Determination of tolperisone enantiomers in plasma and their disposition in rats.

A stereoselective assay for the determination of tolperisone enantiomers in plasma by high performance liquid chromatography was developed. Calibration curves obtained for the enantiomers were linear over plasma concentrations of 0.1-3.0 micrograms/ml with a detection limit of 20 ng/ml. Following intravenous bolus administration of 10 mg/kg of racemic tolperisone to rats, stereoselective disposition of tolperisone enantiomers was observed, and plasma concentrations were significantly higher for l-tolperisone than for d-tolperisone at 5, 15 and 30 min after administration. When either enantiomer was administered alone to rats, both enantiomers were found in plasma, indicating that a mutual chiral inversion occurs in the body.     

Pressure control of enantiodifferentiating polar addition of 1,1-diphenylpropene sensitized by chiral naphthalenecarboxylates

Effects of pressure on the enantiodifferentiating methanol addition to 1,1-diphenylpropene (1) sensitized by chiral naphthalenedicarboxylates (3 and 4) were investigated over 0.1-400 MPa. The logarithm of enantiomeric excess (ee) of photoadduct, i.e. 1,1-diphenyl-2-methoxypropane (2), was a linear function of both pressure (P) and temperature (T); further, the product chirality was switched by P in some cases. From the slope of P- ln(k(R)/k(S)) plot, the differential activation volume (Delta DeltaV(double dagger)) was determined for the first time for bimolecular asymmetric photoreactions. The Delta DeltaV(double dagger) values obtained are mostly larger than those obtained for relevant unimolecular photoreactions, and are a critical function of the nature of the chiral auxiliary and solvent, indicating conformation changes of the intervening diastereomeric exciplex or transition state in different solvents. Indeed, fluorescence spectral examinations of the sensitizer and exciplex under high pressure revealed the existence of exciplexes of variable energy and structure, which may rationalize the different Delta DeltaV(double dagger) and product ee obtained. A three-dimensional diagram, correlating the ee with P and T, was constructed from the pressure dependence data at different T, from which we may propose an idea of the multidimensional control of asymmetric reaction by the combined use of the entropy-related environmental factors.     

Iron(III) chloride-catalyzed convenient one-pot synthesis of homoallyl benzyl ethers starting from aldehydes

[reaction: see text] Iron(III) chloride-catalyzed effective allylation reactions of acetals with allyltrimethylsilane proceeded smoothly in high to excellent yields. In addition, this method could be applied to the one-pot synthesis of homoallyl benzyl ethers by a combination of dibenzyl acetalization of aldehydes and consecutive allylation of dibenzyl acetals.     

Synthetic studies of vitamin D analogues. X. Synthesis and biological activities of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-21-norvitamin D3.

1 alpha,25-Dihydroxy-21-norvitamin D3 (3) was synthesized from 1 alpha-hydroxydehydroepiandrosterone (4). Certain biological properties of 3 were examined in comparison with those of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1) and 1 alpha,25-dihydroxy-21-nor-20-oxavitamin D3 (2) to evaluate the effect of the 21-methyl substituent on biological activities. The differentiation-inducing activity of 3 towards human myeloid leukemia cells was approximately one-fifth of that of 1, while in the binding affinity with chick intestinal cytosolic receptor, 3 was about one-tenth of that of 1. The rather weak effect of 3 on serum calcium levels in normal mice at a dosage of 500 micrograms/kg (intravenous administration) indicates that the essential importance of the 21-methyl moiety may lie in its effect on the regulation of calcium metabolism.     

Selective and sensitive spectrophotometric determination of copper(II) and benzoylperoxide with N-ethyl-2-naphthylamine

Spectrophotometric determinations of benzoylperoxide (BPO) and copper(II) were, respectively, investigated by using the colour reaction for N-ethyl-2-naphthylamine (NENA), BPO and copper(II) as a metal ion in various concentrations of acetonitrile-water mixed solution as acidic media. The calibration graphs were linear in the range of 0-200 mug BPO with apparent molecular coefficient (epsilon) of 8.5 x 10(3)M(-1) cm(-1) at 530 nm, and 0-2.4 mug per 10 ml copper(II) with epsilon = 1.72 x 10(5)M(-1) cm(-1) at 533 nm, respectively. Additionally, the FIA method for copper(II) was proposed with NENA-BPO. The calibration graph for FIA was linear in the range of 0-7.9 ng copper(II) per 5 mul at 533 nm. These proposed methods were selective and simple in comparison with previous methods such as cuproin kinetic reactions, especially the spectrophotometry for copper(II) with NENA-BPO was very specific, and the effect of foreign ions was negligible.     

Synthesis of eight-membered ring compounds using enyne metathesis

[reaction: see text] A novel procedure for synthesizing eight-membered ring compounds was developed using ruthenium-catalyzed enyne metathesis. When a CH2Cl2 solution of enyne connected with catechol, o-amino phenol, or o-phenylenediamine was stirred in the presence of benzylidene ruthenium carbene complex (10 mol %) at room temperature overnight, an eight-membered ring compound was obtained in high yield. In a similar manner, monocyclic 1,4-diaza- or 1-oxa-4-azacyclooctene derivative was obtained in high yield.     

Structure and reactivity in cationic polymerization of butadiene derivatives. III. 2-phenylbutadiene

Cationic polymerization of 2-phenylbutadiene (2-PBD) has been investigated. Polymerization were performed by SnCl₄·TCA, WCl₆, and BF₃·OEt₂ as catalysts in methylene chloride. 2-PBD polymerized easily and gave low molecular weight polymers. The polymerization proceeded to give a polymer having 1,4-structure without 1,2- or 3,4-structure. The double bonds of the polymer were partially consumed, probably owing to cyclization and chain-transfer reactions. 2-PBD was 0.66 times as reactive as styrene and 1.2 times as reactive as isoprene in the copolymerization at ?78°C by SnCl₄·TCA in methylene chloride. Reactivities of ring-substituted 2-PBD obeyed the Hammett relation with ρ⁺ = ?2.04. The ¹³C chemical shift of ring-substituted 2-PBD was measured. Chemical shift values for C₁ and C₃ were correlated with Hammett σ, but those for C₂ and C₄ were almost unaffected by the substituents. On the basis of experimental results, the transition state of the cationic polymerization of 2-PBD was depicted as a benzylic cation rather than a phenylallylic one.     

Chiral synthesis of (R)-( -)-mellein and (3R,4aS)-( + )-ramulosin

By employing an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction as the key-step, (R)-(—)-mellein 1a (a metabolite of Aspergittus melleus) and (3R,4aS)-( +)-ramulosin 2 (a metabolite of Pestalotia ramulosa) were synthesised from ethyl (R)-3-hydroxybutanoate 3a.     

Anti-plasmin inhibitor. V. Structures of novel dimeric eckols isolated from the brown alga Ecklonia kurome OKAMURA

6,6'-Bieckol (1), 2-O-(2,4,6-trihydroxyphenyl)-6,6'-bieckol (4), and 8,8'-bieckol (2), bispolyphenols with a dibenzo-1,4-dioxin skeleton, have been isolated as potent anti-plasmin inhibitors from the brown alga Ecklonia kurome OKAMURA. Their structures have been determined to be dimers of eckol linked at the C-6 or C-8 positions, through an aryl-aryl bond on the basis of spectral data. Their inhibitory actions on anti-plasmins (alpha 2-macroglobulin and alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor) and some proteases have been examined.