The Pauson–Khand Mechanism Revisited: Origin of CO in the Final Product

The mechanism of the Pauson–Khand reaction has been studied by mass spectrometry and it has been found, through ion‐molecule reaction with ¹³CO, that the carbon monoxide incorporated into the product cyclopentenone is one that has been retained within the complex. Theoretical and kinetic calculations support this finding, which provides a complementary explanation for the effect of Pauson–Khand promoters.     

A new P,S‐coordinating ferrocenyl ligand: synthesis of a precursor and its coordination compounds with PdII and PtII

In our ongoing development of ferrocene ligands, 1‐dimethylamino‐2‐(diphenylphosphinothioyl)ferrocene is being used as a convenient building block to obtain racemic or enantiomerically pure ligands. Using this building block in large excess allowed the formation of several by‐products, two of which have already been reported; the structure of a third by‐product, namely 1‐(diphenylphosphinothioyl)‐2‐{[(diphenylphosphinothioyl)sulfanyl]methyl}ferrocene, [Fe(C₅H₅)(C₃₀H₂₅P₂S₃)], is presented here. The crystal structure is built up from a ferrocene unit, with one of the cyclopentadienyl (Cp) rings substituted in the 1‐ and 2‐positions by a protected diphenylphosphinothioyl group and a [(diphenylphosphinothioyl)sulfanyl]methyl fragment, –CH₂SP(=S)Ph₂. There are C—H...S interactions which result in the formation of chains parallel to the c axis. After desulfurization, the crude material was then reacted with Pd and Pt (M) precursors [MCl₂(CH₃CN)₂] to yield two isostructural dinuclear complexes arranged around twofold axes, namely (R,R/S,S)‐bis{μ‐[2‐(diphenylphosphanyl)ferrocen‐1‐yl]methanethiolato‐κ³P,S:S}bis[chloridopalladium(II)] pentane disolvate, [Pd₂{Fe(C₅H₅)(C₁₈H₁₅PS)}₂Cl₂]·2C₅H₁₂, and the platinum(II) analogue, (R,R/S,S)‐bis{μ‐[2‐(diphenylphosphanyl)ferrocen‐1‐yl]methanethiolato‐κ³P,S:S}bis[chloridoplatinum(II)] toluene monosolvate, [Pt₂{Fe(C₅H₅)(C₁₈H₁₅PS)}₂Cl₂]·C₇H₈, in which the two metal atoms present a slightly distorted square‐planar geometry formed by two bridging S atoms and P and Cl atoms. The P,S‐chelating ligand results from the rupture of one of the P—S bonds in the starting ligand. These dinuclear complexes display a butterfly geometry. Surprisingly, only the (R,R/S,S) diastereoisomer has been isolated.     

Neuropeltis acuminata (P. Beauv.): Investigation of the Chemical Variability and In Vitro Anti-inflammatory Activity of the Leaf Essential Oil from the Ivorian Species

The variability of chemical composition of the leaf essential oil (EO) from Neuropeltis acuminata, a climbing liana growing wild in Ivory Coast, was investigated for the first time. The in vitro anti-inflammatory activity was also evaluated. Thirty oil samples were isolated from leaves collected in three forests of the country and analyzed using a combination of Column Chromatography (CC), Gas Chromatography with Retention Indices (GC(FID)), Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and ¹³Carbon-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (¹³C-NMR). Fractionation by CC led to the first-time isolation from natural source of δ-cadinen-11-ol, whose structural elucidation by one dimension (1D) and 2D-NMR spectroscopy is reported here. Finally, 103 constituents accounting for 95.7 to 99.6% of the samples’ compositions were identified. As significant variations of the major constituents were observed, the 30 oil compositions were submitted to hierarchical cluster and principal components analyses. Five distinct groups were evidenced: Group I, dominated by (E)-β-caryophyllene, kessane, and δ-cadinene, while the main constituents of Group II were germacrene B, ledol, α-humulene, (E)-γ-bisabolen-12-ol, and γ-elemene. Group III exhibited guaiol, germacrene D, atractylone, (E)-γ-bisabolen-12-ol, δ-cadinene and bulnesol as main compounds. Group IV was dominated by (E)-nerolidol, guaiol, selina-4(15),7(11)-diene and bulnesol, whereas (E)-β-caryophyllene, α-humulene and α-muurolene were the prevalent compounds of Group V. As the harvest took place in the same dry season in the three forests, the observed chemical variability could be related to harvest sites, which includes climatic and pedologic factors, although genetic factors could not be excluded. The leaf oil sample S24 behaved as a high inhibitor of LipOXygenase (LOX) activity (half maximum Inhibitory Concentration, IC₅₀: 0.059 ± 0.001 mg mL⁻¹), suggesting an anti-inflammatory potential.     

Synthesis and Properties of Partially Saturated Fluorenyl-Derived [n]Helicenes Featuring an Overcrowded Alkene

The straightforward, multigram-scale synthesis of the partially saturated H₆-fluoreno[n]helicenes (n=5 or 7) featuring a central, overcrowded alkene is described. The key cyclization step was based on an intramolecular McMurry reaction from the corresponding 1,5-diketones. Chiral stationary phase HPLC analysis and isomer separation indicate that each helicenic compound is constituted of three diastereoisomers at room temperature, i. e. the configurationally stable (R,R,P)/(S,S,M) pair of enantiomers and an apparently achiral compound resulting from the rapid interconversion between the (R,S,P) and (S,R,M) enantiomers. The partially saturated H₆-fluoreno[n]helicenes are oxidatively aromatized to give an efficient access to the corresponding fluoreno[n]helicenes. The chiroptical properties (vibrational and electronic circular dichroism) of the chiral, enantiopure compounds have been measured and analyzed by quantum-chemical calculations, confirming their helicoidal nature.     

Trapping of Terminal Platinapolyynes by Copper(I) Catalyzed Click Cycloadditions; Probes of Labile Intermediates in Syntheses of Complexes with Extended sp Carbon Chains,and Crystallographic Studies

The silylated hexatriynyl complex trans-(C₆F₅)(p-tol₃P)₂Pt(C≡C)₃SiEt₃ ( PtC₆TES ) is converted in situ to PtC₆H (wet n-Bu₄N⁺ F⁻, THF) and cross coupled with the diyne H(C≡C)₂SiEt₃ ( HC₄TES ; CuCl/TMEDA, O₂) to give PtC₁₀TES (71 %). This sequence is repeated twice to afford PtC₁₄TES (65 %) and then PtC₁₈TES (27 %). An analogous series of reactions starting with PtC₈TES gives PtC₁₂TES (60 %), then PtC₁₆TES (43 %), and then PtC₂₀TES (17 %). Similar cross couplings with H(C≡C)₂Si(i-Pr)₃ ( HC₄TIPS ) give PtC₁₂TIPS (68 %), PtC₁₄TIPS (68 %), and PtC₁₆TIPS (34 %). The trialkylsilyl species (up to PtC₁₈TES ) are converted to 3+2 “click” cycloadducts or 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles trans-(C₆F₅)(p-tol₃P)₂Pt(C≡C)_n-1C=CHN(CH₂C₆H₅)N=N (29–92 % after workups). The most general procedure involves generating the terminal polyynes PtC _x H (wet n-Bu₄N⁺ F⁻, THF) in the presence of benzyl azide in DMF and aqueous CuSO₄/ascorbic acid. All of the preceding complexes are crystallographically characterized and the structural and spectroscopic properties analyzed as a function of chain length. Two pseudopolymorphs of PtC₂₀TES are obtained, both of which feature molecules with parallel sp carbon chains in a pairwise head/tail packing motif with extensive sp/sp van der Waals contacts.     

High-resolution melt analysis for the detection of skin/sweat via DNA methylation

The determination of tissue type is important when reconstructing a crime scene as skin cells may indicate innocent contact, whereas other types of cells, such as blood and semen, may indicate foul play. Up to now, there has been no specific DNA methylation-based marker to distinguish skin cell DNA from other body fluids. The goal of this study is to develop a DNA methylation-based assay to detect and identify skin cells collected at forensic crime scenes for use in DNA typing. For this reason, we have utilized a DNA methylation chip array-based genome-wide association study to identify skin-specific DNA methylation markers. DNA obtained from skin along with other body fluids, such as semen, saliva, blood, and vaginal epithelia, were tested using five genes that were identified as sites for potential new epigenetic skin markers. Samples were collected, bisulfite converted, and subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with high-resolution melt analysis. In our studies, when using WDR11, PON2, and NHSL1 assays with bisulfite-modified PCR, skin/sweat amplicons melted at lower temperatures compared to blood, saliva, semen, and vaginal epithelia. One-way analysis of variance demonstrates that these three skin/sweat markers are significantly different when compared with other body fluids (p < 0.05). These results demonstrate that high-resolution melt analysis is a promising technology to detect and identify skin/sweat DNA from other body fluids.     

Optimizing millisecond time scale near-infrared emission in polynuclear chrome(III)-lanthanide(III) complexes

This work illustrates a simple approach for optimizing long-lived near-infrared lanthanide-centered luminescence using trivalent chromium chromophores as sensitizers. Reactions of the segmental ligand L2 with stoichiometric amounts of M(CF(3)SO(3))(2) (M = Cr, Zn) and Ln(CF(3)SO(3))(3) (Ln = Nd, Er, Yb) under aerobic conditions quantitatively yield the D(3)-symmetrical trinuclear [MLnM(L2)(3)](CF(3)SO(3))(n) complexes (M = Zn, n = 7; M = Cr, n = 9), in which the central lanthanide activator is sandwiched between the two transition metal cations. Visible or NIR irradiation of the peripheral Cr(III) chromophores in [CrLnCr(L2)(3)](9+) induces rate-limiting intramolecular intermetallic Cr→Ln energy transfer processes (Ln = Nd, Er, Yb), which eventually produces lanthanide-centered near-infrared (NIR) or IR emission with apparent lifetimes within the millisecond range. As compared to the parent dinuclear complexes [CrLn(L1)(3)](6+), the connection of a second strong-field [CrN(6)] sensitizer in [CrLnCr(L2)(3)](9+) significantly enhances the emission intensity without perturbing the kinetic regime. This work opens novel exciting photophysical perspectives via the buildup of non-negligible population densities for the long-lived doubly excited state [Cr*LnCr*(L2)(3)](9+) under reasonable pumping powers.     

Synthesis of antifungal glucan synthase inhibitors from enfumafungin

An efficient, new, and scalable semisynthesis of glucan synthase inhibitors 1 and 2 from the fermentation product enfumafungin 3 is described. The highlights of the synthesis include a high-yielding ether bond-forming reaction between a bulky sulfamidate 17 and alcohol 4 and a remarkably chemoselective, improved palladium(II)-mediated Corey-Yu allylic oxidation at the highly congested C-12 position of the enfumafungin core. Multi-hundred gram quantities of the target drug candidates 1 and 2 were prepared, in 12 linear steps with 25% isolated yield and 13 linear steps with 22% isolated yield, respectively.     

An accurate analytic representation of the water pair potential

The ab initio water dimer interaction energies obtained from coupled cluster calculations and used in the CC-pol water pair potential (Bukowski et al., Science, 2007, 315, 1249) have been refitted to a site-site form containing eight symmetry-independent sites in each monomer and denoted as CC-pol-8s. Initially, the site-site functions were assumed in a B-spline form, which allowed a precise optimization of the positions of the sites. Next, these functions were assumed in the standard exponential plus inverse powers form. The root mean square error of the CC-pol-8s fit with respect to the 2510 ab initio points is 0.10 kcal mol(-1), compared to 0.42 kcal mol(-1) of the CC-pol fit (0.010 kcal mol(-1) compared to 0.089 kcal mol(-1) for points with negative interaction energies). The energies of the stationary points in the CC-pol-8s potential are considerably more accurate than in the case of CC-pol. The water dimer vibration-rotation-tunneling spectrum predicted by the CC-pol-8s potential agrees substantially and systematically better with experiment than the already very accurate spectrum predicted by CC-pol, while specific features that could not be accurately predicted previously now agree very well with experiment. This shows that the uncertainties of the fit were the largest source of error in the previous predictions and that the present potential sets a new standard of accuracy in investigations of the water dimer.     

A Dieckmann cyclization route to piperazine-2,5-diones

Piperazine-2,5-diones are formed by Dieckmann cyclization (NaH, THF) of substructures of the type CH(2)-N(R)C(O)CH(2)N(R')CO(2)Ph in which the terminal methylene (CH(2)) that is adjacent to nitrogen closes onto the carbonyl group of the phenyl carbamate unit at the other end of the chain. R and R' are alkyl groups, and the terminal methylene is activated by a ketone carbonyl, a nitrile, an ester, or a phosphoryl group. The starting materials are assembled by standard acylation and oxidation processes, starting from a β-(alkylamino)alcohol, an (alkylamino)acetonitrile, an (alkylamino) ester, or an (alkylamino)methyl phosphonate.