Reusable catalysts for the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction

A new method for recycling chiral bis(oxazoline)-copper complexes is described based on the formation of charge-transfer complexes, their subsequent precipitation, and reuse after addition of new substrates. The conditions to perform this procedure were optimized in the presence of three bis(oxazoline)-based ligands. When associated with copper salts, these ligands efficiently catalyzed the Diels-Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and alpha,beta-unsaturated acyloxazolidinones. These catalysts were successfully recycled up to ten times while maintaining their high activities and enantioselectivities.     

Characterization of N-palmitoylated human growth hormone by in situ liquid-liquid extraction and MALDI tandem mass spectrometry

Acylation is a common post-translational modification found in secreted proteins and membrane-associated proteins, including signal transducing and regulatory proteins. Acylation is also explored in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry to increase the stability and lifetime of protein-based products. The presence of acyl moieties in proteins and peptides affects the physico-chemical properties of these species, thereby modulating protein stability, function, localization and molecular interactions. Characterization of protein acylation is a challenging analytical task, which includes the precise definition of the acylation sites in proteins and determination of the identity and molecular heterogeneity of the acyl moiety at each individual site. In this study, we generated a chemically modified human growth hormone (hGH) by incorporation of a palmitoyl moiety on the N(epsilon) group of a lysine residue. Monoacylation of the hGH protein was confirmed by determination of the intact molecular weight by mass spectrometry. Detailed analysis of protein acylation was achieved by analysis of peptides derived from hGH by protease treatment. However, peptide mass mapping by MALDI MS using trypsin and AspN proteases and standard sample preparation methods did not reveal any palmitoylated peptides. In contrast, in situ liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) performed directly on the MALDI MS metal target enabled detection of acylated peptide candidates by MALDI MS and demonstrated that hGH was N-palmitoylated at multiple lysine residues. MALDI MS and MS/MS analysis of the modified peptides mapped the N-palmitoylation sites to Lys158, Lys172 and Lys140 or Lys145. This study demonstrates the utility of LLE/MALDI MS/MS for mapping and characterization of acylation sites in proteins and peptides and the importance of optimizing sample preparation methods for mass spectrometry-based determination of substoichiometric, multi-site protein modifications.     

Exploiting Benzophenone Photoreactivity To Probe the Phospholipid Environment and Insertion Depth of the Cell-Penetrating Peptide Penetratin in Model Membranes

Penetratin (RQIKIWFQNRRMKWKK) enters cells by different mechanisms, including membrane translocation, thus implying that the peptide interacts with the lipid bilayer. Penetratin also crosses the membrane of artificial vesicles, depending on their phospholipid content. To evaluate the phospholipid preference of penetratin, as the first step of translocation, we exploited the benzophenone triplet kinetics of hydrogen abstraction, which is slower for secondary than for allylic hydrogen atoms. By using multilamellar vesicles of varying phospholipid content, we identified and characterized the cross-linked products by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Penetratin showed a preference for negatively charged (vs. zwitterionic) polar heads, and for unsaturated (vs. saturated) and short (vs. long) saturated phospholipids. Our study highlights the potential of using benzophenone to probe the environment and insertion depth of membranotropic peptides in membranes.     

Macrotricycles featuring a pi-basic tetrahedral cavity: preference for NH4+ detected by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

Cation-pi interactions play an important role in biology. The title compounds are C3-symmetric macrotricycles built from resorcinol, a pi electron-rich arene. They were prepared in up to 18% yield by intramolecular cyclization of 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzene tripods bearing pendant resorcinol groups, with methylene acetal bridges. Positive ESI-MS showed that these receptors recognize NH4+ over K+, and poorly respond to the large t-BuNH3+ cation, suggesting that they bind NH4+ intramolecularly, presumably via cation-pi interactions.     

Experimental and Theoretical Studies on the Magnetic Anisotropy in Lanthanide(III)‐Centered Fe3Ln Propellers

Compounds [Fe₃Ln(tea)₂(dpm)₆] ( Fe₃Ln ; Ln= Tb–Yb, H₃tea=triethanolamine, Hdpm=dipivaloylmethane) were synthesized as lanthanide(III)‐centered variants of tetrairon(III) single‐molecule magnets (Fe₄) and isolated in crystalline form. Compounds with Ln=Tb–Tm are isomorphous and show crystallographic threefold symmetry. The coordination environment of the rare earth, given by two tea^3? ligands, can be described as a bicapped distorted trigonal prism with D₃ symmetry. Magnetic measurements showed the presence of weak ferromagnetic Fe ??? Ln interactions for derivatives with Tb, Dy, Ho, and Er, and of weak antiferromagnetic or negligible coupling in complexes with Tm and Yb. Alternating current susceptibility measurements showed simple paramagnetic behavior down to 1.8 K and for frequencies reaching 10000 Hz, despite the easy‐axis magnetic anisotropy found in Fe₃Dy , Fe₃Er , and Fe₃Tm by single‐crystal angle‐resolved magnetometry. Relativistic quantum chemistry calculations were performed on Fe₃Ln (Ln=Tb–Tm): the ground J multiplet of Ln³⁺ ion is split by the crystal field to give a ground singlet state for Tb and Tm, and a doublet for Dy, Ho, and Er with a large admixture of m_J states. Gyromagnetic factors result in no predominance of g_z component along the threefold axis, with comparable g_x and g_y values in all compounds. It follows that the environment provided by the tea^3? ligands, though uniaxial, is unsuitable to promote slow magnetic relaxation in Fe₃Ln species.     

Access to Highly Functionalized Sulfonated Cyclopentanes by Acid‐Promoted Rauhut–Currier Reaction with Sulfinamides

An unexpected acid‐mediated cascade reaction induced by conjugate addition of sulfinamides to dienediones has been developed. This highly efficient Rauhut–Currier reaction enables the rapid, high‐yielding construction of sulfonated cyclopentanes with three contiguous stereogenic centers in a single operation starting from simple sulfinamides. This process constitutes the first example of sulfinamide‐promoted cycloisomerization.     

Preparation and characterization of highly stable lipid nanoparticles with amorphous core of tuneable viscosity

Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) have been designed based on low cost and human-use approved excipients, and manufactured by an easy, robust, and up-scalable process. Fluid colloidal dispersions or gel viscous formulations of highly stable nanoparticles (more than 12 month stability is achieved for some formulations) can be obtained. Their physicochemical properties are studied by Dynamic Light Scattering, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, and NMR. The results picture nanoparticles with a non-crystalline core, which viscosity can be finely tuned by the lipid composition and the temperature. A design of experiments has been used to investigate the limits of the system colloidal stability. The impact of core and surfactant weight fractions have been explored both experimentally and using the design of experiments. The versatility of this physicochemical system could open the way to a wide range of future pharmaceutical applications.     

Amine-mediated tandem conjugative isomerization-bridging Michael addition: concise synthesis of 1-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes

To reach densely functionalized 1-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane frameworks synthesis, a stereocontrolled bridging Michael addition involving an unexplored C-5/C-6 disconnection strategy was studied. 1-Azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane scaffolds have been diastereoselectively elaborated in fairly good yields by two concise pathways implying pyrrolidine derivative organocatalyst or enantiopure 1-phenylethylamine.     

Highly fluorinated aryl-substituted tris(indazolyl)borate thallium complexes: diverse regiochemistry at the B-N bond

The synthesis and characterization (mainly by (19)F NMR and X-ray diffraction) of highly fluorinated aryl-4,5,6,7-tetrafluoroindazoles and their corresponding thallium hydrotris(indazolyl)borate complexes are reported [aryl = phenyl, pentafluorophenyl, 3,5-dimethylphenyl, 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]. Thanks to N-H···N hydrogen bonds, the indazoles crystallize as dimers that pack differently depending on the nature of the aryl group. The thallium hydrotris(indazolyl)borate complexes Tl[Fn-Tp(4Bo,3aryl)] resulting from the reaction of aryl-4,5,6,7-tetrafluoroindazoles [aryl = phenyl, 3,5-dimethylphenyl, 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] with thallium borohydride adopt overall C(3v) symmetry with the indazolyl groups bound to boron via their N-1 nitrogen in a conventional manner. When the perfluorinated pentaphenyl-4,5,6,7-tetrafluoroindazole is reacted with thallium borohydride, a single regioisomer of C(s) symmetry having one indazolyl ring bound to boron via its N-2 nitrogen, TlHB(3-pentafluorophenyl-4,5,6,7-tetrafluoroindazol-1-yl)(2)(3-pentafluorophenyl-4,5,6,7-tetrafluoroindazol-2-yl) Tl[F27-Tp((4Bo,3C6F5)*)], is obtained for the first time. Surprisingly, the perfluorinated dihydrobis(indazolyl)borate complex Tl[F(18)-Bp(3Bo,3C6F5)], an intermediate on the way to the hydrotris(indazolyl)borate complex, has C(s) symmetry with two indazolyl rings bound to boron via N-2. The distortion of the coordination sphere around Tl and the arrangement of the complexes in the crystal are discussed.     

On the use of interaction tensors to describe and predict rod interactions in rod suspensions

Recently, Férec et al. (2009a) proposed a model for nondilute rod-like suspensions, where particle interactions are taking into account via a micromechanical approach. The derived governing equation used the well-known second- and fourth-order orientation tensors (a ₂ and a ₄ ) and novel second- and fourth-order interaction tensors (b ₂ and b ₄ ). To completely close the model, it is necessary to express a ₄ , b ₂ , and b ₄ in terms of a ₂ . This paper gives the general framework to elaborate these new relations. Firstly, approximations for b ₂ are developed based on linear combinations of a ₂ and a ₄ . Moreover, a new closure approximation is also derived for b ₄ , based on the orthotropic fitted closure approach. Unknown parameters are determined by a least-square fitting technique with assumed exact solutions constructed from the probability distribution function (PDF). As numerical solutions for the PDF are difficult to obtain given the nonlinearity of the problem, a combination of steady state solutions is used to generate PDF designed to cover uniformly the entire domain of possible orientations. All these proposed approximations are tested against the particle-based simulations in a variety of flow fields. Improvements of the different approximations are observed, and the couple iORW-CO4P3 gives efficient results.