A note on the nonexistence of Barker sequences

A Barker sequence is a sequence with elements ±1 such that all out-of-phase aperiodic autocorrelation coefficients are 0, 1 or -1. It is known that if a Barker sequence of length s > 13 exists then s = 4N ² for some odd integer N 55, and it has long been conjectured that no such sequence exists. We review some previous attempts to improve the bound on N which, unfortunately, contain errors. We show that a recent theorem of Eliahou et al. [5] rules out all but six values of N less than 5000, the smallest of which is 689.     

Asymmetric synthesis of (1R,2S,3R)-3-methylcispentacin and (1S,2S,3R)-3-methyltranspentacin by kinetic resolution of tert-butyl (+/-)-3-methylcyclopentene-1-carboxylate

Conjugate addition of lithium dibenzylamide to tert-butyl (+/-)-3-methylcyclopentene-1-carboxylate occurs with high levels of stereocontrol, with preferential addition of lithium dibenzylamide to the face of the cyclic alpha,beta-unsaturated acceptor anti- to the 3-methyl substituent. High levels of enantiorecognition are observed between tert-butyl (+/-)-3-methylcyclopentene-1-carboxylate and an excess of lithium (+/-)-N-benzyl-N-alpha-methylbenzylamide (10 eq.) (E > 140) in their mutual kinetic resolution, while the kinetic resolution of tert-butyl (+/-)-3-methylcyclopentene-1-carboxylate with lithium (S)-N-benzyl-N-alpha-methylbenzylamide proceeds to give, at 51% conversion, tert-butyl (1R,2S,3R,alphaS)-3-methyl-2-N-benzyl-N-alpha-methylbenzylaminocyclopentane-1-carboxylate consistent with E > 130, and in 39% yield and 99 +/- 0.5% de after purification. Subsequent deprotection by hydrogenolysis and ester hydrolysis gives (1R,2S,3R)-3-methylcispentacin in > 98% de and 98 +/- 1% ee. Selective epimerisation of tert-butyl (1R,2S,3R,alphaS)-3-methyl-2-N-benzyl-N-alpha-methylbenzylaminocyclopentane-1-carboxylate by treatment with KO'Bu in 'BuOH gives tert-butyl (1S,2S,3R,alphaS)-3-methyl-2-N-benzyl-N-alpha-methylbenzylaminocyclopentane-1-carboxylate in quantitative yield and in > 98% de, with subsequent deprotection by hydrogenolysis and ester hydrolysis giving (1S,2S,3R)-3-methyltranspentacin hydrochloride in > 98% de and 97 +/- 1% ee.     

Thursday, August 31, 1989

Posters

Thursday, August 31, 1989     

Measurement of nitric oxide by 4,5-diaminofluorescein without interferences

The fluorescent reagent 4,5-diaminofluorescein (DAF-2) has been widely used for specific and quantitative measurements of nitric oxide (NO) in biological tissues. Recently it was reported that dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) and ascorbic acid (AA) interfere with the measurement of NO using DAF-2. A new method of assaying NO using DAF-2 eliminates these interferences; when frozen on dry ice, the NO in the original solution still diffuses and can react with an adjacent frozen block of DAF-2, but the confounding compounds such as DHA do not. Thus, placing the microliter-volume frozen blocks of solutions containing NO and the solutions of DAF-2 adjacent to each other for 30 min results in the concentration dependent formation of fluorescent product (DAF-2T) from the reaction of NO with DAF-2. The product has been characterized and the method validated using both fluorescence spectroscopy and capillary electrophoresis with laser induced fluorescence detection. With this approach, the presence of DHA and AA does not interfere with NO measurements, and product formation is inhibited in the presence of NO scavengers added to either of the solutions before freezing. The contactless DAF-2 method successfully assays NO in nitric oxide synthase-positive vertebrate and invertebrate tissues. This method allows nondestructive NO detection in biological samples that can subsequently be used for morphological and/or biochemical studies.     

Swallowtail porphyrins: synthesis, characterization and incorporation into porphyrin dyads

The incorporation of symmetrically branched tridecyl ("swallowtail") substituents at the meso positions of porphyrins results in highly soluble building blocks. Synthetic routes have been investigated to obtain porphyrin building blocks bearing 1-4 swallowtail groups. Porphyrin dyads have been synthesized in which the zinc or free base (Fb) porphyrins are joined by a 4,4'-diphenylethyne linker and bear swallowtail (or n-pentyl) groups at the nonlinking meso positions. The swallowtail-substituted Zn(2)- and ZnFb-dyads are readily soluble in common organic solvents. Static absorption and fluorescence spectra and electrochemical data show that the presence of the swallowtail groups slightly raises the energy level of the filled a(2u)(pi) HOMO. EPR studies of the pi-cation radicals of the swallowtail porphyrins indicate that the torsional angle between the proton on the alkyl carbon and p-orbital on the meso carbon of the porphyrin is different from that of a porphyrin bearing linear pentyl groups. Regardless, the swallowtail substituents do not significantly affect the photophysical properties of the porphyrins or the electronic interactions between the porphyrins in the dyads. In particular, time-resolved spectroscopic studies indicate that facile excited-state energy transfer occurs in the ZnFb dyad, and EPR studies of the monocation radical of the Zn(2)-dyad show that interporphyrin ground-state hole transfer is rapid.     

Hafnium oxide and zirconium oxide atomic layer deposition: initial precursor and potential side-reaction product pathways with H/Si(100)-2 x 1

Hybrid density functional calculations have been carried out using cluster models of the H/Si(100)-2 x 1 surface to investigate the mechanistic details of the initial surface reactions occurring in the atomic layer deposition of hafnium and zirconium oxides (HfO2 and ZrO2). Reaction pathways involving the metal precursors ZrCl4, Zr(CH3)4, HfCl4, and Hf(CH3)4 have been examined. Pathways leading to the formation of a Zr-Si or Hf-Si linkage show a significant sensitivity to the identity of the leaving group, with chloride loss reactions being both kinetically and thermodynamically less favorable than reactions leading to the loss of a methyl group. The energetics of the Zr(CH3)4 and Hf(CH3)4 reactions are similar with an overall exothermicity of 0.3-0.4 eV and a classical barrier height of 1.1-1.2 eV. For the reaction between H2O and the H/Si(100)-2 x 1 surface, the activation energy and overall reaction enthalpy are 1.6 and -0.8 eV, respectively. Due to contamination, trace amounts of H2O may be encountered by metal precursors, leading to the formation of minor species that can lead to unanticipated side-reaction pathways. Such gas-phase reactions between the halogenated and alkylated metal precursors and H2O are exothermic with small or no reaction barriers, allowing for the possibility of metal precursor hydroxylation before the H/Si surface is encountered. Of the contaminant surface reaction pathways, the most kinetically favorable corresponds to the surface -OH deposition. Interestingly, for the hydroxylated metal precursors, a unique reaction pathway resulting in the direct formation of Si-O-Zr and Si-O-Hf linkages has been identified and found to be the most thermodynamically stable pathway available, being exothermic by approximately 1.0 eV.     

Missing-link macrocycles: hybrid heterocalixarene analogues formed from several different building blocks

The synthesis and structural characterization of hybrid heterocalix[4]arene analogues containing pyrrole, benzene, methoxy-substituted benzene, and pyridine subunits is described. Macrocycles 1 and 2, examples of calix[2]benzene[2]pyrrole and calix[1]benzene[3]pyrrole systems, respectively, are synthesized by the condensation of pyrrole and an appropriate phenylbis(carbinol). Macrocycles 3 and 7, examples of calix[2]benzene[1]pyridine[1]pyrrole and calix[1]pyridine[3]pyrrole, respectively, are synthesized by the use of a carbene-based pyrrole-to-pyridine ring-expansion procedure. Single-crystal X-ray analysis reveals that compounds 1a, 1b, and 2b adopt 1,3-alternate conformations in the solid state, whereas compounds 3 and 7 display structures that are best described as "flattened partial cones" in terms of their conformation. (Series a refers to pure benzene-derived systems, whereas series b indicates macrocycles containing 5-methoxyphenyl subunits). In the solid state, the methoxy-functionalized macrocycles 1b and 2b, and the chloropyridine-containing macrocycle 7 exist as dimers. In the case of 1a and 7, these compounds interact with neutral solvent in the solid state. The conformations of the macrocycles in solution were explored by temperature-dependent proton NMR and NOESY spectral analysis. At 188 K, macrocycles 1a and 2a adopt flattened 1,3-alternate conformations, whereas macrocycles 3 and 7 exist in the form of flattened partial-cone conformations. Standard proton NMR titration analyses were carried out in the case of macrocycles 1a and 2a, and reveal that at least the second of these systems is capable of binding fluoride and chloride anions in CD(2)Cl(2) solution at room temperature (K(a)=571 and 17M(-1) in the case of 2a and F(-) and Cl(-), respectively).     

Factors controlling the drop evaporation constant

In this paper, we discuss the factors affecting drop evaporation. We found that the droplet morphology at a specific temperature was controlled by the physical properties of the liquid itself, such as the molecular weight, density, diffusion coefficient in air, and heat of vaporization. Two processes are included in drop evaporation: diffusion of liquid molecules into the air (diffusion part) and flow of the liquid molecules from inside the drop to the free outer shell liquid layer within the liquid-vapor interface (evaporation part). The diffusion part remained steady during drying and was not sensitive to the variation of temperature. The evaporation part, however, was an active factor and determined the differences in drop evaporation behaviors.     

Aqueous synthesis of derivatized cyclopentadienyl complexes of technetium and rhenium directed toward radiopharmaceutical application

Half-sandwich complexes of the type [(RCOCp)M(CO)(3)] with M = Re and (99(m))Tc were synthesized from [M(OH(2))(3)(CO)(3)](+) in water. The R group can be an organic residue or a receptor binding biomolecule with a spacer to cyclopentadienyl (Cp). This provides a general route to Cp complexes of technetium without the need for starting from [TcBr(CO)(5)]. The X-ray structure of [(C(6)H(5)CH(2)COC(5)H(4))Tc(CO)(3)] has been elucidated. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c with a = 16.1454(9), b = 7.6300(6), and c = 12.3922(7) A and beta = 107.792(6) degrees. We have chosen a serotonergic receptor ligand (WAY) as an example for the derivatization of Cp with a bioactive molecule. WAY is linked to Cp by an aliphatic chain of variable length. The half-sandwich complexes were prepared from water and organic solvents. The structure of [(WAY4-Cp)Re(CO)(3)] could be elucidated. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c with a = 15.7112(6), b = 6.8775(3), and c = 25.5217(12) A and beta = 103.778(5) degrees. Quantification of inhibition constants gave a clear structure-activity relationship. A single methylene group between the receptor binding site and the half-sandwich complex gave an IC(50) of 217 nM for HT(1A), whereas a butylene linker resulted in retention of the inhibition constant with an IC(50) of 6 nM with respect to underivatized WAY. For use as radiopharmaceuticals, the compounds have also been prepared with (99m)Tc in quantitative yield.     

Metal complexes of porphycene,corrphycene, and hemiporphycene: stability and coordination chemistry

Porphyrin (P), porphycene (Pc), corrphycene (Cn), and hemiporphycene (Hpc) represent a series of well defined "4-N in" constitutional porphyrin isomers. These isomers, in the form of their octaethyl derivatives, represent a congruent set of porphyrinoids whose properties can be compared. In this study we report how variations in electronic structure and nitrogen-core size in the free-base forms of these four systems are reflected in the properties of their corresponding metal complexes. Specifically, the effects that these differences have on the axial ligation properties of the Zn(II), Mg(II), Ni(II), and Co(II) complexes of P, Pc, Cn, and Hpc in toluene using pyridine as the axial ligand are detailed. Also reported are the relative stabilities of these complexes under acidic conditions. It is shown that for the zinc, magnesium, and cobalt complexes, there are distinct differences in the ability to maintain four-, five-, or six-coordinate geometries in the presence of similar concentrations of pyridine. By contrast, no apparent differences in axial ligand binding affinity are seen for the four nickel complexes. Little difference in stability was likewise seen when these same complexes were subject to acid-mediated demetallation, with all four falling into stability class II, according to the accepted porphyrin stability ranking system. High stabilities were also seen in the case of the cobalt complexes, with the Pc and Cn complexes being of stability class III and the P and Hpc derivatives falling into stability class II. The Zn(II) and Mg(II) complexes were all far less stable than the corresponding Ni(II) and Co(II) complexes. In this case, semiquantitative analyses of the rate of acid-induced decomposition revealed the following stability sequence P>Cn>Hpc>Pc for both the Zn(II) and Mg(II) complexes. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction structures were solved for the Zn(II), Mg(II), and Ni(II) complexes of the octaethyl derivatives of Hpc, Cn, and Pc as well as a Co(II) octamethylcorrphycene and are reported as part of this study. These solid-state structures confirm four-coordinate species for the Ni(II) complexes, four- and five-coordinate species for the Mg(II) and Zn(II) complexes, and a six-coordinate species for the lone Co(II) complex.