A strategy for the solution-phase parallel synthesis of N-(pyrrolidinylmethyl)hydroxamic acids

Both five- and six-membered iminocyclitols have proven to be useful transition-state analogue inhibitors of glycosidases. They also mimic the transition-state sugar moiety of the nucleoside phosphate sugar in glycosyltransferase-catalyzed reactions. Described here is the development of a general strategy toward the parallel synthesis of a five-membered iminocyclitol linked to a hydroxamic acid group designed to mimic the transition state of GDP-fucose complexed with Mn(II) in fucosyltransferase reactions. The iminocyclitol 8 containing a protected hydroxylamine unit was prepared from D-mannitol. The hydroxamic acid moiety was introduced via the reaction of 8 with various acid chlorides. The strategy is generally applicable to the construction of libraries for identification of glycosyltransferase inhibitors.     

Reactivity of organolanthanide and organolithium complexes containing the guanidinate ligands toward isocyanate or carbodiimide: synthesis and crystal structures

The direct reactions of (C5H5)2LnCl with LiN=C(NMe2)2 proceeded at room temperature in THF under pure nitrogen to yield the lanthanocene guanidinate complexes [(C5H5)2Ln(mu-eta1:eta2-N=C(NMe2)2)]2 (Ln = Gd (1), Er (2)). Treatment of phenyl isocyanate with complexes 1 and 2 results in monoinsertion of phenyl isocyanate into the Ln-N(mu-Gua) bond to yield the corresponding insertion products [(C5H5)2Ln(mu-eta1:eta2-OC(N=C(NMe2)2)NPh)]2 (Ln = Gd (3), Er (4)), presenting the first example of unsaturated organic small molecule insertion into the metal-guanidinate ligand bond. Further investigations indicate that N,N'-diisopropylcarbodiimide does not react with complexes 1 and 2 under the same conditions; however, it readily inserts into the lithium-guanidinate ligand bond of LiN=C(NMe2)2. As a synthon of the insertion product Li[(iPrN)2C(N=C(NMe2)2)], its reaction with (C5H5)2LnCl gives the novel organolanthanide complexes containing the guanidinoacetamidinate ligand, (C5H5)2Ln[(iPrN)2C(N=C(NMe2)2)] (Ln = Yb (5), Er (6), Dy (7)). All complexes were characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic properties. The structures of complexes 1, 3, 5 and 7 were determined through X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis.     

Carbohydrate-Based Antibiotics: A New Approach to Tackling the Problem of Resistance

Recent interest in the problem of antibiotic resistance has led to the identification of new targets and strategies for antibiotic discovery. Among these efforts, the development of small molecules as antibiotics to target carbohydrate receptors or carbohydrate-modifying enzymes represents a new direction. This review covers recent work in this regard and discusses the impact of each strategy on the development of drug resistance. Particularly interesting targets include unique cell-surface carbohydrates, the transglycosylase involved in peptidoglycan biosynthesis, and bacterial RNA. With a greater understanding of the genome of different bacteria as well as advances in functional genomics and proteomics, we can expect the discovery of a variety of targets for the development of novel antibiotics.     

On-Line Monitoring of the Photolysis of Benzyl Acetate and 3,5-Dimethoxybenzyl Acetate by Membrane Introduction Mass Spectrometry

Membrane introduction mass spectrometry (MIMS) allows on-line monitoring of the products of photolysis (254 nm) of benzyl acetate in aqueous methanol and 3,5-dimethoxybenzyl acetate in water. The reaction mixture is continuously exposed to a silicone membrane through which analyte molecules permeate into a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer for qualitative and quantitative analysis. Ionization is achieved by either isobutane or ammonia chemical ionization, and ions characteristic of the reactant ester and its products are monitored simultaneously and continuously. Three products, benzyl methyl ether, ethylbenzene, and bibenzyl are observed in the benzyl acetate photolysis. Two products, 3,5-dimethoxybenzyl alcohol and 3,5-dimethoxyethylbenzene, are formed in the photolysis of 3,5-dimethoxybenzyl acetate. Quantitation is achieved through calibration using external standard solutions and, in the case of benzyl methyl ether, tandem mass spectrometry is used to verify product identification. During the photolysis of benzyl acetate, benzyl methyl ether and ethylbenzene are produced at onset with similar efficiencies. For the 3,5-dimethoxy ester photolysis, performed in aqueous solution, the efficiency of formation of the polar product 3,5-dimethoxybenzyl alcohol is about 300 times greater than that of the nonpolar product 3,5-dimethoxyethylbenzene. The results show that the relative reaction rates are dependent on the solvent and on the photon intensity and are consistent with earlier off-line experiments by Pincock et al. which showed that the photolysis proceeds through both ion and radical pair intermediates. To the best of our knowledge, the work reported here describes the first analysis of the photochemistry of an aralkyl ester in water and the first use of on-line mass spectrometry in a mechanistic study.     

Ru-catalyzed synthesis of substituted phthalides through C–H bond activation and functionalization

Synthesis of substituted phthalides through a ruthenium-catalyzed reaction of phthalic anhydrides with acrylates is described. The reaction proceeds via CH bond activation and leads to the formation of vinylated phthalides through a successive double vinylation accompanied by decarboxylation and annulation reactions.     

ESR. Spectra and Structures of Radical Anions in the Dibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene Series

ESR. studies are reported for the radical anions of 5,6-didehydro- and 5,6,11,12-tetradehydro-dibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene (III and IV, resp.), in addition to that of dibenzo[a,e]cyclooctene (II) itself, the spectrum of which has been reexamined. Comparison of the proton and ¹³C coupling constants for II·?, III·? and IV·? indicates that the three radical anions do not differ greatly in their electronic and molecular structures. This statement implies that II·? should also be substantially planar, i.e., the tub-shaped eight-membered ring in II is expected to flatten on passing from the neutral molecule to its radical anion. Support for postulating such a change in geometry, analogous to that encountered with the parent cyclooctatetraene (I), is provided by INDO calculations.     

Enantioseparation of Amino Acid Derivatives with a Cellulose-Based Chiral Stationary Phase

Five structurally related amino acid derivatives were enantioseparated by HPLC with a commercially available chiral stationary phase, Chiralcel OD-H. The chromatographic experiments were performed in the normal phase mode. n-Hexane/polar alcohol was used as mobile phase. Excellent baseline enantioseparations could be obtained for all these solutes. The effects of the concentration of polar alcohol and the column temperature on the retentions and enantioseparations were studied in detail. From the van't Hoff plots the corresponding apparent thermodynamic parameters were derived. Mechanism aspects of chiral recognition were discussed based on the relationship between the thermodynamic parameters and the structures of the solutes. It was found that the substituent of the phenyl group on the residual group of the amino acid derivatives was close relevant to thermodynamic origin of enantioseparation. Much better enthalpy–entropy compensation effect was obtained by plotting the differential, rather than the original, thermodynamic parameters.     

Enantioseparation of amino acid derivatives on an immobilized network polymer derived from L-tartaric acid

Seven structurally related amino acid derivatives were successfully enantioseparated by HPLC with a commercially available column containing a chiral immobilized network polymer derived from L-tartaric acid. The experiments were carried out under normal-phase conditions. All the solutes could be baseline separated using n-hexane/2-propanol (95/5) as eluent at a flow rate of 1 ml/min at 25 degrees C, with reasonable retention time (<12 min). The effects of the polar alcohol modifier (type and content) in the mobile phase and the column temperature on the enantioseparation were studied. Apparent thermodynamic parameters were also calculated from the plots of ln alpha or ln k' versus 1/T. Some mechanistic aspects of chiral recognition were discussed with respect to the structures of the solutes. It was found that the enantioseparations are all enthalpy driven, and the N-acyl groups of the solutes have significant influence on the chiral recognition.     

Syntheses and conformational analyses of some 3-amino-2,5-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzazepine derivatives: X-ray crystal structure of 35–3-[[(1,1-dimethylethoxy)carbonyl]amino]-2,5-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzazepine

The constrained dipeptide mimic 1 was synthesized from 2 in three steps with 65% overall yield. Analyses of the ¹H nmr data of a number of 3-amino-2,5-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzazepine derivatives led to the conclusion that these compounds adopt a similar conformation and that this ring system is rigid. X-ray crystallography was used to define the structure of 3 , and computer-aided energy minimization of 6 gave a preferred conformation similar to that observed in the crystal of 3 .