Solid-phase synthesis of 2-imidazolidinethiones via Mitsunobu reaction of N-(2-hydroxyethyl)thioureas

This letter reports the solid-phase synthesis of 2-imidazolidinethiones via the N-cyclization of N-(2-hydroxyethyl)thioureas using the Mitsunobu reaction in good yield and purity. This process employed the reductive amination of an ArgoGel-MB-CHO resin to anchor the aminoalcohols, followed by a reaction with isothiocyanates to give the resin-attached N-(2-hydroxyethyl)thioureas. Cleavage of the 2-imidazolidinethiones was performed with trifluoroacetic acid.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of hydroxy enol ethers: approach to a two-carbon homologation of aldehydes

[reaction: see text] Hydroboration of ethoxy acetylene, transmetalation to zinc, and addition to aldehydes in the presence of a chiral amino alcohol ligand (MIB) affords hydroxy enol ethers with high ee. The resultant enantiomerically enriched hydroxy enol ethers were converted to protected hydroxy aldehydes, a useful synthetic building block for the construction of a variety of polyoxygenated natural products. In addition, diastereoselective formation of syn- and anti-1,3-diols was studied.     

New approaches to β-trifluoromethylated enone derivatives

β-Trifluoromethylated enaminones 1 were prepared stereospecifically or high stercoselectively in 31-92% yields from the reaction of Weinreb amides with trifluoropropynyl lithium, followed by quenching with H₂O in the presence of amine derivatives. β-Trifluoromethylated enaminone 1a was reacted with aryl or alkynyl Grignard reagents to give Michael addition products 5 at 0 °C, whereas addition-elimination adducts, β-aryl (or alkynyl)-β-trifluoromethylated enones 6, were obtained stereospecifically in 50-92% yields after stirring at room temperature for several hours.     

Oxygen nonstoichiometry (δ) of TiO2−δ-revisited

Oxygen nonstoichiometry (δ) of “undoped” polycrystalline TiO_2−δ has been measured as a function of oxygen partial pressure in the widest ever examined range of 10^-18?P_O2/atm?10^-1 at elevated temperatures (1073?T/K?1473) by thermogravimetry and coulometric titrometry combined and compared with all the reported values. Isothermal variation of nonstoichiometry against P_O2 is explained with a defect model involving quadruply ionized titanium interstitials, electrons, holes, and unidentified acceptors which may be background impurity acceptors or cation vacancies. The equilibrium constants for intrinsic electronic excitation reaction and redox reaction are determined from the nonstoichiometry measured and compared exhaustively with all the reported values. The relative partial molar enthalpy and entropy of oxygen are evaluated as functions of nonstoichiometry and the inner workings of their variations discussed.     

Nonlinear optical and two-photon absorbtion properties of 1,3,5-tricyano-2,4,6-tris(styryl)benzene-containing octupolar oligomers

Octupolar oligomers containing 2-12 molecules of 1,3,5-tricyano-2,4,6-tris(styryl)benzene derivatives have been synthesized and their nonlinear optical and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties were determined. The beta(0) values are in the range of (85-1219) x 10(-30) esu and increase monotonically with the increasing number of the octupolar units within the molecule. The two-photon-induced fluorescence excitation spectra are quite similar to the single-photon absorption spectra except that the wavelength is doubled, indicating that the one- and two-photon allowed excited states are the same. The peak TPA cross-section values (delta(max)) measured with nanosecond pulses by the two-photon-induced fluorescence method are in the range (3010-62, 930) x 10(-50) cm(4)s photon(-1). The delta(max) increases as the number of the octupolar units in the molecules increases. A linear relationship is observed between delta(max) and beta, and this delta-beta relationship serves as a useful design strategy for the synthesis of novel octupolar oligomers and polymers with large TPA and beta.     

Platycodin D,a natural component of Platycodon grandiflorum,prevents both lysosome- and TMPRSS2-driven SARS-CoV-2 infection by hindering membrane fusion

An ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now the greatest threat to global public health. Herbal medicines and their derived natural products have drawn much attention in the treatment of COVID-19, but the detailed mechanisms by which natural products inhibit SARS-CoV-2 have not been elucidated. Here, we show that platycodin D (PD), a triterpenoid saponin abundant in Platycodon grandiflorum (PG), a dietary and medicinal herb commonly used in East Asia, effectively blocks the two main SARS-CoV-2 infection routes via lysosome- and transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2)-driven entry. Mechanistically, PD prevents host entry of SARS-CoV-2 by redistributing membrane cholesterol to prevent membrane fusion, which can be reinstated by treatment with a PD-encapsulating agent. Furthermore, the inhibitory effects of PD are recapitulated by the pharmacological inhibition or gene silencing of NPC1, which is mutated in patients with Niemann–Pick type C (NPC) displaying disrupted membrane cholesterol distribution. Finally, readily available local foods or herbal medicines containing PG root show similar inhibitory effects against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our study proposes that PD is a potent natural product for preventing or treating COVID-19 and that briefly disrupting the distribution of membrane cholesterol is a potential novel therapeutic strategy for SARS-CoV-2 infection.Subject terms: Viral infection, Lipid signalling     

Intercalation mechanism and interlayer structure of hexadecylamines in the confined space of layered alpha-zirconium phosphates

Well-defined hexadecylamine (HDA) intercalated structures, either interdigitated layers, bilayers, or hybrid layers of both, in a confined space of highly functionalized layered alpha-zirconium phosphates (alpha-ZrPs) have been prepared based on the two-step intercalation mechanism and these distinct intercalated structures can serve as a model system to investigate the interactions of two monolayers whose amphiphilic tails are adjacent to each other. At the first intercalation step, the electrostatic interaction between HDAs and alpha-ZrP is dominant and results in an interdigitated layer structure (d(001) = 3.0 nm) and the interdigitated layer is saturated at around phi = 50%, where phi is the weight fraction of intercalated HDAs in the intergallery of alpha-ZrP. For phi higher than 50%, the bilayer structure (d(001) = 4.3 nm) emerges due to further hydrophobic interaction between HDAs initially grafted to alpha-ZrP and unanchored HDAs and the relative fraction of the bilayer structure over the interdigitated layer increases with the increase in the intercalated amount of HDAs. The intriguing morphology of alpha-ZrP tactoids intercalated with HDAs in coexisting bilayers and interdigitated layers is observed by using microtomed TEM and the two-step intercalation has also been verified with TGA and FT-IR. Also, a structural transition from the bilayers to the interdigitated layers is monitored by using in situ synchrotron WAXS showing that the hydrophobically intercalated HDAs are selectively deintercalated at a relatively low decomposition temperature around 220 degrees C.     

Solid-phase synthesis of 2-cyanoquinazolin-4(3H)-one and 2,3-dihydrooxazolo[2,3-b]quinazolin-5-one derivatives utilizing resin-bound anthranilic acid derivatives

We were able to obtain 2-cyanoquinazolin-4(3H)-ones 11 in 35-60% four-step overall isolated yields and 2,3-dihydrooxazolo[2,3-b]quinazolin-5-ones 12 in 20-71% four-step overall isolated yields utilizing polymer-bound anthranilic acid derivatives 1, and 6-amino-2-cyanoquinazolin-4(3H)-ones 19 in 30-44% six-step overall isolated yields making use of anthranilic acid derivative resin 2 via dithiazole resins 10 and 17. The reactions on solid phase were monitored by single bead ATR-FTIR spectroscopic method.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of polyelectrolyte multilayering on a charged particle

Molecular dynamics simulations of polyelectrolyte multilayering on a charged spherical particle revealed that the sequential adsorption of oppositely charged flexible polyelectrolytes proceeds with surface charge reversal and highlighted electrostatic interactions as the major driving force of layer deposition. Far from being completely immobilized, multilayers feature a constant surge of chain intermixing during the deposition process, consistent with experimental observations of extensive interlayer mixing in these films. The formation of multilayers as well as the extent of layer intermixing depends on the degree of polymerization of the polyelectrolyte chains and the fraction of charge on its backbone. The presence of ionic pairs between oppositely charged macromolecules forming layers seems to play an important role in stabilizing the multilayer film.     

The first total synthesis of (+/-)-ingenol

The first total synthesis of (+/-)-ingenol has been achieved. The key features of the synthesis include the use of a highly diastereoselective Michael reaction to fix the C-11 methyl stereochemistry and the incorporation of the dimethylcyclopropane via diastereoselective carbene addition to the Delta13,14 olefin. The intramolecular dioxenone photoaddition-fragmentation sequence leads to the establishment of the critical C-8/C-10 trans intrabridgehead stereochemistry, a central challenge in the synthesis of ingenanes. The completion of the synthesis proceeds using the C-6alpha hydroxymethyl group as the sole handle for oxidation of seven contiguous carbon centers.