Synthesis and in vitro antifungal activities of novel triazole antifungal agent CS-758.

Synthesis and in vitro antifungal activities of a novel triazole antifungal agent CS-758 (former name, R-120758) are described. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of a series of dioxane-triazole compounds related to R-102557 were examined. Variation of the length of the chain between the dioxane ring and the phenyl ring revealed that the linkage with two double bonds is the most preferable. When a cyano group was introduced to the C4 position on the benzene ring, MICs improved further. A fluorine atom was introduced to obtain CS-758. The MICs of CS-758 surpassed those of fluconazole and itraconazole against Candida, Aspergillus and Cryptococcus species. The precursor (E,E)-aldehyde was synthesized stereoselectively from 3-fluoro-4-methylbenzonitrile using the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction.     

A voltammetric study of direct electron transfer to cytochrome c using a very large assembly of carbon microelectrodes

A very large assembly of more than 8000 carbon fibre microdisk electrodes was used to study direct electron transfer to cytochrome c. Near steady-state cyclic voltammograms were observed, which exhibited excellent signal-to-noise ratios despite the low concentrations of cytochrome c employed (1-50 microM). The high resolution of the voltammograms allowed the formal potential of the native form of cytochrome c to be determined over a range of solution pH.     

Quantum proton transfer in hydrated sulfuric acid clusters: a perspective from semiempirical path integral simulations

We have carried out path-integral molecular dynamics simulations for hydrated sulfuric acid clusters to understand acid-dissociation and hydrogen-bonded structural rearrangement processes in these clusters from a quantum mechanical viewpoint. The simulations were performed using the PM6 semiempirical electronic structure level whose parameters were modified on the basis of the specific reaction parameters strategy so that relative energies of optimized structures, as well as water binding energies reproduce ab initio and density-functional theory calculations. We have found that the acid dissociation processes, first and second deprotonation, effectively occur in a hydrated cluster with a specific cluster size. The mechanisms of the proton-transfer processes were analyzed in detail and it was found that the distance between O in sulfuric acid and O in the proton-accepting water is playing an important role. We also found that the water coordination number of the poton-accepting water is important in the proton-transfer processes.     

Preparation and separation of all possible rotamers of a stereochemical analog of meso-tartaric acid: optically inactive and optically active isomers of (R,S)-2,2′-bis(methoxycarbonyl)-6,6′-dimethyl-9,9′-bitriptycyl

All the three possible rotamers of the title compound were separated by chromatography, and unambiguously identified by NMR and X-ray analysis. One of the isomers was optically inactive C_i conformation. The other optical active forms were resolved to give a pair of enantiomers, which were characterized by optical rotation and CD spectra. Thus the optical inactivity of a compound such as meso-tartaric acid that can take C_i conformation in solution, is now ascribed to that the molecule has an optically inactive C_i conformer and equal amounts of optically active conformers, that are enantiomers, in solution.     

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and thermoluminescence (TL) measurements on red TL (RTL) quartz samples using a new automated OSL/TL measuring system

A new automated OSL/TL measuring system, equipped with a small X-ray irradiator applicable to a single-aliquot method, has been developed. To ensure cross check between OSL and RTL, the naturally accumulated doses evaluated with OSL and RTL measurements were compared. The results nearly agreed with each other, although the ages estimated from the experimental data were different from the real ages of Shin-Yakushiji temple because of the uncertainty of the annual dose. Nevertheless, it was concluded that the application of this system to the dating could be performed owing to uses of the luminescence measurements.     

Super acid-induced Pummerer-type cyclization reaction: improvement in the synthesis of chiral 1,3-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines

Improved synthesis of four stereoisomeric chiral 1,3-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines (1a, b, ent-1a, b) was achieved via the super acid-induced cyclization of chiral N-[1-methyl-2-(phenylsulfinyl)ethyl]-N-(1-phenylethyl)formamides (4a, b, ent-4a, b) using the Pummerer-type cyclization reaction as a key step. The cyclization leading to the isoquinoline ring proceeded in a quantitative manner when trifluoromethane sulfonic acid (TFSA) was used as the super acid, although Friedel-Crafts-type alkylation of 4-phenylsulfanyl TIQ derivatives (5) with benzene used as the solvent accompanied cyclization to yield the 4-phenyl-TIQs (7). The byproduct (7) was exclusively formed when a large excess amount of TFSA was used.     

Synthesis of a novel bridged nucleoside bearing a fused-azetidine ring, 3′-amino-3′,4′-BNA monomer

A novel bridged nucleic acid monomer, 3′-amino-3′-deoxy-5-methyl-3′-N,4′-C-methyleneuridine, was successfully synthesized via a useful and convenient azetidine ring formation under Staudinger's conditions. A ¹H NMR experiment and a PM3 calculation revealed that the sugar moiety of the novel bridged nucleic acid monomer, 3′-amino-3′,4′-BNA, was restricted to S-type conformation.     

Unusual reactions of N-allylic difluoroenamines under thermal conditions

N-Allylic difluoroenamines exhibited unusual behaviors under thermal conditions; N-allyl difluoroenamines in refluxing xylene afforded not only aza-Claisen rearrangement products, but also 2-azabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes, whose formation could be explained via intramolecular [2+2]-cycloaddition, whilst N-prenyl difluoroenamine underwent an ene reaction to give the pyrrolidine as a sole product.     

A synthesis of chiral 1,1,3-trisubstituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carbolines by the Pictet-Spengler reaction of tryptophan and ketones: conversion of (1R,3S)-diastereomers into their (1S,3S)-counterparts by scission of the C(1)-N(2) bond

The Pictet-Spengler cyclization of the imines (3) prepared by the condensation of L-tryptophan methyl ester (1) and aryl methyl ketones (2), using titanium(IV) isopropoxide as an iminating reagent, quantitatively proceeded, when treated with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) or formic acid, to provide two diastereomers, that is (1S,3S)-1-aryl-3-isopropoxycarbonyl-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carbolines (4) and their (1R,3S)-diastereomers (5), of which the diastereomer ratios varied from 1 to 5 depending on the reaction conditions. The (1R,3S)-diastereomers (5) are thermodynamically more stable than their (1S,3S)-congeners (4), as shown by equilibration experiments in TFA. The conversion of 4 to 5 (also 5 to 4) should occur under acidic conditions by cleavage of the C(1)-N(2) bond with complete retention of configuration at the C-3 chiral center. The low diastereo-selectivity observed in the Pictet-Spengler reaction of 1 and 2 is concluded to be a stereochemical outcome under conditions of kinetic control (lower temperature, shorter reaction time), while the high diastereo selectivity with preferential formation of the more stable isomer (5) is the result of thermodynamically controlled experiments (higher temperature, longer reaction time).