A facile, scalable preparation of 4-oxo-4,7-dihydrothieno[2,3-b]pyridine-5-carbonitriles

We report a new synthesis of thieno[2,3-b]pyridine-5-carbonitriles from 2-aminothiophene-3-carboxylate esters. The key step of the synthesis is a thermally promoted elimination/decarboxylation followed by nucleophilic cyclization to give 4-oxo-4,7-dihydrothieno[2,3-b]pyridine-5-carbonitriles. The reactions proceed in good yield and generally require no chromatographic purification. These compounds are easily transformed in two steps to 4-chloro-2-iodothieno[2,3-b]pyridine-5-carbonitriles which are key intermediates in the synthesis of various kinase inhibitors.     

Xanthene-Based Nitric Oxide-Responsive Nanosensor for Photoacoustic Imaging in the SWIR Window

Shortwave infrared (SWIR) dyes are characterized by their ability to absorb light from 900 to 1400 nm, which is ideal for deep tissue imaging owing to minimized light scattering and interference from endogenous pigments. An approach to access such molecules is to tune the photophysical properties of known near-infrared dyes. Herein, we report the development of a series of easily accessible (three steps) SWIR xanthene dyes based on a dibenzazepine donor conjugated to thiophene ( SCR-1 ), thienothiophene ( SCR-2 ), or bithiophene ( SCR-3 ). We leverage the fact that SCR-1 undergoes a bathochromic shift when aggregated for in vivo studies by developing a ratiometric nanoparticle for NO ( rNP-NO ), which we employed to successfully visualize pathological levels of nitric oxide in a drug-induced liver injury model via deep tissue SWIR photoacoustic (PA) imaging. Our work demonstrates how easily this dye series can be utilized as a component in nanosensor designs for imaging studies.     

Influence of surface area on charge transport and recombination in dye-sensitized TiO2 solar cells

The dependence of the electron transport and recombination dynamics on the internal surface area of mesoporous nanocrystalline TiO2 films in dye-sensitized solar cells was investigated. The internal surface area was varied by altering the average particle size in the films. The scaling of the photoelectron density and the electron diffusion coefficient at short circuit with internal surface area confirms the results of a recent study (Kopidakis, N.; Neale, N. R.; Zhu, K.; van de Lagemaat, J.; Frank, A. J. Appl. Phys. Lett. 2005, 87, 202106) that transport-limiting traps are located predominately on the surfaces of the particles. The recombination current density was found to increase superlinearly (with an exponent of 1.40 +/- 0.12) with the internal surface area. This result is at odds with the expected linear dependence of the recombination current density on the surface area when only the film thickness is increased. The observed scaling of the recombination current density with surface area is consistent with recombination being transport-limited. Evidence is also presented confirming that photoinjected electrons recombine with redox species in the electrolyte via surface states rather than from the TiO2 conduction band.     

Natural products from medicinal plants: non-alkaloidal natural constituents of the Thalictrum species

Thalictrum is an important plant genus that is widely used in traditional medicine. In this review considerable attention has been given to triterpenoid saponins in connection with their specific distribution in the Thalictrum genus and with their biological activity. All other non-alkaloid compounds isolated from the Thalictrum genus are also reviewed; these metabolites are discussed in relation to their structural features and to their role in the plants.     

Incorporation of a flared inlet capillary tube on a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer

Flared inlet capillary tubes have been coupled with a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometer to help the ion transmission from the atmospheric pressure to the first vacuum region. We investigated different types of atmospheric pressure ionization methods using flared inlet tubes. For most of the ionization methods, such as ESI and DESI, increased ion current transmitted from the atmospheric pressure ion source to the first stage vacuum system was observed with the use of our enhanced ion inlet designs. The corresponding ion intensity detected on a FT-ICR mass spectrometer was also observed to increase two- to fivefold using ESI or DESI with the flared tube inlet. Moreover, increased spray tip positional tolerance was observed with implementation of the flared inlet tube. We also include our preliminary results obtained by coupling AP-MALDI with flared inlet tube in this paper. For AP-MALDI, the measured ion current transferred through the flared inlet tube was about 2 to 3 times larger than the ion current through the control non-flared inlet tube.     

New chiral benzothiazine ligand and its use in the synthesis of a chiral receptor

The development of chiral ligands to direct the course and stereoselectivity of many catalytic asymmetric reactions is an important area of interest for many research groups. As part of a program examining the chemistry of 2,1-benzothiazines, we have prepared a new chiral benzothiazine ligand. This ligand can be made in as few as three steps from commercially available starting materials. Presented herein is the synthesis of the ligand along with the synthesis of a chiral molecular receptor that potentially presages a new class of chiral molecular tweezers.     

Divergent reactivity of allene-containing α-diazoesters using Cu and Rh catalysis

A versatile intramolecular reaction of allene-containing diazomalonates that exhibits excellent chemoselectivity for either allenic C–H insertion or cyclopropanation is demonstrated. The identity of the product depends on the transition metal catalyst that is employed for the reaction. Rh catalysts promote exclusive C–H insertion with good diastereoselectivity for the trans product, while Cu catalysis enables intramolecular cyclopropanation to yield methylenecyclopropanes with moderate to good E:Z ratios.     

Sterically bulky tris(triazolyl)borate ligands as water-soluble analogues of tris(pyrazolyl)borate

The recently synthesized 3-tert-butyl-5-methyl-1,2,4-triazole reacted with KBH4 to give the new potassium tris(3-tert-butyl-5-methyl-1,2,4-triazolyl)borate K(Ttz(tBu,Me)) ligand. Ttz(tBu,Me) formed a four-coordinate (Ttz(tBu,Me))CoCl complex and five-coordinate (Ttz(tBu,Me))CoNO3 and (Ttz(tBu,Me))ZnOAc complexes. When these complexes were compared to their Tp(tBu,Me) analogues, it was found that Ttz(tBu,Me) resulted in negligible steric differences. K(Ttz(tBu,Me)) is more water-soluble than K(Tp(tBu,Me)), so bulky tris(triazolyl)borate ligands should lead to functional models for enzyme active sites in an aqueous environment and the creation of water-soluble analogues of Tp catalysts.     

Cyano­cobalt(III) complexes of penta‐ and tetra­dentate‐coordinated macrocyclic hexa­amines

The pendent‐arm macrocyclic hexa­amine trans‐6,13‐dimethyl‐1,4,8,11‐tetra­aza­cyclo­tetra­decane‐6,13‐diamine (L) may coordinate in tetra‐, penta‐ or hexa­dentate modes, depending on the metal ion and the synthetic procedure. We report here the crystal structures of two pseudo‐octa­hedral cobalt(III) complexes of L, namely sodium trans‐cyano­(trans‐6,13‐dimethyl‐1,4,8,11‐tetra­aza­cyclo­tetra­decane‐6,13‐diamine)cobalt(III) triperchlorate, Na[Co(CN)(C₁₃H₃₀N₆)](ClO₄)₃ or Na{trans‐[CoL(CN)]}(ClO₄)₃, (I), where L is coordinated as a penta­dentate ligand, and trans‐dicyano­(trans‐6,13‐dimethyl‐1,4,8,11‐tetra­aza­cyclo­tetra­decane‐6,13‐diamine)cobalt(III) trans‐dicyano­(trans‐6,13‐dimethyl‐1,4,8,11‐tetra­aza­cyclo­tetra­decane‐6,13‐diaminium)cobalt(III) tetra­perchlorate tetra­hydrate, [Co(CN)₂(C₁₄H₃₂N₆)][Co(CN)₂(C₁₄H₃₀N₆)](ClO₄)₄·4H₂O or trans‐[CoL(CN)₂]trans‐[Co(H₂L)(CN)₂](ClO₄)₄·4H₂O, (II), where the ligand binds in a tetra­dentate mode, with the remaining coordination sites being filled by C‐­bound cyano ligands. In (I), the secondary amine Co—N bond lengths lie within the range 1.944 (3)–1.969 (3) Å, while the trans influence of the cyano ligand lengthens the Co—N bond length of the coordinated primary amine [Co—N = 1.986 (3) Å]. The Co—CN bond length is 1.899 (3) Å. The complex cations in (II) are each located on centres of symmetry. The Co—N bond lengths in both cations are somewhat longer than in (I) and span a narrow range [1.972 (3)–1.982 (3) Å]. The two independent Co—CN bond lengths are similar [1.918 (4) and 1.926 (4) Å] but significantly longer than in the structure of (I), again a consequence of the trans influence of each cyano ligand.     

Lewis Acid Catalyzed Condensation–Cyclization Cascade: Direct Synthesis of Di/Trifluoromethyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroquinazolines

Condensed heterocycles such as quinazolines constitute the framework of many promising drugs. The great impact of the dramatic fluorine effect in pharmaceuticals prompted a great surge in the quest for fluorinated drug design resulting in over 20 % fluorine‐containing drugs in the market today. Therefore, finding an efficient and cost‐effective method for the direct synthesis of fluorine‐tagged quinazoline systems is of great significance in the pharmaceutical arena. For the first time, a one‐pot sequential condensation–cyclization reaction to form selectively the difluoro/trifluoromethylated tetrahydroquinazolines from simple components difluoro/trifluoroacetaldehyde hemiacetal and aromatic amines is reported. Our recent studies using difluoro/trifluoroacetaldehyde hemiacetal as simple and elegant difluoro/trifluoromethyl synthons and metal triflates such as gallium triflate as safe and stable Lewis acid catalysts led us to this direct synthesis protocol for the expedient and convenient synthesis of fluorinated quinazolines. DFT calculations at PCM/B3LYP/6‐31++G** were carried out for evaluating a possible reaction mechanism for this cyclization. According to the DFT calculations, product stereochemistry is thermodynamically driven, favoring the cis isomer as the major product, which is also confirmed experimentally.