Self-assembly of a tetranuclear Ni4 cluster with an S = 4 ground state: the first 3d metal cluster bearing a mu4-eta2:eta2-O,O carbonate ligand

Reaction of nickel(II) acetate with H(3)L (2-(5-bromo-2-hydroxyphenyl)-1,3-bis[4-(5-bromo-2-hydroxyphenyl)-3-azabut-3-enyl]-1,3-imidazolidine) yields [Ni(2)L(OAc)(H(2)O)(2)].3MeCN.2H(2)O (1.3MeCN.2H(2)O), crystallographically characterized. 1 is unstable in solution for a long time and hydrolyzes to give [Ni(2)L(o-OC(6)H(3)BrCHO)(H(2)O)].2.25MeCN.H(2)O (2.2.25MeCN.H(2)O). In addition, 1 uptakes CO(2) from air in a basic methanol/acetonitrile solution, yielding [[Ni(2)L(MeOH)](2)(CO(3))].1.5MeOH.MeCN.H(2)O (3.1.5MeOH.MeCN.H(2)O). The X-ray characterization of 3 reveals that it is a tetranuclear nickel cluster, which can be considered as the result of a self-assembly process from two dinuclear [Ni(2)L](+) blocks, joined by a mu(4)-eta(2):eta(2)-O,O carbonate ligand. The coordination mode of the carbonate anion is highly unusual and, to the best of our knowledge, it has not been described thus far for first-row transition metal complexes or magnetically studied until now. Magnetic characterization of 1 and 3 shows net intramolecular ferromagnetic coupling between the metal atoms in both cases, with S = 2 and S = 4 ground states for 1 and 3, respectively.     

New facile tandem route to oxo- and thioxo[1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyridinium salts

2-Arylsulfanyl- and benzylsulfanylpyridinium N-arylimides (2), easily available from tetrazolo[1,5-b]pyridinium salts (1), participate in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with aryl isothiocyanates and aryl isocyanates to result in formation of fused thioxo- and oxo[1,2,4]triazolium salts (5 and 12), respectively. This transformation is interpreted as a regular 1,3-cycloaddition followed by spontaneous elimination of the aryl- or benzylsulfanyl group. Formation of these triazolium salts can be followed--under appropriate reaction conditions--by ring-opening reactions to afford some new triazolyldienes (6). Recognition of the intermediate participation of the thiolate anion along the pathway 1 --> 5 allowed elaboration of a simple procedure to 5 implying a tandem reaction sequence.     

Aldol-type reactions of unmasked iodoacetic acid with carbonyl compounds promoted by samarium diiodide: efficient synthesis of carboxylic 3-hydroxyacids and their derivatives

An easy, direct, general, and efficient samarium diiodide-mediated preparation of 3-hydroxyacids 1 in high yield by reaction of different aldehydes or ketones with commercially available iodoacetic acid is described. The application of different esterification procedures to the crude 3-hydroxyacids so obtained afforded the corresponding 3-hydroxyesters. Also, the cyclization of crude 3-hydroxycarboxylic acids allowed the preparation of beta-lactones. A mechanism is proposed to explain the synthesis of 3-hydroxyacids 1.     

Photochemistry of 2-alkoxymethyl-5-methylphenacyl chloride and benzoate

Irradiation of 2-(alkoxymethyl)-5-methyl-alpha-chloroacetophenones (1a-c) and 2-(methoxymethyl)-5-methylphenacyl benzoate (1d) in dry, nonnucleophilic solvents afforded 3-alkoxy-6-methylindan-1-ones (3a-c) in very high chemical yields. 3-Methylisobenzofuran-1(3H)-one (2) was, however, isolated as a major photoproduct in the presence of trace amounts of water. Quenching experiments and laser flash spectroscopy revealed that the indanone derivatives 3 are formed by 1,5-hydrogen migration from the lowest triplet excited state of the acetophenones 1 and cyclization of the resulting photoenols. In contrast, production of the lactone 2 in wet solvents was found to result from two consecutive photochemical transformations. The photoenols produced by photolysis of 1a-c add water as a nucleophile to form 2-acetyl-4-methylbenzaldehyde (4), which is further converted to 2 via a second, singlet state photoenolization process. Exhaustive photolysis of 1a in methanol produced the acetal 2-(dimethoxymethyl)-5-methylacetophenone (7a) as the exclusive product. The remarkable selectivity of these photoreactions may well be useful in synthetic organic chemistry.     

Diastereoselective synthesis of 2-amino-4-phosphonobutanoic acids by electrophilic substitution and tin-Peterson olefination of bis-lactim ethers derived from cyclo-[L-AP4-D-Val

Electrophilic substitutions on lithiated Sch?llkopf's bis-lactim ethers derived from cyclo-[L-AP4-D-Val] take place regio- and stereoselectively at the alpha-position of the phosphonate ester. Subsequent olefination of alpha-silyl-, alpha-phosphoryl-, and alpha-stannyl-stabilized phosphonate carbanions give rise exclusively to vinylphosphonates. Both processes allow a direct and stereoselective access to a variety of 4-substituted and 3,4-disubstituted 2-amino-4-phosphonobutanoic acids (AP4 derivatives) in enantiomerically pure form that may be useful tools for characterizing the molecular pharmacology of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) of group III. The relative stereochemistry was assigned from X-ray diffraction analyses or NMR studies of 1,2-oxaphosphorinane and other cyclic derivatives. In accordance to density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the syn-selectivity in the electrophilic substitutions may originate from the intervention of seven- and eight-membered chelate structures in which the bis-lactim ether moiety shields one of the faces of the phosphonate carbanion. DFT calculations for the tin-Peterson olefination of alpha-stannyl stabilized phosphonate carbanions indicate that rate and selectivity are determined in the initial carbon-carbon bond formation step where the unlike transition structures leading to (Z)-vinylphosphonates are favored both in the gas phase and in THF solution.     

Conformation of N(alpha)-substituted hydrazino acetamides in CDCl3, the precious help of the analysis of Deltadelta between amidic hydrogens, and correlation to the conformation of aza-beta3-peptides

[structures: see text] We studied the conformation of a series of primary amides in a solution of chloroform. Classical NMR tools such as dilution experiments, influence of DMSO, and 2D-NOESY, together with X-ray diffraction, were combined with an analysis of the difference of the chemical shift Deltadelta between the geminal amidic protons. This study was addressed in order to understand the conformation adopted by hydrazino acetamides 1a and 1b as model compounds for aza-beta3-peptides. In this manner, it was possible to show that the amidic group of these compounds acts as a H-bond donor and interacts with two different H-bond acceptors. We concluded that the hydrazinoturn, a specific bifurcated H-bond system observed in the solid state, is also the preferred conformation of hydrazino acetamides 1a and 1b in solution. Our results show that the short-range interaction with the N(alpha)-nitrogen lone pair not only stabilizes the C8 pseudocycle but could also contribute to the folding process of aza-beta3-peptides. In light of this, it could explain why aza-beta3-peptides develop a different H-bond network in comparison to their isosteric beta3-peptides analogues. Our work is in keeping with the recent interest of hydrazino peptides as an extension of the beta-peptide concept.     

Study of the factors that control the ratio of the products between 5-fluorouracil, uracil, and tetrahydrobenzoxazepine O,O-acetals bearing electron-withdrawing groups on the nitrogen atom

(RS)-1-(2-Nitrobenzenesulfonyl)- and (RS)-1-(4-nitrobenzenesulfonyl)-3-methoxy-1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-4,1-benzoxazepines are better substrates than 1-acyl-3-methoxy-1,2,3,5-tetrahydro-4,1-benzoxazepine derivatives for the Lewis acid mediated condensation reaction with pyrimidine bases to give O,N-acetals. Acetonitrile, stannic chloride, 50 degrees C, and a reaction time higher than 48 h are the optimum conditions for such condensation reactions. Under these conditions, 5-fluorouracil preferably links to the aminalic carbon through its N-1" position, while the attachment of the uracil fragment is through N-3" or N-1" of the cyclic or acyclic products, respectively. The causes that influence the course of the reactions are analyzed and discussed. Examination of the (1)H NMR spectra revealed the presence of a single form for the secondary amine 11 and of two conformers for the tertiary sulfonamides 7a,b, 9a,b, and 10b and for the amides 7d and 13, with the following distribution: 7a, 59/41; 7b, 53/47; 9a, 52/48; 9b, 59/41; 10b, 56/44; 7d, 50/50; 13, 80/20. On increasing the temperature, the (1)H NMR spectrum (DMSO-d(6)) of 7b showed coalescence at 110 degrees C. The torsional barrier determined [DeltaG(c)++ value of 19.0 +/- 0.2 kcal.mol(-1) (79.1 +/- 1.0 kJ.mol(-1))] proved to be the highest ever observed for sulfonamide moieties.     

Cycloaddition reactions of 1-lithio-1,3-dienes with aromatic nitriles affording multiply substituted pyridines, pyrroles, and linear butadienylimines

Fully or partially substituted 1-iodo- or 1-bromo-1,3-dienes could be readily lithiated using t-BuLi or n-BuLi to afford their corresponding 1-lithio-1,3-diene derivatives in quantitative yields. When these in situ generated lithium reagents were treated with organonitriles, depending on the substitution patterns of the butadienyl skeletons, substituted pyridines, pyrroles, and/or linear butadienyl imines were formed in good to excellent yields via N-lithioketimine intermediates. In the cases of 1,2,3,4-tetrasubstituted and 2,3-disubstituted 1-lithio-1,3-dienes, pyridine derivatives or linear butadienyl imines were generally formed depending on the reaction temperatures. When 1,2,3,4-tetrasubstituted 4-halo-1-lithio-1,3-dienes and 1,2-disubstituted 1-lithio-1,3-dienes were treated with organonitriles, pyrrole derivatives or linear butadienyl imines were obtained. Competition between 5-exo and 6-endo cyclization was found to be responsible for the formation of either pyrroles or pyridines. Selective elimination of RLi from the lithiated cyclic N-containing intermediates was observed. The order of elimination was found to be LiCl > Me3SiLi > LiH.     

Synthesis of substituted 2-cyanoarylboronic esters

The synthesis of substituted 2-cyanoarylboronic esters is described via lithiation/in situ trapping of the corresponding methoxy-, trifluoromethyl-, fluoro-, chloro-, and bromobenzonitriles. The crude arylboronic esters were obtained in high yields and purities and with good regioselectivities.     

Characterization of the methanolic extract of hops using capillary electrophoresis-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry

Hops are used almost exclusively for bitterness and flavor by brewers. We propose the first analytical application of CZE coupled to ESI-MS for the separation and structural elucidation of organic compounds in the methanolic extracts of hops, and different extraction procedures of the plant material have been carried out. The proposed method permits the identification of hop polyphenols (flavonoids glycosides and chalcones), bitter acids (alpha-acids and beta-acids), and their oxidation products. The optimization of CZE parameters (pH, concentration, and type of buffer) and ESI-MS parameters (nature and flow rate of the sheath liquid, nebulizer pressure, drying gas flow rate, temperature, and compound stability) have permitted the development of a rapid, simple, direct, and straightforward CZE-ESI-MS method for the identification of components of methanolic extracts from different hops used in the brewing process.