Nickel‐Catalyzed 1,2‐Diarylation of Alkenyl Carboxylates: A Gateway to 1,2,3‐Trifunctionalized Building Blocks

A nickel‐catalyzed conjunctive cross‐coupling of alkenyl carboxylic acids, aryl iodides, and aryl/alkenyl boronic esters is reported. The reaction delivers the desired 1,2‐diarylated and 1,2‐arylalkenylated products with excellent regiocontrol. To demonstrate the synthetic utility of the method, a representative product is prepared on gram scale and then diversified to eight 1,2,3‐trifunctionalized building blocks using two‐electron and one‐electron logic. Using this method, three routes toward bioactive molecules are improved in terms of yield and/or step count. This method represents the first example of catalytic 1,2‐diarylation of an alkene directed by a native carboxylate group.     

Ni(COD)(DQ): An Air‐Stable 18‐Electron Nickel(0)–Olefin Precatalyst

We report that Ni(COD)(DQ) (COD=1,5‐cyclooctadiene, DQ=duroquinone), an air‐stable 18‐electron complex originally described by Schrauzer in 1962, is a competent precatalyst for a variety of nickel‐catalyzed synthetic methods from the literature. Due to its apparent stability, use of Ni(COD)(DQ) as a precatalyst allows reactions to be conveniently performed without use of an inert‐atmosphere glovebox, as demonstrated across several case studies.     

Acylated flavonoid glycosides from Barringtonia racemosa

Abstract

Using various chromatographic separations, three new acylated flavonoid glycosides, namely barringosides G–I (1–3), were isolated from the water-soluble extract of Barringtonia racemosa branches and leaves. The structure elucidation was performed by extensive analysis of the 1D and 2D NMR and HR-QTOF-MS data. Of the isolated compounds, barringoside I (3) showed moderate inhibitory effects on LPS-induced NO production in RAW264.7 cells with an IC₅₀ of 52.48?±?1.04?µM.     

Triterpene glycosides from the Vietnamese sea cucumber Holothuria edulis

Abstract

From the MeOH extract of the Vietnamese sea cucumber Holothuria edulis, eight triterpene glycosides (1–8), including one new compound namely holothurin A₅ (1), were isolated by using various chromatographic separations. Their structures were established by spectroscopic experiments including 1D, 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS. Holothurin A₅ (1) has a hydroperoxy group at C-25. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of this group in triterpene saponins obtained from sea cucumbers to date. In addition, the in vitro cytotoxicity against five human cancer cell lines (HepG2, KB, LNCaP, MCF7 and SK-Mel2) of all isolated compounds was also evaluated using SRB assays.     

Portable capillary liquid chromatography for pharmaceutical and illicit drug analysis

A newly developed portable capillary liquid chromatograph was investigated for the separation of various pharmaceutical and illicit drug compounds. The system consists of two high‐pressure syringe pumps capable of delivering capillary‐scale flow rates at pressures up to 10 000 psi. Capillary liquid chromatography columns packed with sub‐2 μm particles are housed in cartridges that can be inserted into the system and easily connected through high‐pressure fluidic contact points by simply applying a specific, predetermined torque rather than using standard fittings and less precise sealing protocols. Several over‐the‐counter analgesic drug separations are demonstrated, along with a simple online measurement of tablet dissolution. Twenty illicit drug compounds were also separated across six targeted drug panels. The results described in this study demonstrate the capability of this compact liquid chromatography instrument to address several important drug‐related applications while simplifying system operation, and greatly reducing solvent usage and waste generation essential for onsite analysis.     

Peptide Stapling with Anion‐π Catalysts

We report design, synthesis and evaluation of a series of naphthalenediimides (NDIs) that are bridged with short peptides. Reminiscent of peptide stapling technologies, the macrocycles are conveniently accessible by a chromogenic nucleophilic aromatic substitution of two bromides in the NDI core with two thiols from cysteine sidechains. The dimension of core‐bridged NDIs matches that of one turn of an α helix. NDI‐stapled peptides exist as two, often separable atropisomers. Introduction of tertiary amine bases in amino‐acid sidechains above the π‐acidic NDI surface affords operational anion‐π catalysts. According to an enolate chemistry benchmark reaction, anion‐π catalysis next to peptides occurs with record chemoselectivity but weak enantioselectivity. Catalytic activity drops with increasing distance of the amine base to the NDI surface, looser homocysteine bridges, mismatched, shortened and elongated α‐helix turns, and acyclic peptide controls. Elongation of isolated turns into short α helices significantly increases activity. This increase is consistent with remote control of anion‐π catalysis from the α‐helix macrodipole.     

Solution to the Neumann problem exterior to a prolate spheroid by radial basis functions

We consider the exterior Neumann problem of the Laplacian with boundary condition on a prolate spheroid. We propose to use spherical radial basis functions in the solution of the boundary integral equation arising from the Dirichlet–to–Neumann map. Our approach is particularly suitable for handling of scattered data, e.g. satellite data. We also propose a preconditioning technique based on domain decomposition method to deal with ill-conditioned matrices arising from the approximation problem.