Phase Transfer Catalyzed Anomeric Nucleophilic Substitutions with D-Xylopyranosyl Halides

Abstract

Anomeric pairs of per-O-acetylated-D-xylopyranosyl halides were individually treated with a wide variety of nucleophiles under mild PTC conditions. Thus, 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-α-D-xylopyranosyl bromide 1 provided exclusively the β-D-xylopyranosyl anomers 2-11 in good to excellent yields (65-95%). Alternatively, under the same PTC conditions, 2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-β-D-xylopyranosyl chloride 13 afforded solely the inverted α-D-anomers 15 (82%) and 16 (67%) upon treatment with thiophenol and sodium azide, respectively. Similarly, 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranosyl chloride 19 provided the analogous products 20 (63%) and 21 (31%) upon treatment with thiophenol and sodium azide. In the presence of tetrabutylammonium chloride as PTC catalyst, β-xylopyranosyl chloride 13 was shown to slowly equilibrate to the α-chloride 14. Therefore, care must be taken to avoid PTC catalyst for which counter anions can cause anomerization of the starting glycosyl halides.     

1H AND 31P NMR Spectroscopy of Agrocinopine

The ¹H NMR data of agrocinopine in D₂O solution as extracted from standard 2D NMR experiments, along with 1D ³¹P and ¹³C NMR experiments allow to support the trisaccharide structure originally proposed on basis of comparative ¹³C NMR measurements.     

Effect of pH and ligand charge state on BACE-1 fragment docking performance

In this work we propose a protocol for estimating the effect of pH on the docking performance to BACE-1, which affords the charge state of the inhibitor as well as the protonation state of all ionisable residues in the protein at a given pH value. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a protocol predicting the BACE-1 ligand docking poses not only at the neutral pH at which most crystallographic structures were obtained, but also at the optimal pH of the enzyme (in the acidic range), at which most of the BACE-1 binding affinity assays are performed. We have applied this protocol to a set of 23 fragment-like BACE-1 ligands that span four orders of magnitude in their binding affinities. The pK _a values of the BACE-1 acidic residues deviate substantially from the estimates for model compounds in solution and display a ligand dependent variability, especially in the case of the catalytic Asp dyad residues. This outcome should have a strong bearing on the design of protocols for docking based BACE-1 screening campaigns. Finally, we were able to find an explanation for the poor docking success rate of some fragments based on the availability of anchoring points, a rationale that could help to improve hit rates in BACE-1 screening campaigns.     

Polyamide 6‐polycaprolactone multiblock copolymers: Synthesis,characterization, and degradation

This work describes the synthesis and characterization of polyamide 6 (PA 6)‐polycaprolactone (PCL) multiblock copolymers. Low molar mass, fully amine end‐capped PA 6 was prepared by the addition of a diamine monomer during ε‐caprolactam polymerization. A low molar mass PCL was selected to be incorporated as the biodegradable block and was fully end‐capped with toluene 2,4‐diisocyanate. End group analysis and molecular weight characterizations were performed for both end‐functionalized polymers by SEC, NMR and titration analysis. Incorporation of PCL into PA 6 was mainly achieved by solution mixing of the two end‐functional blocks and, was continued after the removal of the solvent with solid state polymerization (SSP) by gradual heating until about 40 °C below the melting temperature of the PA 6. Molecular weights started to grow immediately during solution mixing and only increased marginally during the SSP treatment. FTIR and SEC studies confirmed the reaction between the two components. DSC data, in combination with the enhanced molar mass during solution mixing pointed to a blocky microstructure, for which distinct melting and crystallization temperatures were observed for the PCL and the PA 6 blocks. Hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation studies were performed at 25 °C where the degree of degradation was followed by weight loss analysis, SEM and SEC. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Novel suberin‐based biopolyesters: From synthesis to properties

This article reports the successful synthesis and characterization of two types of completely biobased polymers prepared by the polycondensation or polytransesterification of suberin fragments, isolated by different procedures and from two different vegetable sources. These polymerizations were conducted with different experimental conditions in terms of the type of catalyst, the reaction medium and temperature, as well as the molar ratio between the reactive moieties. The ensuing linear or partly crosslinked polyesters were characterized by conventional spectroscopic techniques, SEC, DSC, XRD, DMA, and TGA. These hydrophobic materials represent an original contribution to the growing field of polymers from renewable resources. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Sensory quality, volatile compounds and color of pear juice treated with β-cyclodextrin

The effect of the addition of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), the most used of natural CDs, on the pear juice quality was studied. Several properties of this fruit juice, such as color, odor and aroma have been evaluated in both the absence and presence of β-CD for the first time. A study of the aroma profile of pear juice showed that esters, aldehydes, alcohols and terpenes are the most important chemical families of volatile compounds present in this fruit juice. Furthermore, a trained sensory panel was used to quantify odor/aroma attributes of pear juices in both the presence and absence of increasing β-CD concentrations. The addition of β-CD at a concentration of 15 mM to pear juice significantly increased its global quality, color intensity and reduced its browning but without any significant decrease in aroma. For this reason, a concentration of 15 mM of this type of natural CD is recommended to be used in pear juice manufacturing.     

Direct estimate for positive linear operators in polynomial weighted spaces

We present direct theorems for some sequences of positive linear operators in weighted spaces. The results, given in terms of some Ditzian–Totik moduli of smoothness, include estimations in norms and Becker type estimations.     

Synthesis of Carbohydrate Derived α-Methylene-γ-lactones by Diasterecseldctive,Low Temperature Reformatsky-Type Reactions

Hexopyranoside- and hexofuranose uloses with either ethyl 2-(branamethyl)acrylate in the presence of laminar Zn/Ag-graphite or ethyl 2-(trimethylsilylinethyl)acrylate/tetra-n-butylanrnonium fluoride undergo stereoselective branching, mainly with formation of spiro α-methylene-γ-lactones.