Rearrangements of 3-heterobicyclo[3.2.0]hept-6-enes

Studies directed at a synthesis of dihydrothiepin 1b have resulted in the elucidation of several factors which effect cyclobutene ring opening in the 3-heterobicyclo[3.2.0]hept-6-ene ring system. We report the unexpected rearrangement of 4a, 4b, 13b and 13c to the synthetically useful a-vinyl-2,5-dihydrothiophenes 7a, 7b, 15a and 15b, respectively. Conversion of 4a to 6 is suggested to occur by a 1,3-rearrangement of 4a to isomeric 3-thiabicyclo[3.2.0]hept-6-ene 19 followed by cyclobutene ring opening in 19.     

Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometric determination of ruthenium in iron meteorites

A procedure for the determination of ruthenium in iron meteorites involves its oxidation to RuO₄ by sodium periodate in hydrochloric acid and extraction of the tetroxide into chloroform. Various parameters of the method were studied: sample dissolution, optimum amount of oxidant, shaking time, distribution ratio and stability of the complex. The relative standard deviation assessed from replicate analyses of the North Chile iron meteorite was 6.6%. There are no certified standards for iron meteorites, but the value of 20.0 μg g^? obtained for this meteorite compares well with a reported abundance of 19.3 μg g^?1 obtained by radiometric neutron-activation analysis (RNAA). The analysis of 15 meteorites that had previously been analysed by RNAA gave values averaging 11% below those reported by the latter method, but within the standard deviation of the RNAA data. It is considered that the present method is a more practical alternative to RNAA for the determination of ruthenium in iron meteorites.     

Analysis of betamethasone, dexamethasone and related compounds by liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS) method has been developed to conclusively differentiate the epimers betamethasone and dexamethasone and various esterification products (betamethasone and dexamethasone 21-acetate, betamethasone and dexamethasone 21-phosphate, betamethasone 17-valerate, betamethasone 21-valerate and betamethasone 17,21-dipropionate) in counterfeit drugs. Good separation with baseline resolution of all epimers or isomers was obtained on a Zorbax Eclipse XDB or Luna C8 column, using a step gradient with mobile phases of 0.05 M ammonium acetate and acetonitrile. Betamethasones can also be distinguished by the relative abundance of their m/z 279 ion in the positive electrospray tandem mass spectra. The LC/MS or LC/MS/MS method developed was successfully applied to the analysis of drug product samples, i.e. creams and tablets.     

Relative energies of substituted benzene valence isomers

Ab initio calculations employing the STO-3G basis set are used to obtain the relative energies of the benzene valence isomers and some selected monosubstituted derivatives. We find that 3,3'-bicyclopropenyl, the least stable of the five (CH)₆ examined, is slightly more stable in the anti conformation than the gauche (Φ = 45°) conformation in agreement with experiment. Substituents are calculated to produce significant changes in the relative energies of the benzene valence isomers. The ground-state isomerization of 1-Dewar benzeneearbinyl cation to benzyl cation is more exothermic than the aromatization of Dewar benzene, but is, in contrast to the latter, symmetry-allowed.     

Microdetermination of phosphate with EDTA

An indirect microdetermination of phosphate via EDTA titration is described, which can be applied to minerals, soils, fertilizers, biological samples, drugs and organo-phosphorus compounds. The method is based on the precipitation of phosphate as the very insoluble silver orthophosphate (K_sp = 1.3 × 10^?20), dissolution of this precipitate in a solution of potassium cyanonickelate and titration of the nickel displaced by silver. The phosphate content is obtained indirectly by multiplying the number of ml of the titrant by a factor. The method takes about an hour after the phosphate is brought into solution. The accuracy is about 1% for samples containing 5–50 mg PO₄^3? and about 3–5% for samples with 100 to 5000 μg PO₄^3?.     

Estimating entropies from molecular dynamics simulations

While the determination of free-energy differences by MD simulation has become a standard procedure for which many techniques have been developed, total entropies and entropy differences are still hardly ever computed. An overview of techniques to determine entropy differences is given, and the accuracy and convergence behavior of five methods based on thermodynamic integration and perturbation techniques was evaluated using liquid water as a test system. Reasonably accurate entropy differences are obtained through thermodynamic integration in which many copies of a solute are desolvated. When only one solute molecule is involved, only two methods seem to yield useful results, the calculation of solute-solvent entropy through thermodynamic integration, and the calculation of solvation entropy through the temperature derivative of the corresponding free-energy difference. One-step perturbation methods seem unsuitable to obtain entropy estimates.     

A New Family of Nonstoichiometric Layered Rare-Earth Tin Antimonides, RESn(x)()Sb(2) (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm): Crystal Structure of LaSn(0.75)Sb(2)

A new class of nonstoichiometric layered ternary rare-earth tin antimonides, RESn(x)()Sb(2) (RE = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm), has been synthesized through reaction of the elements at 950 degrees C. In the lanthanum series LaSn(x)()Sb(2), tin can be incorporated from a maximum content of x approximately 0.7 or 0.8 to as low as x approximately 0.10. The structure of lanthanum tin diantimonide with the maximum tin content, LaSn(0.75)Sb(2), has been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group -Cmcm with a = 4.2425(5) ?, b = 23.121(2) ?, c = 4.5053(6) ?, and Z = 4. The isostructural rare-earth analogues were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction. The structure of LaSn(0.75)Sb(2) comprises layers of composition "LaSb(2)" in which La atoms are coordinated by Sb atoms in a square-antiprismatic geometry. Between these layers reside chains of Sn atoms distributed over three crystallographically independent sites, each partially occupied at about 20%. The structure of LaSn(0.75)Sb(2) can be regarded as resulting from the excision of RE-Sb and Sb-Sb bonds in the related structures of binary rare-earth diantimonides, RESb(2), and then intercalation of Sn atoms between layers.     

Direct Clay-Catalyzed Friedel-Crafts Arylation and Chlorination of the Hydrocarbon Adamantane

Multiple chlorinations and arylations at the tertiary positions of adamantane are promoted by FeCl₃-doped K10 montmorillonite in CCl₄ or in aromatic solvents. The process, remarkably easy to implement, can be tailored to selective formation of monosubstituted 1-adamantyl derivatives or 1,3-disubstituted adamantanes. The process achieves alkylation at the meta- and para-positions of toluene leading to a purely statistical distribution and displays no substrate specificity in competition experiments between toluene and benzene.     

Photochemical and Acid-Catalyzed Rearrangements of 4-Carbomethoxy-4-methyl-3-(trimethylsilyl)-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one

The synthesis of 4-carbomethoxy-4-methyl-3-(trimethylsilyl)-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-one (1) in 60% overall yield from benzaldehyde is described. Irradiation (366 nm) of 1 in benzene solution gave products of type A photorearrangement; e.g., diastereomers of the 4-(trimethylsilyl)- and 5-(trimethylsilyl)bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-3-en-2-ones 8 and 9. Bicyclohexenones 9a and 9b could not be isolated, but underwent acid-catalyzed protiodesilylative rearrangements on attempted chromatography (silica gel) to give a 1:1 mixture of (E)- and (Z)-4-(carbomethoxymethylmethylene)cyclopent-2-en-1-ones 12 and 13. Irradiation (366 nm) of either 12 or 13 resulted in photoisomerization to a photostationary state that was also a 1:1 mixture. Irradiation of 8a or 8b gave equivalent mixtures of phenols 14 and 15 by way of the type B oxyallyl zwitterion 17. The available experimental evidence suggests that both 9a and 9b undergo regiospecific photorearrangement to phenol 16 with no trace of 3-methyl-4-carbomethoxyphenol (19), the product of ipso substitution of the Me(3)Si group at C(4). Phenol 15 was isolated in 65% yield from the photoreaction of 1 in benzene with 20 equiv of CF(3)CO(2)H. The acid-catalyzed rearrangement of 1 to 3-carbomethoxy-4-methylphenol (21) occurs in 91% yield by way of CO(2)Me group rearrangement to C(3) to give the Me(3)Si-stabilized carbocation 23.     

Calix[6]arene-based cuprous "funnel complexes": a mimic for the substrate access channel to metalloenzyme active sites

Two calixarene-based model systems (a and b) for monocopper enzymes are compared. Both present a tris(pyridine) coordination site for Cu that mimics the imidazole-rich neutral binding site in enzymes. Upon reaction with 1 equiv of copper(I), the tridentate ligands gave rise to ill-defined unsymmetrical complexes. However, in the presence of an organonitrile RCN (R = Me, Et, Ph), tetrahedral species were obtained, with the nitrilo ligand included in the calixarene hydrophobic cone. System b presents a larger cavity than system a, with a wider opening thanks to the removal of three tBu groups from the calixarene structure. As a result, the recognition pattern for MeCN vs PhCN is inverted, and the relative affinity constants differ by 3 orders of magnitude. The mechanism of the acetonitrile exchange at the cuprous centers was studied by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Thermodynamic and kinetic data show that it follows a dissociative pathway in both cases. The main differences between systems a and b stem from the presence of a door that entraps the guest in case a. In system b indeed, the removal of three calixarene tBu groups led to a 100-fold acceleration of the MeCN exchange rate. Hence, these supramolecular systems provide a rare and interesting model for the hydrophobic substrate channel giving access to a metalloenzyme active site.