Functionalized chiral vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts: asymmetric synthesis and application to the synthesis of enantiopure unsaturated prolines, beta,gamma-dehydro amino acids, and cyclopentanoid keto aminosulfoxonium ylides

Methylation of the enantiopure functionalized vinyl sulfoximines 5a-e and 14a-d followed by a F- ion or DBU-mediated isomerization of the vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 7a-e and 15a-d, respectively, gave the allyl aminosulfoxonium salts 10a-e and 17a-d, respectively. A concomitant intramolecular substitution of the aminosulfoxonium group of 10a-e and 17a-d by the amino group afforded the unsaturated prolines 8a-e and 18a-d, respectively. The starting vinyl sulfoximines are accessible through a highly selective and stereo-complementary aminoalkylation of the corresponding sulfonimidoyl-substituted mono- and bis(allyl)titanium complexes with the imino ester 4. The vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 34, 7a-d, and E-15c experienced upon treatment with the Cl- ion a migratory substitution with formation of the delta-chloro-beta,gamma-dehydro amino acids 36, E/Z-37a-d, and 38, respectively. A migratory substitution of the hydroxy-substituted vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 46a and 46b furnished the delta-chloro allyl alcohols E/Z-48a and E-48b, respectively. A facile one-pot conversion of the vinyl sulfoximines 31b, 5c and 45a to the allyl chlorides 36, E/Z-37c and E/Z-48a, respectively, was achieved upon treatment with a chloroformiate. A tandem cyclization of the vinyl aminosulfoxonium salts 7b, Al-7b and 57 with LiN(H)tBu yielded the cyclopentanoid keto aminosulfoxonium ylides 54, Al-54, 59, 60 and 61, respectively. The structure of the tricyclic keto aminosulfoxonium ylide Al-54 has been determined by X-ray crystal structure analysis. Ab initio calculations and a NBO analysis of the tricyclic keto aminosulfoxonium ylide XXIII show a polar structure stabilized by electrostatic interactions between the ylidic C atom and both the carbonyl C atom and the S atom.     

Explicitly correlated multireference configuration interaction with multiple reference functions: avoided crossings and conical intersections

We develop an explicitly correlated multireference configuration interaction method (MRCI-F12) with multiple reference functions. It can be routinely applied to nearly degenerate molecular electronic structures near conical intersections and avoided crossings, where the reference functions are strongly mixed in the correlated wave function. This work is a generalization of the MRCI-F12 method for electronic ground states, reported earlier by Shiozaki et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 134, 034113 (2011)]. The so-called F12b approximation is used to arrive at computationally efficient formulas. The doubly external part of the wave function is expanded in terms of internally contracted configurations generated from all the reference functions. In addition, we introduce a singles correction to the CASSCF reference energies, which is applicable to multi-state calculations. As examples, we present numerical results for the avoided crossing of LiF, excited states of ozone, and the H(2)?+?OH (A(2)Σ(+)) reaction.     

Continuous Laminaribiose Production Using an Immobilized Bienzymatic System in a Packed Bed Reactor

The first continuous production system of laminaribiose from sucrose and glucose in a bienzymatic reaction is reported in this study. Immobilized laminaribiose phosphorylase and sucrose phosphorylase were used in a packed bed reactor system comprising of a 3-cm glass column at 35 °C with a steady feeding flow rate of 0.1 ml/min. Factors affecting product formation including enzyme ratio, peal concept (both enzymes in one pearl or in separate pearls), and pearl size were studied. An enzyme ratio of 2:1 of laminaribiose phosphorylase (LP) to sucrose phosphorylase (SP) when encapsulated separately in bigger size peals resulted in higher concentration of product. Laminaribiose (0.4 g/(L h)) is produced in the optimized system at steady state. The reaction system proved to be operationally stable throughout 10 days of continuous processing. A half-life time of more than 9 days was observed for both biocatalysts.     

Highly selective addition of chiral,sulfonimidoyl substituted bis(allyl)titanium complexes to N-sulfonyl alpha-imino esters: asymmetric synthesis of gamma,delta-unsaturated alpha-amino acids bearing a chiral,electron-withdrawing nucleofuge at the delta-position

Selective addition of the chiral, sulfonimidoyl substituted bis(allyl)titanium complexes 5a-d, which are configurationally labile in regard to the Calpha-atoms, to N-toluenesulfonyl (Ts)-, N-2-trimethylsilylethanesulfonyl (SES)-, and N-tert-butylsulfonyl (Bus) alpha-imino ester (9a-c) in the presence of Ti(OiPr)(4) and ClTi(OiPr)(3) afforded with high regio- and diastereoselectivities in good yields the (syn, E)-configured beta-alkyl-gamma,delta-unsaturated alpha-amino acid derivatives 2a-g, which carry a chiral, electron-withdrawing nucleofuge at the delta-position and a cyclohexyl, an isopropyl, a phenyl, and a methyl group at the beta-position. Addition of the cyclic bis(allyl)titanium complex 14 to N-Bus alpha-imino ester 9c afforded with similar high regio- and diastereoselectivities the (E)- and (Z)-configured amino acid derivatives (E)-8 and (Z)-8. Reaction of complexes 5a-d with alpha-imino esters 9a-c in the presence of Ti(OiPr)(4) occurs stepwise to give first the mono(allyl)titanium complexes containing 2a-g as ligands, which react in the presence of ClTi(OiPr)(3) with a second molecule of 9a-c with formation of two molecules of 2a-g. Formation of (S,R,E)-configured homoallylic amines 2a-g entails Si,Re,E processes of alpha-imino esters 9a-c with the (R,R)-configured bis(allyl)titanium complexes (R,R)-5a-d and (R)-configured mono(allyl)titanium complexes (R)-17a-d, both of which are most likely in rapid equilibrium with their (S,S)-diastereomers and (S)-diastereomers, respectively. Interestingly, in the reaction of 5a-d with aldehydes, the (S,S)-configured complexes (S,S)-5a-d are the ones which react faster. Reaction of the N-titanated amino acid derivatives Ti-2a and Ti-2b with N-Ts alpha-imino ester 9a led to the highly diastereoselective formation of imidazolidinones 15a and 15b, respectively. Cleavage of the sulfonamide group of the N-Bus amino acid derivative 2d with CF(3)SO(3)H gave quantitatively the sulfonimidoyl functionalized amino acid H-2d. A Ni-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of the amino acid derivative 2e with ZnPh(2) led to a substitution of the sulfonimidoyl group by a phenyl group and furnished the enantiomerically pure protected alpha-amino acid Bus-1. Two new N-sulfonyl alpha-imino esters, the SES and the Bus alpha-imino esters 9b and 9c, respectively, have been synthesized from the corresponding sulfonamides by the Kresze method in medium to good yields. The N-SES alpha-imino ester 9b and the N-Bus alpha-imino ester 9c should find many synthetic applications, in particular, in cases where the N-Ts alpha-imino ester 9a had been used before.     

Determination of 4-nonylphenol in water samples using 4-(2,6-dimethylhept-3-yl)phenol as new internal standard

A new method for determining the endocrine disrupting substance 4-nonylphenol (technical grade = mixture of isomers, 4-NP) from water samples has been developed by using 4-(2,6-dimethylhept-3-yl)phenol (4-sec-NP) as model compound. This branched monoalkylphenol is shown to serve as internal standard (IS) for the determination of technical 4-nonylphenol. To the best of our knowledge, 4-(2,6-dimethylhept-3-yl)phenol (racemic mixture) is a newly synthesized 4-nonylphenol isomer and has not been described elsewhere. Recoveries have been determined by analyzing spiked water samples from distilled water, river water and wastewater. Following acetylation, the compounds were enriched via solid phase extraction (SPE). Analyses of the compounds were performed by capillary column gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), operating in selected ion-monitoring (SIM) mode. The recovery of technical 4-NP using either the newly prepared 4-sec-NP or 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP) as IS have been compared. 4-sec-NP showed slightly better results. However, in the first series of experiments using wastewater, the yields for the derivatization of the two standard compounds were remarkably different. The yield for derivatization of 4-n-NP was approximately 20%, probably due to the difficult matrix of the wastewater. In contrast, the yield for the derivatization of 4-sec-NP was considerably higher (approximately 63%). This problem can be solved by increasing the concentration of the reagent used for derivatization. For better control of the clean-up process, we recommend application of 4-sec-NP as internal standard, at least in water samples with complex matrices (e.g., high content of hydroxylated compounds).     

The orbital-specific-virtual local coupled cluster singles and doubles method

We extend the orbital-specific-virtual tensor factorization, introduced for local M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory in Ref. [J. Yang, Y. Kurashige, F. R. Manby and G. K. L. Chan, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 044123 (2011)], to local coupled cluster singles and doubles theory (OSV-LCCSD). The method is implemented by modifying an efficient projected-atomic-orbital local coupled cluster program (PAO-LCCSD) described recently, [H.-J. Werner and M. Schu?tz, J. Chem. Phys. 135, 144116 (2011)]. By comparison of both methods we find that the compact representation of the amplitudes in the OSV approach affords various advantages, including smaller computational time requirements (for comparable accuracy), as well as a more systematic control of the error through a single energy threshold. Overall, the OSV-LCCSD approach together with an MP2 correction yields small domain errors in practical calculations. The applicability of the OSV-LCCSD is demonstrated for molecules with up to 73 atoms and realistic basis sets (up to 2334 basis functions).     

Simultaneous determination of inorganic and organic antimony species by using anion exchange phases for HPLC-ICP-MS and their application to plant extracts of Pteris vittata

Antimony is a common contaminant at abandoned sites for non-ferrous ore mining and processing. Because of the possible risk of antimony by transfer to plants growing on contaminated sites, it is of importance to analyze antimony and its species in such biota. A method based on high performance liquid chromatographic separation and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-ICP-MS) was developed to determine inorganic antimony species such as Sb(III) and Sb(V) as well as possible antimony-organic metabolisation products of the antimony transferred into plant material within one chromatographic run. The separation is performed using anion chromatography on a strong anion exchange column (IonPac AS15/AG 15). Based on isocratic optimizations for the separation of Sb(III) and Sb(V) as well as Sb(V) and trimenthylated Sb(V) (TMSb(V)), a chromatographic method with an eluent gradient was developed. The suggested analytical method was applied to aqueous extracts of Chinese break fern Pteris vittata samples. The transfer of antimony from spiked soil composites into the fern, which is known as a hyperaccumulator for arsenic, was investigated under greenhouse conditions. Remarkable amounts of antimony were transferred into roots and leaves of P. vittata growing on spiked soil composites. Generally, P. vittata accumulates not only arsenic (as shown in a multiplicity of studies in the last decade), but also antimony to a lower extent. The main contaminant in the extracts was Sb(V), but also elevated concentrations of Sb(III) and TMSb(V) (all in μg L⁻¹ range). An unidentified Sb compound in the plant extracts was detected, which slightly differ in elution time from TMSb(V).