Vitamin D: a concise synthesis of the C19 hydroxylated enyne A-ring, an interesting precursor for the preparation of C19 substituted vitamin D analogues

A new C₁₉ hydroxylated enyne 15, as potential A-ring building block of vitamin D analogues, was synthesized in enantiomerically pure form in nine steps from (−)-(S)-limonene. This short synthesis involved ozonolyzis of 1,2-limonene oxide followed by a Criegee rearrangement, epoxide trans diaxial ring opening by lithium acetylide, elimination, epoxidation and syn β-elimination of the resulting homopropargylic oxirane.     

A mechanistic investigation of the carbon-carbon bond cleavage of aryl and alkyl cyanides using a cationic RhIII silyl complex

Cationic Rh(III) complex [Cp(PMe(3))Rh(SiPh(3))(CH(2)Cl(2))]BAr(4)' (1) activates the carbon-carbon bond of aryl and alkyl cyanides (R-CN, where R = Ph, (4-(CF(3))C(6)H(4)), (4-(OMe)C(6)H(4)), Me, (i)Pr, (t)Bu) to produce complexes of the general formula [Cp*(PMe(3))Rh(R)(CNSiPh(3))]BAr(4)'. With the exception of the (t)BuCN case, every reaction proceeds at room temperature (t(1/2) < 1 h for aryl cyanides, t(1/2) < 14 h for alkyl cyanides). A general mechanism is presented on the basis of (1) an X-ray crystal structure determination of an intermediate isolated from the reaction involving 4-methoxybenzonitrile and (2) kinetic studies performed on the C-C bond cleavage of para-substituted aryl cyanides. Initial formation of an eta(1)-nitrile species is observed, followed by conversion to an eta(2)-iminoacyl intermediate, which was observed to undergo migration of R (aryl or alkyl) to rhodium to form the product [Cp*(PMe(3))Rh(R)(CNSiPh(3))]BAr(4)'.     

Ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of isomerically pure functional monomers and acyclic diene metathesis depolymerization (retro-ADMET) of functionalized polyalkenamers

ROMP and retro-acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) were used for the synthesis of new functional polymers and functional oligomers, respectively. Purely exo and enantiomerically pure norbornene and 7-oxanorbornene derivatives were prepared using stereospecific synthesis, effective fractionation and high yield condensation reactions. Successful ROMPs of those monomers were performed using either the new carbenic Schrock’s or Grubb’s catalysts or in some cases a classical bicomponent catalyst. New functional polymers such as optically active poly(norbornene-2-carboxylic acid), reactive poly(norbornene-2-azlactone), and side-chain liquid crystal polyoxanorbornenes were fully characterized. On the other hand, successful depolymerizations of 1,4-polyisoprene and of epoxidized 1,4-polybutadiene via cross-metathesis with 4-octene were performed using a stabilized bicomponent catalyst and the Grubb’s catalyst, respectively. Conditions for the controlled synthesis of epoxidized oligobutadienes and of epoxydienic monomers via retro-ADMET were clearly defined.     

A facility for the production of iodine-123 by spallation of caesium

A facility for the continuous production of iodine-123 by spallation of elemental caesium by 482 MeV protons has been in operation at a TRIUMF beam dump for about 2 years. Radioxenon from the target is efficiently trapped on alumina which is subsequently used to remove the¹²¹Te decay product. The yield is 100 mCi/h from a 20 gm/cm² target at 10 μA. Impurities are¹²⁵I<2% and¹²¹Te<0.2% at 27 hours after end of production. The¹²³I consists mainly of iodide along with significant iodate impurity. The product is used extensively in Canadian clinics for thyroid analyses and for labelling radiopharmaceuticals.     

Droplet evaporation study applied to DNA chip manufacturing

DNA chips are potentially powerful technologies for genotyping and gene expression profiling that rely on comparative analyses of up to thousands of "spots of analysis" on a glass support. The spot quality throughout the support influences spot-to-spot variations within an array and the repeatability of data across experiments. For glass slide DNA microarrays, droplets of DNA solution are deposited on functionalized glass slides and left to react through complete evaporation of the droplet. On hydrophobic flat surfaces, different modes of droplet evaporation can be attained. Under atmospheric pressure, water droplets tend to evaporate under two main regimes. Initially, the droplet flattens with a constant contact area, and then the droplet shrinks at a constant contact angle. As a result, the diameter and morphology of thousands of spots on microarrays are not uniform. This leads to poor and unreliable data processing results. In this work, we report the evaporation of an aqueous solution under a constant contact area mode. Evaporation under reduced pressure and the effect of reagent additives to the solution have been investigated. Video microscopy and digital image analysis techniques were applied to monitor the evaporation of the droplets. A mixture of surfactants was developed to maintain a constant area regime during evaporation and to form homogeneous spots. The control of some physicochemical properties (wetting, evaporation rate) of the droplet allows the formation of well-controlled spots compatible with DNA grafting. The influence of surfactant molecules on the mechanisms of evaporation is also discussed.     

The Binary System BaF2/AlF3

The system BaF₂/AlF₃ is investigated by X-ray and D.T.A., and the liquid-solid phase diagram is established. Five ternary fluorides are disclosed: trimorphic BaAlF₅, Ba₃Al₂F₁₂, Ba₅AlF₁₉, polymorphic Ba₃AlF₉ and Ba₅AlF₁₃. Neutron thermodiffractometry experiments are performed to specify some parts of the diagram. The cell parameters of the fluorides are given and the results are discussed and compared with those of the previous works.     

Stereoselective synthesis of a new perhydroindole derivative of chiral iminodiacid,a potent inhibitor of angiotensin converting enzyme

The stereoselective synthesis of N-[(s) 1 - carbethoxybutyl)] (s) alanine and of (2S, 3aS, 7aS) 2-t.butoxycarbonyl perhydroindole are described. Their coupling produces the title compound     

19F NMR chemical shifts of n-F-alkyl compounds

The examination of ¹⁹F chemical shifts for ca. 650 F-alkylated compounds of general formula CF₃(CF₂)_nCF₂X led to the following conclusions: the CF₂ groups α to X are very sensitive to the nature of X, and are spread over a range of 85 ppm. The effect of the length of the F-alkyl chain decreases rapidly, so that δCF₂(α) can already be considered as characteristic of X for n = 1 or 2 for most practical purposes. Solvent effects (in 9 different solvents having ε = 1.8 to 52.1) were found to be rather small except for the F-alkyl iodides. A chart which indicates the domain in which the CF₂(α) resonance signal is to be expected is given for 42 different series of F-alkylated compounds; it is expected to provide the synthetic chemist with a useful tool for the identification and characterization of such compounds.     

Reactivity of peroxo forms of the vanadium haloperoxidase cofactor. A DFT investigation

Density functional theory has been used to investigate structural, electronic and reactivity properties of complexes related to the peroxo forms of vanadium haloperoxidases (VHPO). In particular, the reactivity of the cofactor as a function of protonation state and environment, which are two factors thought to be crucial in modulating the activity of the enzyme, has been examined. In full agreement with experimental data, results highlight the role of protonation in the activation of the peroxo-vanadium complexes and show that the oxo-transfer step involves the unprotonated axial peroxo oxygen atom, which is easily accessible to substrates in the peroxo form of the enzyme. The role of Lys353, which in the X-ray structure of the peroxide-bound form of vanadium chloroperoxidase is hydrogen bonded to the equatorial oxygen atom of the peroxo group, has been also explored. It is concluded that Lys353 can play a role similar to a H+ in the activation of the peroxo form of the cofactor.     

The unexpected rearrangement of 1,5‐benzodiazepin‐2,4‐dione to a benzimidazol‐2‐one derivative during N,N'‐diglucosylation

Reaction of 1,5‐benzodiazepin‐2,4‐dione with 3‐O‐substituted‐5,6‐anhydro‐1,2‐isopropylidene‐α‐D‐glucofuranose gave the unexpected N,N'‐di‐glucofuranosyl benzimidazol‐2‐one by a novel rearrangement and ring closure reaction. A mechanism is proposed.