1,3-Oxazolidin-4-ones. Synthesis and configuration of cis and trans isomers

Mixtures of cis and trans 1,3-oxazolidin-4-ones were obtained by cyclodehydration, in the presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid or boron trifluoride etherate, of lactamide and N-methyl-lactamide with aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. The products were separated by column (silica) chromatography and their configurations were determined.     

Structure and diffusion in amorphous aluminum silicate: a molecular dynamics computer simulation

The amorphous aluminum silicate (Al2O3)2(SiO2) [AS2] is investigated by means of large scale molecular dynamics computer simulations. We consider fully equilibrated melts in the temperature range 6100 K> or =T> or =2300 K as well as glass configurations that were obtained from cooling runs from T=2300 to 300 K with a cooling rate of about 10(12) K/s. Already at temperatures as high as 4000 K, most of the Al and Si atoms are fourfold coordinated by oxygen atoms. Thus, the structure of AS2 is that of a disordered tetrahedral network. The packing of AlO4 tetrahedra is very different from that of SiO4 tetrahedra in that Al is involved with a relatively high probability in small-membered rings and in triclusters in which an O atom is surrounded by four cations. We find as typical configurations two-membered rings with two Al atoms in which the shared O atoms form a tricluster. On larger length scales, the system shows a microphase separation in which the Al-rich network structure percolates through the SiO2 network. The latter structure gives rise to a prepeak in the static structure factor at a wave number q=0.5 A(-1). A comparison of experimental x-ray data with the results from the simulation shows good agreement for the structure function. The diffusion dynamics in AS2 is found to be much faster than in SiO2. We show that the self-diffusion constants for O and Al are very similar and that they are by a factor of 2-3 larger than the one for Si.     

(PPh4)2[WO2Cl3]2 · 2 CH2Cl2: Synthese,Schwingungsspektrum und Kristallstruktur

(PPh₄)₂[WO₂Cl₃]₂ · 2 CH₂Cl₂. Synthesis, Vibrational Spectrum, and Crystal Structure Depending on the stoichiometry and the solvent, dichloromethane or 1.2-dichloroethane, WO₂Cl₂ reacts with tetraphenylphosphonium chloride affording (PPh₄)₂[WO₂Cl₄] or (PPh₄)₂[WO₂Cl₃]₂, respectively. Both compounds are easily soluble in dichloromethane, from which they can be crystallized under incorporation of two molecules CH₂Cl₂ per formula unit. The crystalline compounds have been characterized by their IR and Raman spectra. According to the X-ray crystal structure analysis, (PPh₄)₂[WO₂Cl₃]₂ · 2 CH₂Cl₂ crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 with one formula unit per unit cell (986 independent observed reflexions, R = 0.061). Lattice constants: a = 1100.2, b = 1116.9, c = 1238.4 pm, = 69.40, = 80.46 and = 85.62°. The crystals consist of PPh₄^⊕ ions, centrosymmetric [WO₂Cl₃]₂^2? anions and CH₂Cl₂ molecules. In the anions, the tungsten atoms are linked via two oxo bridges with WO distances of 184 and 252 pm. The distorted octahedral coordination around each tungsten atom is completed by three terminal chloro and one terminal oxo ligand (WO bond length 166 pm), the latter being in trans position to the longer WO bridging bond. (PPh₄)₂[WO₂Cl₄] · 2 CH₂Cl₂ also forms triclinic crystals that are isotypic with (PPh₄)₂[WOCl₅] · 2 CH₂Cl₂ and in which the anions must have orientational disorder.     

Total synthesis of (±)-Δ9(12)-capnellene via iterative intramolecular type-I-“Magnesium-ene” reactions

The marine triquinane sesquiterpene Δ⁹(¹²)-capnellene ($\text{1}$) was synthesised from 2,2,5-trimethyl-5-hexenal ($\text{2}$) by a sequence of all synthetic operations in 5% overall yield. The key steps 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 involve two intramolecular type-I-“Mg-ene” processes.     

Equilibrium interaction of solid surfaces across a polymer melt

Forces across polymer melts are poorly understood despite their importance for adhesion and fabricating composite materials. Using an atomic force microscope (AFM), this interaction was measured for poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS). The structure of the polymer at the surface changed during the first approximately 10 h. Afterward, short-range attractive forces were observed with short-chain PDMS (M(w) = 4200 g/mol). Using PDMS with a molecular weight (M(w) = 18 000 g/mol) above the entanglement limit, we measured a monotonically decaying repulsive force, which indicates that a quasi-immobilized layer had formed at the solid surface. Due to the small radius of curvature of the tip, forces could be measured in equilibrium.     

Hierarchical structure of the energy landscape of proteins revisited by time series analysis. I. Mimicking protein dynamics in different time scales

Time series models, which are constructed from the projections of the molecular-dynamics (MD) runs on principal components (modes), are used to mimic the dynamics of two proteins: tendamistat and immunity protein of colicin E7 (ImmE7). Four independent MD runs of tendamistat and three independent runs of ImmE7 protein in vacuum are used to investigate the energy landscapes of these proteins. It is found that mean-square displacements of residues along the modes in different time scales can be mimicked by time series models, which are utilized in dividing protein dynamics into different regimes with respect to the dominating motion type. The first two regimes constitute the dominance of intraminimum motions during the first 5 ps and the random walk motion in a hierarchically higher-level energy minimum, which comprise the initial time period of the trajectories up to 20-40 ps for tendamistat and 80-120 ps for ImmE7. These are also the time ranges within which the linear nonstationary time series are completely satisfactory in explaining protein dynamics. Encountering energy barriers enclosing higher-level energy minima constrains the random walk motion of the proteins, and pseudorelaxation processes at different levels of minima are detected in tendamistat, depending on the sampling window size. Correlation (relaxation) times of 30-40 ps and 150-200 ps are detected for two energy envelopes of successive levels for tendamistat, which gives an overall idea about the hierarchical structure of the energy landscape. However, it should be stressed that correlation times of the modes are highly variable with respect to conformational subspaces and sampling window sizes, indicating the absence of an actual relaxation. The random-walk step sizes and the time length of the second regime are used to illuminate an important difference between the dynamics of the two proteins, which cannot be clarified by the investigation of relaxation times alone: ImmE7 has lower-energy barriers enclosing the higher-level energy minimum, preventing the protein to relax and letting it move in a random-walk fashion for a longer period of time.     

Novel Variant of the Tricyclooctanone Approach to Cyclopentanoid Natural Products. Synthesis of (±)-Coriolin. Preliminary Communication

A total synthesis of the antitumor sesquiterpene coriolin ( 9 ; racemic) in 11 steps from 3,3,6-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.2]oct-7-ene-2,5-dione ( 2a / 2b ) is described (yield 2a / 2b → 8: 28%). The sequence is unprecedentedly short and avoids difficult separation problems. The key step in the scheme is a novel facet of oxadi-π-methane photochemistry, i.e., the steering by subtle steric effects of the β,γ-unsaturated ?-diketone to undergo a regioselective photorearrangement involving one β,γ-enone partial chromophore. Furthermore, the overall phototransformation, which can be carried out at unusually high concentrations (≥20% solutions), involves also a Norrish type I process equilibrating the two epimeric starting enediones 2a and 2b in favour of the desired stereoisomer.     

Die Reaktion von Trithiazylchlorid mit Titantetrachlorid Die Kristallstruktur von (S4N5)2[Ti2Cl10]

Reaction of Trithiazyl Chloride with Titanium Tetrachloride. Crystal Structure of (S₄N₅)₂[Ti₂Cl₁₀] In the reaction of trithiazyl chloride with titanium tetrachloride, chlorine is abstracted and the brown-yellow adduct TiCl₄(N₂S₂) is obtained. In this compound — according to its i.r. spectrum — a N₂S₂ ring is bonded to the titanium via the N atoms, thus forming a polymer. As a by-product, brown crystalline (S₄N₅)₂[Ti₂Cl₁₀] forms. Its crystal structure was determined and refined with X-ray diffraction data (R = 0.042 for 812 reflexions). It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c with two formula units per unit cell. The lattice constants are a = 670, b = 1 633, c = 1108 pm, β = 97.24°. The structure consists of S₄N₅^⊕ cations, which are nearly equal to those in [S₄N₅]Cl, and [Ti₂Cl₁₀]^2? anions, which are nearly identical with those in (PCl₄)₂[Ti₂Cl₁₀].