Synthesis of naturally occurring bioactive butyrolactones: maculalactones A-C and nostoclide I

Starting from citraconic anhydride (13), a simple multistep (9-10 steps) synthesis of naturally occurring butyrolactones maculalactone A (3), maculalactone B (1), maculalactone C (2) and nostoclide I (4) have been described with good overall yields via dibenzylmaleic anhydride (20) and benzylisopropylmaleic anhydride (27). The two anhydrides 20 and 27 were prepared by S_N2′ coupling reactions of appropriate Grignard reagents with dimethyl bromomethylfumarate (14), LiOH-induced hydrolysis of esters to acids, bromination of carbon-carbon double bond, in situ dehydration followed by dehydrobromination and chemoselective allylic substitution of bromoatom in disubstituted anhydrides 19 and 26 with appropriate Grignard reagents. The NaBH₄ reduction of these anhydrides 20 and 27 furnished the desired lactones 21 and 29, respectively. The lactone 21 on Knoevenagel condensation with benzaldehyde, furnished maculalactone B (1), which on isomerization gave maculalactone C (2). Selective catalytic hydrogenation of 1 gave maculalactone A (3). The conversion of lactone 29 to nostoclide I (4) is known.     

Modular design of icosahedral metal clusters

The concept of crystalline module, that is, an unambiguously isolated, repeated quasi-molecular element, is introduced. This concept is more general than the concept of crystal lattice. The generalized modular approach allows extension of the methods and principles of crystallography to quasi-crystals, clusters, amorphous solids, and periodic biological structures. Principles of construction of aperiodic, nonequilibrium regular modular structures are formulated. Limitations on the size of icosahedral clusters are due to the presence of spherical shells with non-Euclidean tetrahedral tiling in their structure. A parametric relationship between the structures of icosahedral fullerenes and metal clusters of the Chini series was found.     

Synthesis, characterization and Schlenk equilibrium studies of methylmagnesium compounds with O- and N-donor ligands - the unexpected behavior of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (pmdta = N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine)

MgMe₂ (1) was found to react with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (dabco) in tetrahydrofuran (thf) yielding a binuclear complex [{MgMe₂(thf)}₂(μ-dabco)] (2). Furthermore, from reactions of MgMeBr with diglyme (diethylene glycol dimethyl ether), NEt₃, and tmeda (N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine) in etheral solvents compounds MgMeBr(L), (L = diglyme (5); NEt₃ (6); tmeda (7)) were obtained as highly air- and moisture-sensitive white powders. From a thf solution of 7 crystals of [MgMeBr(thf)(tmeda)] (8) were obtained. Reactions of MgMeBr with pmdta (N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine) in thf resulted in formation of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9) in nearly quantitative yield. On the other hand, the same reaction in diethyl ether gave MgMeBr(pmdta) · MgBr₂(pmdta) (10) and [{MgMe₂(pmdta)}₇{MgMeBr(pmdta)}] (11) in 24% and 2% yield, respectively, as well as [MgMe₂(pmdta)] (12) as colorless needle-like crystals in about 26% yield. The synthesized methylmagnesium compounds were characterized by microanalysis and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The coordination-induced shifts of the ¹H and ¹³C nuclei of the ligands are small; the largest ones were found in the tmeda and pmdta complexes. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses revealed in 2 a tetrahedral environment of the Mg atoms with a bridging dabco ligand and in 8 a trigonal-bipyramidal coordination of the Mg atom. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of [MgMe₂(pmdta)] (12) and [MgBr₂(pmdta)] (13) showed them to be monomeric with five-coordinate Mg atoms. The square-pyramidal coordination polyhedra are built up of three N and two C atoms in 12 and three N and two Br atoms in 13. The apical positions are occupied by methyl and bromo ligands, respectively. Temperature-dependent ¹H NMR spectroscopic measurements (from 27 to −80 °C) of methylmagnesium bromide complexes MgMeBr(L) (L = thf (4); diglyme (5); NEt₃ (6); tmeda (7)) in thf-d₈ solutions indicated that the deeper the temperature the more the Schlenk equilibria are shifted to the dimethylmagnesium/dibromomagnesium species. Furthermore, at −80 °C the dimethylmagnesium compounds are predominant in the solutions of Grignard compounds 4-6 whereas in the case of the tmeda complex7 the equilibrium constant was roughly estimated to be 0.25. In contrast, [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9) in thf-d₈ revealed no dismutation into [MgMe₂(pmdta)] (12) and [MgBr₂(pmdta)] (13) even up to −100 °C. In accordance with this unexpected behavior, 1:1 mixtures of 12 and 13 were found to react in thf at room temperature yielding quantitatively the corresponding Grignard compound 9. Moreover, the structures of [MgMeBr(pmdta)] (9c), [MgMe₂(pmdta)] (12c), and [MgBr₂(pmdta)] (13c) were calculated on the DFT level of theory. The calculated structures 12c and 13c are in a good agreement with the experimentally observed structures 12 and 13. The equilibrium constant of the Schlenk equilibrium (2 9c ? 12c + 13c) was calculated to be K_gas = 2.0 × 10⁻³ (298 K) in the gas phase. Considering the solvent effects of both thf and diethyl ether using a polarized continuum model (PCM) the corresponding equilibrium constants were calculated to be K_thf = 1.2 × 10⁻³ and K_ether = 3.2 × 10⁻³ (298 K), respectively.     

Chloride substitution of [CpRu(dppf)Cl] with sulfur-containing ligands

The reactions of CpRu(dppf)Cl (1) with the sulfur-containing ligands, thiophenol HSPh, 2-mercaptopyridine C₅H₄N(SH), thiourea SC(NH₂)₂, vinylene trithiocarbonate SCS(CH)₂S and ethylene trithiocarbonate SCS(CH₂)₂S, yielded chloro-substituted derivatives, viz. the mono-ruthenium(II) complexes CpRu(dppf)(SPh) (2), [CpRu(dppf)(SC₅H₄NH)]BPh₄ (3)BPh₄, [CpRu(dppf)(SC(NH₂)₂]PF₆ (4)PF₆, [CpRu(dppf)(SCS(CH)₂S)]Cl (5)Cl and [CpRu(dppf)(SCS(CH₂)₂S)]Cl (6)Cl, respectively. Treatment of 1 with AuCl(SMe₂) in the presence of NH₄PF₆ gave [(CpRu(dppf)(SMe₂)]PF₆ (7)PF₆. The reaction of 1 or 6 with SnCl₂ resulted in cleavage of chloro and dithiocarbonate ligands, respectively, to give CpRu(dppf)SnCl₃ (8). All complexes were spectroscopically characterized and the structures of 2 and cationic complexes 4-7 were determined by single-crystal diffraction analyses.     

Novel coated-graphite membrane sensor based on N,N′-dimethylcyanodiaza-18-crown-6 for the determination of ultra-trace amounts of lead

A novel selective membrane electrode for determination of ultra-trace amount of lead was prepared. The PVC membrane containing N,N′-dimethylcyanodiaza-18-cown-6 (DMCDA18C6) directly coated on a graphite electrode, exhibits a Nernstian response for Pb²⁺ ions over a very wide concentration range (from 1.0×10⁻² to 1.0×10⁻⁷ M) with a limit of detection of 7.0×10⁻⁸ M (∼14.5 ppb). It has a fast response time of ∼10 s and can be used for at least 2 months without any major deviation in potential. The electrode revealed very good selectivity with respect to all common alkali, alkaline earth, transition and heavy metal ions. The proposed sensor was used as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of lead ions and in determination of lead in edible oil, human hair and water samples. The proposed sensor was found to be superior to the best Pb²⁺-selective electrodes reported in terms of detection limit and selectivity coefficient.     

Structure and conformational features of tetrahydrothienothiepinoisoxazole as a novel heterocyclic system

The crystal and molecular structure of a novel heterocyclic system, 8-methyl-3,3a,4,5-tetrahydrothieno[3,2:6,7]thiepino[4,5-c]isoxazole, has been determined by X-ray analysis. The seven-membered ring has the boat conformation (B), while the isoxazoline cycle has the flat chair conformation (₃E). There are strong steric strains between the vicinal protons at the C(3a), C(3), and C(4) atoms.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 1795–1797, October, 1994.     

Extraction-spectrophotometric determination of iron with 2-(2′-benzothiazolylazo)-4,6-dimethylphenol

An extraction-spectrophotometric method for the determination of trace amounts of iron based on its extraction into chloroform with 2-(2-benzothiazolylazo)-4,6-dimethylphenol (BTADMP) from a pH 6.5 medium has been developed. The extracted 12 FeBTADMP complex species allow the determination of 4–30gmg of iron (=3.92×10⁴1·mol^–1·cm^–1 at 790 nm). The method is highly selective and has been applied to the determination of iron in polymineral-polyvitamin pharmaceutical products.     

Investigation on the thermal degradation of acrylic polymers with fluorinated side-chains

The thermal degradation of poly-2,2′,3,3′,4,4′,5,5′,6,6′,7,7′,7″-tridecafluoroheptylacrylate and poly-2,2′,3,3′,4,4′,5,5′,6,6′,7,7′-dodecafluoroheptylmethacrylate has been studied in isothermal conditions at 450-750 °C using pyrolysis-gas chromatography. The type and composition of the pyrolysis products give useful information about mechanism of thermal degradation. It was shown that the main thermal degradation process for both polymers is random main-chain scission. The major degradation products for fluorinated polyacrylate are monomer, dimer, saturated diester, trimer, and corresponding methacrylate. The fluorinated polymethacrylate gives monomer as the main product of thermal destruction. As a result of side-chain reaction, the thermal degradation of the fluorinated polyacrylate also produces remarkable amounts of alcohol. On the other hand, the respective alcohol is only a minor component among the pyrolysis products of the fluorinated polymethacrylate. For both polymers, the main nontrivial degradation product coming from the alkyl ester decomposition is the corresponding fluorinated cyclohexane. The formation of the fluorinated cyclohexanes may be accounted for a nucleophilic bimolecular substitution pathway.     

Ru(II) complexes imparting N2O2 donor bis chelating ligand N,N-bis(salicylidine)-hydrazine in unusual coordination mode

The synthesis and characterization of binuclear ruthenium complexes [{(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru}₂(μ-bsh)₂] (1), [{(η⁶-C₁₀H₁₄)Ru}₂(μ-bsh)₂] (2), [{(η⁶-C₆Me₆)Ru}₂(μ-bsh)₂] (3), and rhodium complex [{(η⁵-C₅Me₅)RhCl}₂(μ-bsh)] (4) (bsh=N,N^′-bis(salicylidine)-hydrazine dianion) are reported. The complexes have been fully characterized by analytical and spectral techniques and unusual coordination mode of the ligand H₂bsh has been confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis of the complex 2. Structural data revealed extensive inter- and intra-molecular C-H?O and C-H?π interactions and involvement of methyl and isopropyl hydrogen from the p-cymene in hydrogen bonding.