An Education in Robustness

A case study is presented of the application of robustness analysis to the choice of examination subjects to be made by a 14-year-old girl. The analysis is conducted in terms of the desirable future career options which may be preserved by different combinations of subjects, and also of the balance with topics selected for their intrinsic interest. The approach, which employs very limited technical apparatus, is justified on a number of grounds-in particular, the crucial importance of uncertainty, and the need for understanding and acceptance by a "client" very unlike the corporate manager. Some tentative conclusions are reached on the extension of such methods to other cases of decision-makers with little, if any, resources to control except their own lives.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of (S)-5,5,5,5′,5′,5′,5′-Hexafluoroleucine

(S)-5,5,5,5′,5′,5′-Hexafluoroleucine ((S)- 13 ) of 81 % ee is prepared from hexafluoroacetone ( l ) and ethyl bromopyruvate (= ethyl 2-oxopropanoate) in 7 steps with an overall yield of 18% (Schemes 1 and 2). Key step in this sequence is the highly enantioselective reduction of the carbonyl group in α-keto ester 4 either by bakers' yeast (91 % ee) or by ‘catecholborane’ 6 utilizing an oxazaborolidine catalyst, yielding hydroxy ester (R)- 5 with 99% ee. The absolute configuration was determined by X-ray analysis of the HCl adduct (S,R)- 9b of (2S)-N-[(R)- l-phenylethyl]-5,5,5,5′,5′,5′-hexafluoroleucine ethyl ester.     

Comparing Intrinsic Reactivities of the First‐ and Second‐Generation Ruthenium Metathesis Catalysts in the Gas Phase

An experimental comparison of the gas‐phase reactivity of the 14‐electron reactive intermediates produced by phosphine dissociation from the first‐ and second‐generation ruthenium metathesis catalysts, (L)Cl₂Ru?CHR (L=PCy₃ or NHC), supports Grubbs's contention that the second‐generation catalysts show hundred‐fold higher phenomenological activity despite a slower phosphine dissociation because of a much more‐favorable partitioning of the 14‐electron active species towards product‐forming steps. The gas‐phase study finds, in ring‐opening metathesis of norbornene as well as acyclic metathesis of ethyl vinyl ether, that the first‐generation systems display evidence for a higher barrier above that for phosphine dissociation; the second‐generation systems, on the other hand, behave as if there is no significantly higher barrier.     

The Electronic Structure of Azuleno[1,2,3-cd]phenalene and Azuleno[5,6,7-cd]phenalene,a Comparison

The photoelectron (PE.) spectra of azuleno[l, 2, 3-cd]phenalene ( 1 ) and azuleno- [5,6,7-cd]phenalene( 2 ) have been recorded. The first five bands of both compounds could be assigned to transitions corresponding to removal of electrons from 4a₂, 6b₁, 5b₁, 3a₂ and 4b_l orbitals. This assignment is based mainly on a comparison between the observed ionization potentials and orbital energies calculated in a HMO and a PPP model. The UV./VIS. polarized absorption spectrum of 1 in the region 10000–45000 cm^?1 has been measured by means of the stretched film technique. The measurements were performed in polyethylene sheets at 77°K. Several bands could be assigned to π* ← π transitions calculated by a PPP-CI method. A comparison between the electronic structures of 1 and 2 is made by means of a simple HMO diagram.     

The correlation of NMR chemical shifts with EHT calculated electron densities for 3-pyridinols

The NMR spectra of a series of five 3-pyridinols in dioxane and dimethyl sulfoxide have been correlated with electron densities calculated by the Extended Hückel MO method. The data were found to fit a straight line of the form y=ax+b. The effects of hydrogen-bonding between pyridinol molecules on the correlation have been considered, and they have been estimated quantitatively for 6-methyl-3-pyridinol via Extended Hückel Calculations on a hydrogen-bonded model.

---

Zusammenfassung Die Kernresonanzspektren von fünf 3-Pyridinolen in Dioxan und Dimethylsulfoxyd wurden mit den Elektronendichten aus dem erweiterten Hückelverfahren korreliert, und zwar ergibt sich eine lineare Beziehung. Der Einfluß von intermolekularen Wasserstoffbrücken ist für einen Fall (die 6-Methyl-Verbindung) durch EHT-Rechnungen festgestellt und in den übrigen Fällen geschätzt worden.

---

Résumé Les spectres NMR d'une série de cinq 3-pyridinols dans le dioxane et le diméthyle-sulfoxyde ont été corrélés avec les densités électroniques calculées par la méthode de Hückel Etendue. Les données se placent correctement sur une droite y=ax+b. Les effets de la liaison hydrogène entre les molécules de pyridinol ont été envisagés et estimés quantitativement pour le 6-méthyl-3-pyridinol par des calculs EHT sur un modèle à liaison hydrogène.

     

Teaching Operational Research Technique

Good technique, i.e. competence in carrying out operational research, is as vital for the practitioner to acquire as competence in the traditional ‘techniques’. It is suggested that universities should teach students how to conduct simple projects prior to alerting them to more sophisticated methodological issues.As an aid to this task, the traditional five or six parts of an operational research project are broken down and extended into 39 steps, and regrouped into three phases. Also, five skills are identified as being conceptually essential to "good" operational research, which students can develop through tackling suitable case studies.     

Steric buttressing in the Pauson-Khand reactions of aryl enynes

A variety of aryl enynes have been constructed from o-iodophenol derivatives containing ortho-tert-butyl groups via O-alkylation and a Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction. These substrates undergo efficient thermal and oxidative intramolecular Pauson-Khand reactions leading to the formation of sterically congested cyclopentenones, as well as the formation of medium-sized rings, although in the latter case with unusual regioselectivity. Incorporation of a TMS moiety on the alkyne group in a higher homolog led to cyclization via the normal mode, albeit in relatively low yield.     

Structure activity relationship by NMR and by computer: a comparative study

There has recently been considerable interest in using NMR spectroscopy to identify ligand binding sites of macromolecules. In particular, a modular approach has been put forward by Fesik et al. (Shuker, S. B.; Hajduk, P. J.; Meadows, R. P.; Fesik, S. W. Science 1996, 274, 1531-1534) in which small ligands that bind to a particular target are identified in a first round of screening and subsequently linked together to form ligands of higher affinity. Similar strategies have also been proposed for in silico drug design, where the binding sites of small chemical groups are identified, and complete ligands are subsequently assembled from different groups that have favorable interactions with the macromolecular target. In this paper, we compare experimental and computational results on a selected target (FKBP12). The binding sites of three small ligands ((2S)1-acetylprolinemethylester, 1-formylpiperidine, 1-piperidinecarboxamide) in FKBP12 were identified independently by NMR and by computational methods. The subsequent comparison of the experimental and computational data showed that the computational method identified and ranked favorably ligand positions that satisfy the experimental NOE constraints.     

Preparation of chiral triarylphosphines by Pd-catalysed asymmetric P-C cross-coupling

Enantioselective C-P cross-coupling of diarylphosphines and ortho-substituted aryl iodides has been achieved with >90%ee, using an in situ catalyst prepared from Et,Et-FerroTANE, Pd(2)(dba)(3) x CHCl(3) and LiBr.