Reactions of Polycyclic Ketones with Dimethoxycarbene; a Convenient Route for a ‘One‐Pot’ Preparation of Some α‐Hydroxycarboxylic Acid Esters

Polycyclic ‘cage’ ketones, such as pentacyclo[5.4.0.0^2,6.0^3,10.0^5,9]undecan‐8‐one ( 10 ), pentacyclo[5.4.0.0^2,6.0^3,10.0^5,9]undecane‐8,11‐dione ( 11 ), and adamantan‐2‐one ( 16 ) were treated with the nucleophilic dimethoxycarbene (DMC; 1 ), which was generated thermally from 2,5‐dihydro‐2,2‐dimethoxy‐5,5‐dimethyl‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole ( 4a ) in boiling toluene. In this ‘one‐pot’ procedure, the α‐hydroxycarboxylic acid ester 12 or a corresponding derivative 15 or 17 was obtained (Schemes 4–7). Additionally, ‘cage’ thione 21 was treated with DMC under the same conditions yielding dimethoxythiirane 22 (Scheme 8). Subsequent hydrolysis or desulfurization (followed by hydrolysis on silica gel) of 22 gave α‐mercaptocarboxylate 25 and the corresponding desulfurized ester 24 , respectively. In all cases, the addition of DMC occurred stereoselectively, and the addition from the exo‐face is postulated to explain the structures of the isolated products.     

The First Reaction of Dimethoxycarbene with an Imine Moiety

The nucleophilic dimethoxycarbene (DMC; 2 ) generated by thermal decomposition of 2,5‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole derivative 1 in boiling toluene reacts smoothly with N‐(9H‐fluoren‐9‐ylidene)‐4‐methylbenzenesulfonamide ( 7b ) to yield carbonimidoate derivative 10 . A multi‐step reaction pathway, initiated by the attack of DMC onto the C?N bond and followed by the migration of the sulfonyl group (or via a sulfinate anion) is proposed to explain the formation of the final product. In contrast to the formal ketimine 7b , N‐benzylidene‐4‐methylbenzenesulfonamide ( 7a ), a formal aldimine, does not react with DMC under comparable conditions.     

V. Thioanalogues of sparteine lactams. (+)-2-Thiono-17-oxosparteine and (+)-2,17-dithionosparteine

The X-ray and spectroscopic results clearly indicate that the (+)-2-thiono-17-oxosparteine (1) and (+)-2,17-ditihionosparteine (2) are conformationally rigid. In order to analyze deviations of lactam/thiolactam groups from planarity induced by ring constraints, the Dunitz-Winkler approach has been used. The lactam and thiolactam groups are close to planarity, only the lactam group in one of the two independent molecules of 1 is markedly non-planar. The bond angles in the thiolactam and lactam groups are highly diverse. Rings A and C adopt a distorted sofa conformation in both compounds. The distortions in the molecules of 2 as compared with those in the related monothiolactams correspond to the unusual chemical shifts of H5(eq), H5(ax) and H11, as well as to the extremely low J_5ax-6 and extremely large J_5eq-6 coupling constants. Also chemical shifts show a similar regularity being extremely high and low for C2 and C17, respectively.     

Automatic code generation for quantum chemistry applications

A unified, computer algebra system‐based scheme of code‐generation for computational quantum‐chemistry programs is presented. Generation of electron‐repulsion integrals and their derivatives as well as exchange‐correlation potential and its derivatives is discussed. Application to general‐purpose computing on graphics processing units is considered.     

Crystal Structures of 1,5,9,18,22,26-Hexaaza[11.11]-p-cyclophane Adducts; Two-dimensional Supramolecular Networks

Two newly identified supramolecular structures arise from self-assembly of the macrocyclic 1,5,9,18,22,26- hexaaza[11.11]-p-cyclophane salts with o-nitrophenol (C₂₈H₅₀N₆)⁴⁺·4(C₆H₄NO₂O)⁻ (1) and with HCl (C₂₈H₅₂N₆)⁶⁺·6Cl^-·4H₂O (2). In both cases two-dimensional supramolecular sheets are formed.     

Determination of dipole moment in the ground and excited state by experimental and theoretical methods of N-nonyl acridine orange

The absorption and fluorescence spectra of N-nonyl acridine orange are determined at room temperature (298 K) in cyclohexane, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, chlorobenzene and dichloromethane. The ground state of dipole moment was obtained by impedance measurements using Guggenheim-Debeye's method. The experimental excited state dipole moment of N-nonyl acridine orange was determined using Bakhshiev's and Kawski-Chamma-Viallet's formulae and solvent polarity parameter proposed by Reichardt. These experimental results were completed with theoretical results using quantum chemical methods. The experimental (muexp=10.76 D) and theoretical (mucal=9.9 D) dipole moments in the ground and excited state (muexp*=14.56 D) were compared.     

A facile synthesis of 1,1-bis(silyl)ethenes

Symmetrical 1,1-bis(silyl)ethenes have been easily prepared via ruthenium complex-catalyzed silylative coupling cyclization of 1,2-bis(dimethylvinylsiloxy)ethane to give 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-3-methylene-1,5-dioxa-2,4-disilacycloheptane with excellent selectivity and good yield, followed by its reaction with Grignard reagents. The cyclic product can also be effectively transformed into cyclic carbosiloxane, 2,2,4,4,6,6,8,8-octamethyl-3,7-dimethylene-1,5-dioxa-2,4,6,8-tetrasilacyclooctane.     

Acid-base reactions of 1,3,4-thiadiazolines and thiocarbonyl ylides; 1,3,4-thiadiazoline-2-spiro-2′-adamantane

The surprising formation of C₂₂H₃₂N₂S₂ from the title compound 1 at 45°C involves the interaction of the basic adamantanethione S-methylide ($\text{2}$) with its acidic precursor $\text{1}$, in the course of which the anion $\text{6}$ undergoes electrocyclic ring opening; the acid and base functions offer the clue to a prolific chemistry of the thiadiazoline $\text{1}$ and the thiocarbonyl ylide $\text{2}$.     

Synthesis and alignment of silver nanorods and nanowires and the formation of Pt, Pd, and core/shell structures by galvanic exchange directly on surfaces

Here we describe the synthesis of Ag nanorods (NRs) (aspect ratio <20) and nanowires (NWs) (aspect ratio > or =20) directly on surfaces by seed-mediated growth. The procedure involves attaching gold seed nanoparticles (Au NPs) to 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS)-functionalized silicon or glass surfaces and growing them into NRs/NWs by placing the substrates into a solution containing cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), silver nitrate, and ascorbic acid with the pH ranging from 7 to 12. Under our conditions, Ag NRs/NWs grow optimally at pH 10.6 with a 3% yield, where spherical, triangular, and hexagonal nanostructures represent the other byproducts. The length of Ag NRs/NWs ranges from 50 nm to more than 10 microm, the aspect ratio (AR) ranges from 1.4 to >300, and the average diameter is approximately 35 nm. Approximately 40% of the 1D structures are NRs, and 60% are NWs as defined by their ARs. We also report the alignment of Ag NRs/NWs directly on surfaces by growing the structures on amine-functionalized Si(100) surfaces after an amidation reaction with acetic acid and a method to improve the percentage of Ag NRs/NWs on the surface by removing structures of other shapes with adhesive tape. Surface-grown Ag NRs/NWs also react with salts of palladium, platinum, and gold via galvanic exchange reactions to form high-surface-area 1D structures of the corresponding metal. The combination of the seed-mediated growth of Ag on Au NRs followed by the galvanic exchange of Ag with Pd leads to interesting core/shell NRs grown directly on surfaces. We used scanning electron microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to characterize the surface-grown nanostructures.     

Photobleaching of melanosomes from retinal pigment epithelium: II. Effects on the response of living cells to photic stress

Melanosomes of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) are long lived organelles that may undergo photobleaching with aging, which can diminish the antioxidant efficiency of melanin. Here, isolated porcine RPE melanosomes were experimentally photobleached with visible light to simulate aging and compared with untreated granules or control particles (black latex beads) for their effects on the survival of photically stressed ARPE-19 cultures. Particles were delivered to cultures for uptake by phagocytosis then cells were exposed to violet light and analyzed by a new live cell imaging method to identify the time of apoptotic blebbing as a dynamic measure of reduced cell survival. Results indicated that untreated melanosomes did not decrease photic injury to ARPE-19 cells when compared with cells lacking particles or with cells containing control particles, as might be expected if melanin performed an antioxidant function. Instead cells with untreated melanosomes showed reduced survival indicated by an earlier onset of blebbing and a lower fraction of surviving cells after photic stress. Cell survival was reduced even further in stressed cells containing melanosomes that were photobleached, and survival decreased with increasing photobleaching time. Photobleaching of RPE melanosomes therefore makes cells containing them more sensitive to light-induced cytotoxicity. This observation raises the possibility that aged melanosomes increase RPE cell photic stress in situ, perhaps contributing to reduced tissue function and to degeneration of the adjacent retina that the RPE supports. How melanosomes (photobleached or not) interact with their local subcellular environment to modify RPE cell survival is poorly understood and is likely determined by the physicochemical state of the granule and its constituent melanin. The live cell imaging method introduced here, which permitted detection of a graded effect of photobleaching, provides a sensitive bioassay for probing the effects of melanosome modifications.