Determination of valepotriates

In this paper an overview is given of qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis used for valepotriates. Methods like spectophotometry, titrimetry, TLC, GC, HPLC, MS, CE as well as p-SFC have been applied. Today HPLC is the method of choice. The usefulness of the individual methods are discussed.     

A theory of pseudo-differential boundary value problems with discontinuous conditions I

Summary The paper deals with mixed boundary value problems and transmission problems for elliptic differential and pseudo-differential operators. These problems are considered as elements of an algebra (where is the considered domain, x=, YX a submanifold of codimension 1, where the conditions have a jump, and x is a certain compactification of X/Y), the elements of which are described on a symbolic level. By means of additional conditions (of trace and potential type, with respect to Y) a given mixed problem is extended to an operator, and the Fredholm property of is established under an ellipticity condition, the parametrix is constructed on symbolic level and ind is expressed. In the second part the authors also study classes of special cases, namely differential operators of second and higher order with mixed boundary conditions for dim 2, where explicit index expressions are derived.     

Enantioselective total syntheses of manzamine a and related alkaloids

As a prelude to undertaking the total syntheses of the complex manzamine alkaloids, a series of model studies were conducted to establish the scope and limitations of intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloadditions of N-acylated vinylogous ureas with the trienic substrates 17a,b, 28a,b, and 34. These experiments clearly demonstrated that the geometry of the internal double bond and the presence of an electron-withdrawing group on the diene moiety were essential for the facile and stereoselective formation of the desired cycloadducts. The enantioselective syntheses of the manzamine alkaloids ircinol A (75), ircinal A (5), and manzamine A (1) were then completed by employing a convergent strategy that featured a novel domino Stille/Diels-Alder reaction to construct the tricyclic ABC ring core embodied in these alkaloids. Thus, the readily accessible chiral dihydropyrrole 58 was first converted in a single chemical operation into the key tricyclic intermediate 60. Two ring-closing metathesis reactions were then used to form the 13- and 8-membered rings leading to Z-72 and 74, the latter of which was quickly elaborated into ircinal A (5) via ircinol A (75). The synthetic 5 thus obtained was converted into manzamine A (1) following literature precedent. This concise synthesis of ircinal A required a total of 24 operations from commercially available starting materials with the longest linear sequence being 21 steps.     

Cooperative effects in binuclear zirconocenes: Their synthesis and use as catalyst in propene polymerization

The mono- and bis-cyclopentadienyl compounds 1-(Cp″)-4-(CH₃)C₆H₄ (1) and 1, 4-(Cp″)₂C₆H₄ (2) (Cp″ = 3,4-dimethylcyclopenta-1,3-diene-1-yl) have been synthesized. The reactions of the lithium salts of 1 and 2 with CpZrCl₃ · dme (dme = dimethoxyethane) and Cp*ZrCl₃(CP* = C₅(CH₃)₅) yielded the mono- and bi-nuclear bridged zirconocenes 1-(Cp″ZrCpCl₂)-4-(CH₃)C₆H₄ (3), 1,4-(Cp″ZrCpCl₂)₂C₆H₄ (4) and 1,4-(Cp″ZrCp*Cl₂)₂C₆H₄ (5). When activated with methylaluminoxane (MAO), the mono- and bi-nuclear zirconocenes 3 and 4 catalyse the polymerization of propene. The influence of the catalyst composition on the polymerization kinetics and molecular weight is discussed.     

Propene polymerization using homogeneous MAO-activated metallocene catalysts: Me2Si(Benz[e]Indenyl)2ZrCl2/MAO vs. Me2Si(2-Me-Benz[e]Indenyl)2ZrCl2/MAO

Propene was polymerized at 40°C and 2-bar propene in toluene using methylalumoxane (MAO) activated rac-Me₂Si(Benz[e]Indenyl)₂ZrCl₂ ( BI ) and rac-Me₂Si(2-Me-Benz[e]Indenyl)₂ZrCl₂ ( MBI ). Catalyst BI /MAO polymerizes propene with high activity to afford low molecular weight polypropylene, whereas MBI /MAO is less active and produces high molecular weight polypropylene. Variation of reaction conditions such as propene concentration, temperature, concentration of catalyst components, and addition of hydrogen reveals that the lower molecular weight polypropylene produced with BI /MAO results from chain transfer to propene monomer following a 2,1-insertion. A large fraction of both metallocene catalyst systems is deactivated upon 2,1-insertion. Such dormant sites can be reactivated by H₂-addition, which affords active metallocene hydrides. This effect of H₂-addition is reflected by a decreasing content of head-to-head enchainment and the formation of polypropylene with n-butyl end groups. Both catalysts show a strong dependence of activity on propene concentration that indicates a formal reaction order of 1.7 with respect to propene. MBI /MAO shows a much higher dependence of the activity on temperature than BI /MAO. At elevated temperatures, MBI /MAO polymerizes propene faster than BI /MAO. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric alpha-bromination of aldehydes and ketones

The first organocatalytic enantioselective alpha-bromination of aldehydes and ketones is presented; a C2-symmetric diphenylpyrrolidine catalyst afforded the alpha-brominated aldehydes in good yields and up to 96% ee, while ketones were alpha-brominated by a C2-symmetric imidazolidine in up to 94% ee; furthermore, the organocatalytic enantioselective alpha-iodination of aldehydes is also demonstrated to proceed with up to 89% ee.     

Quantitative analysis of small pharmaceutical drugs using a high repetition rate laser matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionization source

In this work, a high repetition rate laser matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) source is studied on a quadrupole-time-of-flight (QqTOF) and a triple quadrupole (QqQ) mass spectrometer for rapid quantification of small pharmaceutical drugs. The high repetition rate laser allows an up to 100-fold higher pulse frequency as compared with regular MALDI lasers, resulting in much larger sample throughput and number of accumulated spectra. This increases the reproducibility of signal intensities considerably, with average values being around 5% relative standard deviation after taking into account the area ratio of the analyte to an internal standard. Experiments were conducted in MS/MS mode to circumvent the large chemical background due to MALDI matrix ions in the low mass range. The dynamic range of calibration curves on the QqTOF mass spectrometer extended over at least two orders of magnitude, whereas on the QqQ it extended over at least three orders of magnitude. Detection limits ranged from 60-400 pg/microL on the QqTOF and from 6-70 pg/microL on the QqQ for a series of benzodiazepines. The benzodiazepine content of commercial pill formulations was quantified, and less than 5% error was obtained between the present method and the manufacturer's certified values. Furthermore, a high sample throughput was achieved with this method, so that a single MALDI spot could be quantitatively scanned in as little as 15 s, and an entire 96-well MALDI plate in 24 min.     

Regio- and Enantioselective Substitution of Acyclic Allylic Sulfoximines with Butylcopper in the Presence of Lithium Iodide and Boron Trifluoride

Enantiomerically pure N-methyl-, N-benzyl-, and N-(methoxyethyl)-S-(phenyl)cinnamylsulfoximines as well as the corresponding crotylsulfoximines have been prepared from N-methyl-, N-benzyl-, and N-(methoxyethyl)-S-(lithiomethyl)sulfoximines and carbonyl compounds by an addition-elimination-isomerization reaction sequence. Under basic conditions, complete isomerization of the vinylic sulfoximines, obtained as intermediates, to the corresponding allylic sulfoximines takes place. Chromatographically separable mixtures of (E) and (Z) allylic sulfoximines were isolated in the case of beta,gamma-disubstituted allylic sulfoximines. The (E/Z) ratio depends on the nature of the substituents in the beta- and gamma-positions, and the equilibrium amount of the (Z) isomer varies from 68% to nil. The allylic N-methylsulfoximines do not racemize thermally, and their rearrangement to the corresponding allylic sulfinamides is negligible. Upon prolonged treatment with boron trifluoride at low temperatures allylic N-methylsulfoximines are recovered unchanged. The crystal structure of S-(3,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-ylmethyl)-N-methyl-S-phenylsulfoximine was determined. Reaction of the allylic sulfoximines with butylcopper in the presence of lithium iodide and boron trifluoride leads with very high gamma-selectivities and moderate to high enantioselectivities to the corresponding chiral alkenes. Their configuration was determined by chemical correlation through ozonolysis to the corresponding carbonyl compounds. The asymmetric induction exerted by the chiral N-methyl-S-phenylsulfoximine group strongly depends on the double bond configuration and the substituents in the beta- and gamma-positions. The (E) allylic sulfoximines are substituted with low to moderate enantioselectivities (2-66%), whereas the (Z) allylic sulfoximines react with much higher enantioselectivities (69-92%). Interestingly, substitution of the beta-methyl-gamma-phenyl-substituted (Z) allylic sulfoximine and its beta-phenyl-gamma-methyl isomer proceeded with almost the same degree of asymmetric induction but with the opposite sense. Replacement of the N-methyl group by a benzyl or a methoxyethyl group has no significant influence on the regio- and enantioselectivity of the substitution.