A Flexible Approach to the γ－Amino－β－hydroxy Acid Moiety of Hapalosin

A flexible approach to ethyl (3R,4S)-N-Boc-4-amino-3-hydroxy-5-phenylpentanoate (N-Boc-AHPPA-OEt), the γ-amino-β-hydroxy acid moiety of hapalosin is described. The synthetic method features a ring-opening ethanolysis of an activated N-Boc-lactam, which is obtained via a diastereoselective reductive-alkylation of (R)-malimide derivative. The flexibility of the method resides in the introduction of the alkyl side chain by Grignard reagent addition.     

Anaerobic Degradation of PCB in Soils

Abstract

The anaerobic degradation of PCB in loamy and clayey soils containing indigeneous microflora was studied. The anaerobic conditions were created by an argon atmosphere in the flasks containing soil flooded by a liquid medium with glucose. GC-ECD analysis of soil extracts after 40 day incubation showed, in addition to the concentration changes of the less chlorinated PCB congeners, a significant decrease in the concentration of highly chlorinated congeners in both soils. The results indicate that in both soil types reductive dehalogenation of PCB congeners was encountered.     

Selective Cross-Coupling of Unsaturated Substrates on AlI

The Al^I compound NacNacAl ( 1 , NacNac = [ArNC(Me)CHC(Me)NAr]⁻, Ar = 2,6-iPr₂C₆H₃) serves as a template for the chemoselective coupling between carbonyls (benzophenone, fenchone, isophorone, p-tolyl benzoate, N,N-dimethylbenzamide, (1-phenylethylidene)aniline) and pyridine. With the CH-acidic ketone (1R)-(+) camphor, the reaction affords a hydrido alkoxide compound of Al, formed as the result of enolization, whereas an enolizable imine, (1-phenylethylidene)aniline, and the bulky ketone isophorone, still chemoselectively couple with pyridine. In contrast, reaction with the ester p-tolyl benzoate results in cleavage of the ester bond together with replacement of the alkoxy group by a hydrogen atom of the pyridine moiety. This study demonstrates that for carbonyl substrates featuring phenyl substituents, the reaction proceeds via intermediate formation of η²(C,X)-coordinated (X = O, N) carbonyl adducts, whereas the reaction of 1 with (R)-(−)-fenchone in the absence of pyridine leads to CH activation in the pendant isopropyl group of the Ar substituent of the NacNac ligand.     

2,9-Diazadibenzoperylene and 2,9-Dimethyldibenzoperylene-1,3,8,10-tetratriflates: Key to Functionalized 2,9-Diazaperopyrenes

The synthesis of 2,9-diaza-1,3,8,10-tetratriflato-dibenzoperylene (DDP 3 a ) and corresponding 2,9-dimethyl-1,3,8,10-tetratriflato-dibenzoperylene (DBP 3 b ) has been developed at multigram scale via reduction of one of the industrially most important high-performance dyes, perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI), and of the corresponding dihydroxy peropyrenequinone precursor. The focus of this paper is on the reactivity pattern of 3 a as key intermediate towards highly functionalized 2,9-diazadibenzopyrelenes (DDPs) obtained via catalytic substitution of four triflate by aryl, heteroaryl, alkynyl, aminyl, and O-phosphanyl substituents. The influence of electron-donating substituents (OSiMe₃, OPt-Bu₂, N-piperidinyl), electron-withdrawing (OTf, 3,5-bis-trifluoromethyl-phenyl), and of electron-rich π-conjugated (2-thienyl, 4-tert-butylphenyl, trimethylsilyl-ethynyl) substituents on optoelectronic and structural properties of these functionalized DDPs has been investigated via XRD analyses, UV/Vis, PL spectroscopy, and by electroanalytical CV. These results were correlated to results of DFT and TD-DFT calculations. Thus, functionalized DPPs with easily tunable HOMO and LUMO energies and gap became available via a new and reliable synthetic strategy starting from readily available PTCDI.     

The First Catalytic Synthesis of an Acrylate from CO2 and an Alkene—A Rational Approach

For more than three decades the catalytic synthesis of acrylates from the cheap and abundantly available C₁ building block carbon dioxide and alkenes has been an unsolved problem in catalysis research, both in academia and industry. Herein, we describe a homogeneous catalyst based on nickel that permits the catalytic synthesis of the industrially highly relevant acrylate sodium acrylate from CO₂, ethylene, and a base, as demonstrated, at this stage, by a turnover number of greater than 10 with respect to the metal.     

Insertion Chemistry of Lutetacyclopropene toward Unsaturated C−O/C−N Bonds

Although the reaction chemistry of transition metallacyclopropenes has been well-established in the last decades, the reactivity of rare-earth metallacyclopropenes remains elusive. Herein, we report the reaction of lutetacyclopropene 1 toward a series of unsaturated molecules. The reaction of 1 with one equiv. of PhCOMe, Ar¹CHO (Ar¹=2,6-Me₂C₆H₃), W(CO)₆, and PhCH=NPh provided oxalutetacyclopentenes, metallacyclic lutetoxycarbene, and azalutetacyclopentene via 1,2-insertion of C=O, C≡O, or C=N bonds into Lu−C_sp2 bond, respectively. However, the reaction between 1 and Ar²N=C=NAr² (Ar²=4-MeC₆H₄) gave an acyclic lutetium complex with a diamidinate ligand by the coupling of one molecule of 1 with two carbodiimides, irrespective of the amount of carbodiimide employed. More interestingly, when 1 was treated with two equiv. of Ar¹CHO, the reductive coupling of two C=O bonds was discovered to give a lutetium pinacolate complex along with the release of tolan. Remarkably, the reactivity of 1 is significantly different from that of scandacyclopropenes; these metallacycles derived from 1 all represent the first cases in rare-earth organometallic chemistry.     

Practical and Scalable Synthesis of Ethyl (R)-Piperidine-3-acetate

A practical and scalable synthesis of ethyl (R)-piperidine-3-acetate was achieved from commercially available 3-pyridylacetic acid in 76% overall yield. The practical synthesis was demonstrated on 100-g scale. One-pot reductive N-ethylation of the pyridinium salt with acetonitrile gave an N-ethyl piperidine derivative.     

CoI-Catalyzed Barbier Reactions of Aromatic Halides with Aromatic Aldehydes and Imines

The reductive Barbier coupling of aromatic halides and electrophiles has been achieved using a CoBr₂/1,10-phenanthroline catalytic system and over stoichiometric amounts of zinc. The reaction displayed a broad scope of substrates, including (hetero)aryl chlorides as pro-nucleophiles and aldehydes or imines as electrophiles, leading to diarylmethanols and diarylmethylamines in moderate to excellent yields, respectively.