techniques of transmission electron microscopy allow the characterization of the structure and of the chemical composition of materials with high spatial resolution to the atomic level: high resolution transmission electron microscopy allows the determination of the position of the columns of atoms (ions) with high accuracy. The accuracy which can be achieved in these measurements depends not only on the instrumentation but also on the quality of the transmitted specimen and on the scattering power of the atoms (ions) present in the analyzed column. The chemical composition can be revealed from investigations by analytical microscopy which includes energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, mainly quantitatively applied for heavy elements, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Furthermore, the energy-loss near-edge structure of EELS data results in information on the local band structure of unoccupied states of the excited atoms and, therefore, on bonding. A quantitative evaluation of convergent beam electron diffraction results in information on the electron charge density distribution of the bulk (defect-free) material. The different techniques are described and applied to different problems in materials science. It will be shown that nearly atomic resolution can be achieved in high resolution electron microscopy and in analytical electron microscopy. Recent developments in electron microscopy instrumentation will result in atomic resolution in the foreseeable future.