Preparation,Structure, and Reactivity of Thioxo and Imino Derivatives of the Triolide (and Pentolide) from (R)-3-Hydroxybutanoic Acid

Reaction of the triolide 1 from (R)-3-hydroxybutanoic acid with Lawesson's reagent 5 leads to the mono-, di-, and trithio derivatives 6–8 which can be isolated in pure form (20–40% yields), and which have crystal structures very similar to the parent triolide 1 (Fig. 1). Similarly, pentolide 3 is converted to mixtures of various thio derivatives, three of which are separated ( 10–12 ) by HPLC and fully characterized. The X-ray structures of the mono- and of one of the dithiopentolides ( 10, 12 ) differ remarkably from each other (Fig. 3). Reduction of the thiotriolides 6–8 (NaBH₄, R₃SnH, Cl₃SiH, Raney-Ni) gives 12-membered rings containing up to three ether groups (chiral crown ethers, 15, 17–19 ) in poor yields. The thiotriolides react spontaneously and in yields of up to 96% with ammonia, certain primary amines, and hydroxylamine to give imine and oxime derivatives with intact 12-membered-ring backbones ( 20, 22–24, 30 , see crystal structures in Figs. 4–7). The rigid structure of all the derivatives of triolide 1 puts the C?O, C?S, and C?NR O-, S-, and N-atoms in juxtaposition (a feature reminiscent of the side chains in the iron-binder enterobactin, Fig. 6). Imines containing PPh₂ groups are prepared ( 30, 33, 35 ) from the thiotriolides and tested as chiral ligands for Pd^II-catalyzed 1,3-diphenyallylations (→ 37 , enantiomer ratio up to 77:23). The reactions described demonstrate that multiple reactions of the triolide 1 from (R)-3-hydroxybutanoic acid which proceed through tetrahedral intermediates are possible without ring opening – the skeleton is remarkably stable, and this might be exploited as a template for bringing up to three pendent substituents into close proximity to allow a study of their interactions and cooperative properties. Also, the di- and trithio derivatives 7 and 8 could be used for cross-linking in molecules containing primary NH₂ groups.     

Carbonylrhodium complexes with pyridylphosphines: [Rh(chel)(CO)(PPhxpyl3−x)]

Summary Diphenyl(2-pyridyl)phosphine (PPh₂pyl), phenylbis(2-pyridyl)-phosphine (PPhpyl₂) and tris(2-pyridyl)-phosphine (Ppyl₃) react with [Rh(acac)(CO)₂] (acac=acetylacetonate) and Rh(8-oxy)(CO)₂(8-oxy=8-hydroxyquinolinate) yielding [Rh(chel)(CO)(PPh_xpyl_3–x)]. The properties of these complexes were examined by spectral (i.r.,u.v.-vis,³¹P n.m.r.) and chemical methods.     

Optical Alignment of Organic Dopants in a Solid Gel Matrix: Dispersed and Grafted Rhodamine B Molecules

We study herein the rotational mobility of organic dye molecules and their ability to align on a strong optical electric field when they are encaged in the pores of an inorganic silica xerogel matrix. We compare the case of dye molecules simply dispersed in the pores of the gel—and possibly held by hydrogen bonds—to the case of molecules chemically grafted on the inner surface of these pores through covalent bonds. The study is led on hybrid silicon-zirconium based inorganic matrices doped with organic rhodamine B molecules. The stronger holding of the dopants when these are grafted to the matrix enhances the molecular alignment—and thus the induced anisotropy—as well as the remanence of this alignment. Furthermore, we show that submitting the samples to a supplementary drying at higher temperature tends to increase both the alignment anisotropy and its stability. We explain these results in terms of mobility of the molecules, in relation to their immediate environment.     

New mono- and bis-carbene samarium complexes: synthesis, X-ray crystal structures and reactivity

New samarium carbene complexes have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis; the carbenic nature was assessed by reactivity studies.     

Effect of proline and glycine residues on dynamics and barriers of loop formation in polypeptide chains

Glycine and proline residues are frequently found in turn and loop structures of proteins and are believed to play an important role during chain compaction early in folding. We investigated their effect on the dynamics of intrachain loop formation in various unstructured polypeptide chains. Loop formation is significantly slower around trans prolyl peptide bonds and faster around glycine residues compared to any other amino acid. However, short loops are formed fastest around cis prolyl bonds with a time constant of 6 ns for end-to-end contact formation in a four-residue loop. Formation of short loops encounters activation energies in the range of 15 to 30 kJ/mol. The altered dynamics around glycine and trans prolyl bonds can be mainly ascribed to their effects on the activation energy. The fast dynamics around cis prolyl bonds, in contrast, originate in a higher Arrhenius pre-exponential factor, which compensates for an increased activation energy for loop formation compared to trans isomers. All-atom simulations of proline-containing peptides indicate that the conformational space for cis prolyl isomers is largely restricted compared to trans isomers. This leads to decreased average end-to-end distances and to a smaller loss in conformational entropy upon loop formation in cis isomers. The results further show that glycine and proline residues only influence formation of short loops containing between 2 and 10 residues, which is the typical loop size in native proteins. Formation of larger loops is not affected by the presence of a single glycine or proline residue.     

Biscarbene-ruthenium complexes in catalysis: novel stereoselective synthesis of (1E,3E)-1,4-disubstituted-1,3-dienes via head-to-head coupling of terminal alkynes and addition of carboxylic acids

The reaction of a variety of alkynes RCtbd1;CH with a variety of carboxylic acids R(1)CO(2)H, in the presence of 5% of RuCl(COD)C(5)Me(5), selectively leads to the dienylesters (1E,3E)-RCH(1)=CH(2)-CH(3)=C(R)(O(2)CR(1)). The reaction also applies to amino acid and dicarboxylic acid derivatives. It is shown that the first step of the reaction consists of the head-to-head alkyne coupling and of the formation of the metallacyclic biscarbene-ruthenium complex isolated for R = Ph and catalyzing the formation of dienylester. D-labeled reactions show that the alkyne protons remain at the alkyne terminal carbon atoms and carboxylic acid protonates the C(1) carbon atom. QM/MM (ONIOM) calculations, supporting a mixed Fischer-Schrock-type biscarbene complex, show that protonation occurs preferentially at the carbene carbon C(1) adjacent to Ru, in the relative cis position with respect to the Ru-Cl bond, to give a mixed C(1)alkyl-C(4)carbene complex in which the C(4) carbene is conjugated with the noncoordinated C(2)=C(3) double bond. This 16-electron intermediate has a weak stabilizing alpha agostic C-H bond. This most stable isomer appears to have a C(4) center more accessible to the nucleophilic addition which accounts for the experimentally observed product.     

Enthalpies of dilution of electrolyte solutions by flow microcalorimetry

The enthalpies of dilution of NaCl, Me₄NBr, andn-Bu₄NBr were measured in water at 25°C with a new flow microcalorimeter. The data were analyzed with a polynomial equation, and the derived relative apparent molal enthalpies _L are in good agreement with literature values. Provided care is taken that mixing is complete, flow calorimeters are as reliable and much less time-consuming than cell-type instruments for enthalpies of dilution measurements.     

A quadratically convergent predictor—corrector method for solving linear programs from infeasible starting points

A predictor—corrector method for solving linear programs from infeasible starting points is analyzed. The method is quadratically convergent and can be combined with Ye's finite termination scheme under very general assumptions. If the starting points are large enough then the algorithm hasO(nL) iteration complexity. If the ratio between feasibility and optimality at the starting points is small enough then the algorithm has O( ) iteration complexity. For feasible starting points the algorithm reduces to the Mizuno—Todd—Ye predictor—corrector method.This work was supported by an interdisciplinary research grant from the Institute for Advanced Studies of the University of Iowa.