Catalytic, asymmetric hypervinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reactions of extended furan-based silyl enolates

Virtually perfect transmittal of the enolate reactivity up to five conjugated double bonds from the origin allows a series of furan-based silyloxypolyenes to add to aldehyde carbonyls at the most distant point of the molecule. Denmark's axially chiral bisphosphoramide/SiCl(4) combination catalyzes these scantly precedented, long-range Mukaiyama-type vinylogous aldol reactions efficiently, providing a palette of extended γ-alkylidene butenolide carbinols with complete ω-site selectivity and good to excellent levels of enantioselectivity.     

Designing an enzyme-based nanobiosensor using molecular modeling techniques

Nanobiosensors can be built via functionalization of atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips with biomolecules capable of interacting with the analyte on a substrate, and the detection being performed by measuring the force between the immobilized biomolecule and the analyte. The optimization of such sensors may require multiple experiments to determine suitable experimental conditions for the immobilization and detection. In this study we employ molecular modeling techniques to assist in the design of nanobiosensors to detect herbicides. As a proof of principle, the properties of acetyl co-enzyme A carboxylase (ACC) were obtained with molecular dynamics simulations, from which the dimeric form in an aqueous solution was found to be more suitable for immobilization owing to a smaller structural fluctuation than the monomeric form. Upon solving the nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation using a finite-difference procedure, we found that the active sites of ACC exhibited a positive surface potential while the remainder of the ACC surface was negatively charged. Therefore, optimized biosensors should be prepared with electrostatic adsorption of ACC onto an AFM tip functionalized with positively charged groups, leaving the active sites exposed to the analyte. The preferential orientation for the herbicides diclofop and atrazine with the ACC active site was determined by molecular docking calculations which displayed an inhibition coefficient of 0.168 μM for diclofop, and 44.11 μM for atrazine. This binding selectivity for the herbicide family of diclofop was confirmed by semiempirical PM6 quantum chemical calculations which revealed that ACC interacts more strongly with the herbicide diclofop than with atrazine, showing binding energies of -119.04 and +8.40 kcal mol(-1), respectively. The initial measurements of the proposed nanobiosensor validated the theoretical calculations and displayed high selectivity for the family of the diclofop herbicides.     

Exploring new species on the [H,S, Se,Cl] potential energy surface

This investigation is concerned with the characterization of seleno‐sulfide‐halogen model systems, the isomerization processes, and the dissociation into diatomic fragment channels on the [H, S, Se, Cl] potential energy surface. Structural, energetic, and vibrational data were obtained at the CCSD(T) and MP2 levels of theory with the series of correlation consistent basis sets and extrapolated to the complete basis set (CBS) limit. For the frequencies, additional computations were performed to include the contribution of anharmonic effects, and for the determination of the heats of formation, important corrections incorporating core‐valence correlation effects and relativistic effects (scalar and spin‐orbit) were taken into account. CCSD(T)/CBS relative stability (kcal mol^?1) follows the order: HSSeCl (0.0), HSeSCl (8.80), SSeHCl (23.52), and SeSHCl (25.87). The cis‐rotational barrier for the two lowest isomers is practically identical (10.14 and 10.09 kcal mol^?1), whereas for the trans barrier, we obtained 9.25 (HSSeCl) and 8.45 (HSeSCl) kcal mol^?1. Dissociation of HSSeCl (HSeSCl) into HS (HSe) + SeCl (SCl) requires 59.70 (56.30) kcal mol^?1. For the most stable isomer, we predict a value of the heat of formation at 298.15 K of 2.53 kcal mol^?1. One of the outcomes of this research is that the MP2 results are consistent with those of CCSD(T). The MP2 method turns out to be a reliable alternative for a first exploration of larger catenated species, although it accounts for a lesser fraction of correlation effects. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Diastereo- and enantioselective catalytic vinylogous Mukaiyama-Mannich reactions of pyrrole-based silyl dienolates with alkyl-substituted aldehydes

A reliable, catalytic asymmetric vinylogous Mukaiyama-Mannich reaction of pyrrole-based silyl dienolates is introduced that is particularly apt for alkyl- and α-alkoxyalkyl-substituted aldehydes. The reaction course is effectively orchestrated by the Hoveyda-Snapper amino acid-based chiral ligand/silver(I) catalyst combination to produce valuable vicinal diamino carbonyl compounds in high yields, with virtually complete γ-site- and anti-selectivity and significant catalyst-to-product chirality transfer. The utility of the Mannich products can be seen in the synthesis of an unprecedented perhydrofuro[3,2-b]pyrrolone product, an aza-analogue of naturally occurring (+)-goniofufurone.     

Visible-Light Promoted Intramolecular para-Cycloadditions on Simple Aromatics

Dearomative cycloadditions are a powerful tool to access a large chemical space exploiting simple and ubiquitous building blocks. The energetic burden due to the loss of aromaticity has however greatly limited their synthetic potential. We devised a general intramolecular method that overcomes these limitations thanks to the photosensitization of allenamides. The visible-light-promoted process gives complex [2.2.2]-(hetero)-bicyclooctadienes at room temperature, likely through the stabilization of transient (bi)radicals by naphthalene. The reaction tolerates several valuable functionalities, offering a convenient handle for a myriad of applications, including original isoindoles and metal complexes.