Mechanistic Dichotomy in the Asymmetric Allylation of Aldehydes with Allyltrichlorosilanes Catalyzed by Chiral Pyridine N‐Oxides

Detailed kinetic and computational investigation of the enantio‐ and diastereoselective allylation of aldehydes 1 with allyltrichlorosilanes 5 , employing the pyridine N‐oxides METHOX ( 9 ) and QUINOX ( 10 ) as chiral organocatalysts, indicate that the reaction can proceed through a dissociative (cationic) or associative (neutral) mechanism: METHOX apparently favors a pentacoordinate cationic transition state, while the less sterically demanding QUINOX is likely to operate via a hexacoordinate neutral complex. In both pathways, only one molecule of the catalyst is involved in the rate‐ and selectivity‐determining step, which is supported by both experimental and computational data.     

SQSQh: 1H‐detected SQ–SQ experiment for determination of signed silicon–carbon coupling constants

A new variant of SQ–SQ pulse sequence (SQSQh) for relative sign determination and detection of small silicon–carbon couplings over more than one bond is presented. In the SQSQh sequence, proton detection replaces carbon detection used in the original SQ–SQ pulse sequence (SQSQc). The theoretical gain in sensitivity was experimentally tested on two samples (trimethylsiloxyethane, 1, and 1,2,4‐tris(trimethylsiloxy)benzene, 2), the experimentally found gain provided by the SQSQh over the SQSQc method varied between 6 and 8. The method can be applied to linear spin systems, i.e. to systems where the silicon is coupled to the carbon in question and to any hydrogen not necessarily bonded to the carbon. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and molecular structure of methyl 4-O-methyl-alpha-D-glucopyranuronate

A method for the preparation of methyl 4-O-methyl-alpha-D-glucopyranuronate and its single crystal X-ray structure determination are reported. The molecule adopts an almost ideal (4)C1 ((degree)C3) conformation.     

Reaction of Tertiary 2-Chloroketones with Cyanide Ions: Application to 3-Chloroquinolinediones

3-Chloroquinoline-2,4-diones react with cyanide ions in dimethyl formamide to give 3-cyanoquinoline-2,4-diones in small yields due to the strong hindrance of the substituent at the C-3 atom. Good yields can be achieved if the substituent at this position is the methyl group. In the methanol solution, the reaction proceeds by an addition mechanism to form 2-oxo-1a,2,3,7b-tetrahydrooxireno[2,3-c]quinoline-7b-carbonitriles, from which 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-2-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline-4-carbonitriles are subsequently formed by opening of the epoxide ring with methanol. Some minor products of these reactions have also been isolated. The ¹H, ¹³C and ¹⁵N NMR spectra of the prepared compounds were measured, and all resonances were assigned using appropriate two-dimensional spectra.     

Review on recent advances in the analysis of isolated organelles

The analysis of isolated organelles is one of the pillars of modern bioanalytical chemistry. This review describes recent developments on the isolation and characterization of isolated organelles both from living organisms and cell cultures. Salient reports on methods to release organelles focused on reproducibility and yield, membrane isolation, and integrated devices for organelle release. New developments on organelle fractionation after their isolation were on the topics of centrifugation, immunocapture, free flow electrophoresis, flow field-flow fractionation, fluorescence activated organelle sorting, laser capture microdissection, and dielectrophoresis. New concepts on characterization of isolated organelles included atomic force microscopy, optical tweezers combined with Raman spectroscopy, organelle sensors, flow cytometry, capillary electrophoresis, and microfluidic devices.     

2‐(4‐Hydroxy­phenyl)‐4,4‐dimethyl‐2‐oxazoline: X‐ray and density functional theory study

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C₁₁H₁₃NO₂, there are strong inter­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bonds which, together with weak intra­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, lead to the formation of infinite chains of mol­ecules, held together by weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. A theoretical investigation of the hydrogen bonding, based on density functional theory (DFT) employing periodic boundary conditions, is in agreement with the experimental data. The cluster approach shows that the influence of the crystal field and of hydrogen‐bond formation are responsible for the deformation of the 2‐oxazoline ring, which is not planar and adopts a ⁴T₃ (^C3T_C2) conformation.     

A three‐dimensional net of Δ‐tris(1,10‐phenanthroline)ruthenium(II) in the dual‐metal self‐assembly of bis[tris(1,10‐phenanthroline)ruthenium(II)] tetraisothiocyanatoiron(II) bis(perchlorate)

The title compound, [Ru(C₁₂H₈N₂)₃]₂[Fe(NCS)₄](ClO₄)₂, crystallizes in a tetragonal chiral space group (P4₁2₁2) and the assigned absolute configuration of the optically active molecules was unequivocally confirmed. The Δ‐[Ru^II(phen)₃]²⁺ complex cations (phen is 1,10‐phenanthroline) interact along the 4₁ screw axis parallel to the c axis, with an Ru...Ru distance of 10.4170 (6) Å, and in the ab plane, with Ru...Ru distances of 10.0920 (6) and 10.0938 (6) Å, defining a primitive cubic lattice. The Fe atom is situated on the twofold axis diagonal in the ab plane. The supramolecular architecture is supported by C—H...O interactions between the [Ru^II(phen)₃]²⁺ cation and the disordered perchlorate anion. This study adds to the relatively scarce knowledge about intermolecular interactions between [Ru(phen)₃]²⁺ ions in the solid state, knowledge that eventually may also lead to a better understanding of the solution state interactions of this species; these are of immense interest because of the photochemical properties of these ions and their interactions with DNA.     

Ca10(CrVO4)6(CrVIO4), a disordered mixed‐valence chromium compound exhibiting inversion twinning

The structure analysis of so‐called 9CaO·4CrO₃·Cr₂O₃ proved it to be the title compound, decacalcium hexakis[chromate(V)] chromate(VI), with the simultaneous presence of unusual chromium oxidation states. The structure determination was carried out on a crystal that had inversion twinning. The Cr^VIO₄ tetrahedron is situated on a threefold axis and is disordered over two possible orientations that share three O atoms, while the Cr^VO₄ tetrahedra are in general positions and are ordered. The charge is balanced by Ca²⁺ cations, one of which is located on a threefold axis. The Ca²⁺ ions are coordinated by six, seven or eight O atoms. The compound is a significant phase in the CaO–CrO_x system and its formation reduces the refractoriness of calcium‐rich compositions in an oxidizing atmosphere.