Total Synthesis of Crenulatan Diterpenes: Strategy and stereocontrolled construction of a bicyclic keto-lactone building block

The bicyclic keto lactone 26 was synthesized for the purpose of developing a viable route to marine diterpenes of the crenulatan type. Following the efficient conversion of (S)-citronellol ( 5 ) to the allylated alcohol 9a (Scheme 2), the αβ-unsaturated lactone 12 was efficiently accessed in preparation for stereocontrolled conjugate addition. The hydroxymethyl equivalent most suited to this task was (i-PrO)Me₂SiCH₂MgCl, which gave 13 predominantly in the presence of CuI and Me₃SiCl. Once the OH group was deprotected (→ 14 ), it proved an easy matter to implement acid-catalyzed isomerization to lactone 15 , oxidation of which gave the pivotal aldehyde 16 . Condensation of 16 with PhSeCH₂Li led via 21 to 22 (Scheme 3). Once the OH group was protected (→ 22b ), it proved possible to effect aldolization with crotonaldehyde (→ 23 ). Exposure of 23 to acid gave the sub-target compound 25 . Its subsequent oxidation and thermal activation resulted in sequential selenoxide elimination with Claisen rearrangement (→ 26 ). The structural features of 26 require that a chair-like transition state be adopted during the [3.3]sigmatropic event. With the clarification of these issues, a highly serviceable and more advanced assault on the crenulatans should prove capable of being mounted.     

Synthesis and structure of pyrazolo[5,1-a]isoindol-8-ones from Aromatic Ortho Diesters

The title compounds 2 , have now been shown to arise in certain cases from condensation of aromatic ortho-diesters with ketone, where formerly only indeno[1,2-c]pyrazol-4(1H)-ones 3 have been reported from such reaction. Heretofore 2 was obtained in a less direct fashion from phthalaldehydic acid esters. When hetero-aromatic diesters were employed, new heterocyclic ring systems as represented by 2a,b ,c were prepared for the first time. Structures of 2 have been verified from detailed ¹H and ¹³C nmr studies, while representative intermediates 4–9 in the condensation of diesters to 2 have been isolated and identified.     

Screening of homocysteine from newborn blood spots by high-performance liquid chromatography with coulometric array detection

Homocystinuria, due to a deficiency of cystationine-beta-synthase, refers to the rare inborn error of the metabolism of homocysteine. The identification and prompt treatment of homocystinuria during the neonatal period can prevent or greatly reduce the severity of the clinical consequences. We report a new method for homocystinuria diagnosis from dried blood spots on newborn screening cards, based on high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical coulometric array detection. This method shows an excellent linearity (y=10.36x+0.04; r=0.999), precision (RSDs ranged from 2.7 to 5.8%), recovery (87%) and appears to be a cost-effective approach, being simple, rapid, sensitive and cheap.     

Studies in polyphenol chemistry and bioactivity. 4.(1) Synthesis of trimeric,tetrameric, pentameric,and higher oligomeric epicatechin-derived procyanidins having all-4beta,8-interflavan connectivity and their inhibition of cancer cell growth through cell cycle arrest

We report an improved synthesis of bis(5,7,3',4'-tetra-O-benzyl)epicatechin 4beta,8-dimer (3) from 5,7,3',4'-tetra-O-benzylepicatechin (1) and 5,7,3',4'-tetra-O-benzyl-4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)epicatechin (2) by replacing the previously employed Lewis acid, titanium tetrachloride, with the clay mineral Bentonite K-10. Under the same conditions, the benzyl-protected all-4beta,8-trimer, -tetramer, and -pentamer were obtained regioselectively from their lower homologues, albeit in rapidly decreasing yields. Reaction of 2 with an organoaluminum thiolate generated from 2-mercaptobenzothiazole and trimethylaluminum followed by acetylation produced 3-O-acetyl-4-[(2-benzothiazolyl)thio]-5,7,3',4'-tetra-O-benzylepicatechin (12). Medium-sized protected oligomers with 4beta,8-interflavan linkages are obtained in improved yields by using this compound as the electrophile and silver tetrafluoroborate as activator and are isolated by reversed-phase HPLC. Their deprotection by ester saponification followed by hydrogenolysis yielded the free procyanidins, which were characterized as their peracetates. The synthetic procyanidins are identical by normal-phase HPLC with fractions isolated from cocoa. The principle of chain extension by two members was demonstrated using a dimeric electrophile obtained by self-condensation of compound 12. Both the synthetic and natural pentamer 32 inhibit the growth of several breast cancer cell lines. Using the MDA MB 231 line, it was established that this outcome is based on the induction of cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase. Subsequent cell death is more likely necrotic rather than apoptotic. Control experiments demonstrate that the polyphenol itself, rather than hydrogen peroxide potentially formed by its autoxidation, is the causative agent.     

The Structures of Some Products from the Photodegradation of the Pluramycin Antibiotics Hedamycin and Kidamycin

The photolability of the antitumor antibiotic hedamycin ( 1 ) was investigated by irradiation in different solvents in the presence or in the absence of oxygen. The products formed were separated chromatographically and their structures determined by NMR spectroscopy. Photolysis of 1 in the presence of oxygen gave only one isolable product, photohedamycin A ( 3 ), where ring E of hedamycin had been transformed into an enol ether. The reaction in the absence of oxygen yielded the photohedamycins B, C, and D ( 5, 6 , and 7 , respectively). In these compounds, one of the epoxides of hedamycin had been opened reductively, and in photohedamycin D ( 7 ) the substituent at C(8) - originally ring E of hedamycin - was now acyclic. In addition to these compounds, the photolyses yielded a large number of unstable minor products, which could not be isolated.     

Synthesis of 1-Aza-8-thiabicyclo[4.2.1]nona-2,4-diene 8,8-dioxide and its conversion to a strained spirocycle via photoinduced SO2-N bond cleavage

A route to the doubly unsaturated bridgehead sultam 12 has been developed. When irradiated at 350 nm, this conjugated diene is isomerized via a two-photon process to the structurally novel spiro heterocycle 17 constituted of cyclobutene, thietane dioxide, and pyrrolidine rings. A probable mechanism for the generation of 17 and select reactions thereof are reported. [reaction: see text]     

Quadratically constrained least squares and quadratic problems

Summary We consider the following problem: Compute a vectorx such that Ax–b₂=min, subject to the constraint x₂=. A new approach to this problem based on Gauss quadrature is given. The method is especially well suited when the dimensions ofA are large and the matrix is sparse.It is also possible to extend this technique to a constrained quadratic form: For a symmetric matrixA we consider the minimization ofx ^T A x–2b ^T x subject to the constraint x₂=.Some numerical examples are given.This work was in part supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant DCR-8412314 and by the National Institute of Standards and Technology under Grant 60NANB9D0908.     

Variational approximations for renormalization group transformations

Approximate recursion relations which give upper and lower bounds on the free energy are described. Optimal calculations of the free energy can then be obtained by treating parameters within the renormalization equations variationally. As an example, a particularly simple lower bound approximation which preserves the symmetry of the Hamiltonian (the one-hypercube approximation) is described. The approximation is applied to both the Ising model and the Wilson-Fisher model. At the fixed point a parameter is set variationally and critical indices are calculated. For the Ising model the agreement with the exact results atd = 2 is surprisingly good, 0.1%, and is good atd=3 and evend=4. For the Wilson-Fisher model the recursion relation is reduced to a one-dimensional integral equation which can be solved numerically givingv=0.652 atd=3, or by expansion in agreement with the results of Wilson and Fisher to leading order in . The method is also used to calculate thermodynamic functions for thed = 2 Ising model; excellent agreement with the Onsager solution is found.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants Nos. MPS73-04886A01 and GH-41512 and by the Brown University Materials Research Laboratory supported by the National Science Foundation. M.C.Y. was supported by a grant from the Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey.