Thermal Decomposition Kinetics of Ethane Halides and Derivatives（C_2H_（6-n）X_n（n = 1～3）;X = F,Cl,Br）：DFT Study and NBO Analysis

A theoretical study of the thermal decomposition kinetics of ethane halides(C2H6-nXn(n = 1～3);X = F,Cl,Br) has been carried out at the B3LYP/6-31++G** and B3PW91/631++G** levels of theory.Among these methods and comparison of activation parameters with available experimental values,the B3PW91/6-31++G** method is in good agreement with the experimental data.The analysis of bond order and natural bond orbital(NBO) charges,bond indexes,and synchronicity parameters suggest the elimination of HX in reactions 1～9(HF:compounds 1～3,HCl:compounds 4～6,and HBr:compounds 7～9) occur through a concerted and slightly asynchronous four-membered cyclic transition state type of mechanism.     

An Easy Synthesis of Monofluorinated Derivatives of Pyrroles from β-Fluoro-β-Nitrostyrenes

The catalyst-free conjugate addition of pyrroles to β-Fluoro-β-nitrostyrenes was investigated. The reaction was found to proceed under solvent-free conditions to form 2-(2-Fluoro-2-nitro-1-arylethyl)-1H-pyrroles. The effectiveness of this approach was demonstrated through the preparation of a series of the target products in a quantitative yield. The kinetics of a conjugate addition of pyrrole was studied in detail to reveal the substituent effect and activation parameters of the reaction. The subsequent base-induced elimination of nitrous acid afforded a series of novel 2-(2-Fluoro-1-arylvinyl)-1H-pyrroles prepared in up to an 85% isolated yield. The two-step sequence herein proposed is an indispensable alternative to a direct reaction with elusive and unstable 1-Fluoroacetylenes.     

Exact rotamer optimization for protein design

Computational methods play a central role in the rational design of novel proteins. The present work describes a new hybrid exact rotamer optimization (HERO) method that builds on previous dead-end elimination algorithms to yield dramatic performance enhancements. Measured on experimentally validated physical models, these improvements make it possible to perform previously intractable designs of entire protein core, surface, or boundary regions. Computational demonstrations include a full core design of the variable domains of the light and heavy chains of catalytic antibody 48G7 FAB with 74 residues and 10(128) conformations, a full core/boundary design of the beta1 domain of protein G with 25 residues and 10(53) conformations, and a full surface design of the beta1 domain of protein G with 27 residues and 10(60) conformations. In addition, a full sequence design of the beta1 domain of protein G is used to demonstrate the strong dependence of algorithm performance on the exact form of the potential function and the fidelity of the rotamer library. These results emphasize that search algorithm performance for protein design can only be meaningfully evaluated on physical models that have been subjected to experimental scrutiny. The new algorithm greatly facilitates ongoing efforts to engineer increasingly complex protein features.     

Observation and mechanistic study of facile C-O bond formation between a well-defined aryl-copper(III) complex and oxygen nucleophiles

A well-defined macrocyclic aryl–Cu(III) complex (2) reacts readily with a variety of oxygen nucleophiles, including carboxylic acids, phenols and alcohols, under mild conditions to form the corresponding aryl esters, biaryl ethers and alkyl aryl ethers. The relationship between these reactions and catalytic C-O coupling methods is demonstrated by the reaction of the macrocyclic aryl–Br species with acetic acid and p-fluorophenol in the presence of 10 mol% Cu(I). An aryl-Cu(III)-Br species 2(Br) was observed as an intermediate in the catalytic reaction. Investigation of the stoichiometric C-O bond-forming reactions revealed nucleophile-dependent changes in the mechanism. The reaction of 2 with carboxylic acids revealed a positive correlation between the log(k(obs)) and the pK(a) of the nucleophile (less-acidic nucleophiles react more rapidly), whereas a negative correlation was observed with most phenols (more-acidic phenols react more rapidly). The latter trend resembles previous observations with nitrogen nucleophiles. With carboxylic acids and acidic phenols, UV-visible spectroscopic data support the formation of a ground-state adduct between 2 and the oxygen nucleophile. Collectively, kinetic and spectroscopic data support a unified mechanism for aryl-O coupling from the Cu(III) complex, consisting of nucleophile coordination to the Cu(III) center, deprotonation of the coordinated nucleophile, and C-O (or C-N) reductive elimination from Cu(III).     

Unclicking of thioureas: Base catalyzed elimination of anilines and isothiocyanates from thioureas

Bisaromatic thioureas are widely used in e.g. asymmetric organocatalysis and considered to be robust compounds. Herein we show, in strong contrast to common notion, that thioureas dissociate to amines and isothiocyanates in a base catalyzed reaction under mild conditions. This ‘unclicking’ process can occur in the presence of weak organic bases even at moderate temperatures. The influence of the substituents at the aromatic rings of the thiourea on the regioselectivity of this unclicking process is also shown.     

Stereoselective C-X and regioselective C-H activation to,and selective C(sp2)-C(sp3) reductive elimination from,platinum compounds with thiophene-derived ligands

Several thiophene-based N^C ligands were synthesized. Strategically, a bromide was incorporated on the 2-position of the thiophene ring. When allowed to react with the platinum tetramethyl dimer, [Pt₂Me₄(µ-SMe₂)₂], platinum(IV) platinacycles were formed by oxidative addition of the C(sp²)-X bond. These platinum(IV) compounds were characterized by NMR and HRMS. The platinum (IV) compounds were subsequently subjected to thermolysis. A series of reactions occurred, including selective C-C reduction elimination and selective C-H oxidative addition, giving mixtures of platinum(II) products with varying degrees of regioselectivity.     

An efficient approach to isoquinoline via AgNO3-promoted 6-endo-dig cyclization followed by oxidative elimination of o-alkynylarylaldimines and its application in fluoride recognition

A novel 6-endo-dig cyclization followed by oxidation/elimination of o-alkynylarylaldimines with 4-hydroxybenzylamine was developed for preparation of isoquinolines. The intermediates of this tandem reaction were monitored by mass spectroscopy (MS) to confirm the reaction pathway. This methodology was further applied to the design and synthesis of a novel ratiometric chemosensor for determination of fluoride.     

Retrospect of Se and Te Chemistry

Retrospect of organoselenium and tellurium chemistry for these 30 years is described focusing on our novel findings in this field: (1) telluroxide elimination leading to alkenes and allylic compounds, (2) Pd-catalyzed or –mediated carbodetelluration for a new C–C bond formation, (3) synthesis of chiral diferrocenyl dichalcogenides and their use as chiral auxiliaries, (4) asymmetric selenoxide elimination for making optically active allenes and alkenes, (5) meta chloroperbenzoic acid (MCPBA) oxidation of organic selenides and tellurides leading to a substitution of a PhSe or PhTe moiety, as well as (6) preparation of chalcogen-bridged diruthenium complexes and their catalytic use for propargylic substitution reactions.     

Recycling of undesired isomers of key intermediate for aprepitant

Abstract

A protocol for regeneration of key intermediate of aprepitant from its undesired diastereomers is described. This work features the recycling of at least one-third of the undesired isomers (ent-6, 7 and ent-7) to desired isomer 4 as the key early intermediate for the synthesis of aprepitant 1. The key step in our strategy involves diastereomeric salt preparation.