Palladium‐Catalyzed Stereoselective Intramolecular Oxidative Amidation of Alkenes in the Synthesis of 1,3‐ and 1,4‐Amino Alcohols and 1,3‐Diamines

An efficient and practical Pd‐catalyzed intramolecular oxidative allylic amidation provides facile access to derivatives of 1,3‐ and 1,4‐amino alcohols and 1,3‐diamines. The method operates under mild reaction conditions (RT) with molecular oxygen (1 atm) as the sole reoxidant of Pd. Excellent diastereoselectivities were attained with substrates bearing a secondary stereogenic center     

Unprecedented 1,14‐seco‐Crotofolanes from Croton insularis: Oxidative Cleavage of Crotofolin C by a Putative Homo‐Baeyer–Villiger Rearrangement

EBC‐162 isolated from Croton insularis, obtained from the northern rainforest of Australia, was structurally affirmed as crotofolin C ( 4 ). Novel oxidative degradation products, EBC‐233 and EBC‐300, which are the first crotofolane endoperoxides, were also isolated. Both endoperoxides were found to be stable intermediates, which are proposed to undergo an unprecedented homo‐Baeyer–Villiger biosynthetic rearrangement to give a new class of 1,14‐seco‐crotofolane diterpenes. Prolonged storage of all isolates assisted in authenticating their natural product status. Anticancer activities of reported compounds are presented.     

Regiospecific Formation and Unusual Optical Properties of 2,5‐Bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes: A New Class of Luminescent Organometallics

A series of 2,5‐bis(arylethynyl)rhodacyclopentadienes has been prepared by a rare example of regiospecific reductive coupling of 1,4‐(p‐R‐phenyl)‐1,3‐butadiynes (R?H, Me, OMe, SMe, NMe₂, CF₃, CO₂Me, CN, NO₂, ?C?C‐(p‐C₆H₄?NHex₂), ?C?C?(p‐C₆H₄?CO₂Oct)) at [RhX(PMe₃)₄] ( 1 ) (X=?C?C?SiMe₃ ( a ), ?C?C‐(p‐C₆H₄?NMe₂) ( b ), ?C?C?C?C?(p‐C₆H₄?NPh₂) ( c ) or ?C?C?{p‐C₆H₄‐C?C?(p‐C₆H₄‐N(C₆H₁₃)₂)} ( d ) or Me ( e )), giving the 2,5‐bis(arylethynyl) isomer exclusively. The rhodacyclopentadienes bearing a methyl ligand in the equatorial plane (compound 1 e ) have been converted into their chloro analogues by reaction with HCl etherate. The rhodacycles thus obtained are stable to air and moisture in the solid state and the acceptor‐substituted compounds are even stable to air and moisture in solution. The photophysical properties of the rhodacyclopentadienes are highly unusual in that they exhibit, exclusively, fluorescence between 500–800 nm from the S₁ state, with quantum yields of Φ=0.01–0.18 and short lifetimes (τ=0.45–8.20 ns). The triplet state formation (Φ_ISC=0.57 for 2 a ) is exceptionally slow, occurring on the nanosecond timescale. This is unexpected, because the Rh atom should normally facilitate intersystem crossing within femto‐ to picoseconds, leading to phosphorescence from the T₁ state. This work therefore highlights that in some transition‐metal complexes, the heavy atom can play a more subtle role in controlling the photophysical behavior than is commonly appreciated.     

X-Ray Crystallography and Free Energy Calculations Reveal the Binding Mechanism of A2A Adenosine Receptor Antagonists

We present a robust protocol based on iterations of free energy perturbation (FEP) calculations, chemical synthesis, biophysical mapping and X-ray crystallography to reveal the binding mode of an antagonist series to the A_2A adenosine receptor (AR). Eight A_2AAR binding site mutations from biophysical mapping experiments were initially analyzed with sidechain FEP simulations, performed on alternate binding modes. The results distinctively supported one binding mode, which was subsequently used to design new chromone derivatives. Their affinities for the A_2AAR were experimentally determined and investigated through a cycle of ligand-FEP calculations, validating the binding orientation of the different chemical substituents proposed. Subsequent X-ray crystallography of the A_2AAR with a low and a high affinity chromone derivative confirmed the predicted binding orientation. The new molecules and structures here reported were driven by free energy calculations, and provide new insights on antagonist binding to the A_2AAR, an emerging target in immuno-oncology.     

Quantitative decomposition of resonance-assisted hydrogen bond energy in β-diketones into resonance and hydrogen bonding (π- and σ-) components using molecular tailoring and function-based approaches

Using the molecular tailoring and function-based approaches allows one to divide the energy of the O─H⋯O═C resonance-assisted hydrogen bond in a series of the β-diketones into resonance and hydrogen bonding components. The magnitude of the resonance component is assessed as about 6 kcal mol⁻¹. This value increases by ca. 1 kcal mol⁻¹ on going from the weak to strong resonance-assisted hydrogen bonding. The magnitude of the hydrogen bonding component varies in the wide range from 2 to 20 kcal mol⁻¹ depending on the structure of the β-diketone in question.     

Natural Melanin Nanoparticle‐decorated Screen‐printed Carbon Electrode: Performance Test for Amperometric Determination of Hexavalent Chromium as Model Trace

A biosensor was prepared with natural melanin nanoparticles (MNP) decorated on a screen‐printed carbon electrode (SPCE). Hexavalent chromium was selected as a well‐known heavy metal ion to be detected for testing the performance of novel biosensor. Natural MNP was extracted from cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) ink. Surface decoration of SPCEs with MNP was performed by two different methods. The first one was layer‐by‐layer assembly (LBL‐A) for different cycle times(n). In the second one, plasma treatment of SPCE incorporated with evaporation‐induced self‐assembly (EI‐SA) techniques including different incubation times in MNP solutions. The performance of both modified SPCEs were tested for amperometric detection of Cr(VI) in various water samples, and peak reduction of Cr(VI) was determined at 0.33 V. Amperometric results showed wide linear ranges of 0.1–2 μM and 0.1–5 μM of Cr(VI) for SPCEs modified with 14n‐LBL‐A and 12h‐EI‐SA, respectively. The sensitivities of SPCEs modified with 14n‐LBL‐A and 12h‐EI‐SA techniques were 0.27 μA μM^?1 and 0.52 μA μM^?1, respectively. In addition, both modified SPCEs selectively detected Cr(VI) in a model aqueous system composed of certain other heavy metals and minerals, and tap and lake water samples. The LOD and LOQ values for 12h‐EI‐SA were 0.03 μM and 0.1 μM, respectively. This showed that MNP‐modified‐SPCEs generated via EI‐SA techniques have the potential to be an alternative to conventional detection methods such as ICP‐MS.