Intramolecular electrophilic rearrangements in saturated acyclic systems. Reactivity of the zwitterion derived from triisopropylphosphine and ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate with respect to different types of electrophiles

The reactions of the zwitterion derived from triisopropylphosphine and ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate with mercuric chloride and aryl isothiocyanates containing Cl atoms in the ortho positions of the benzene ring follow an unusual pathway because this zwitterion represents latent triisopropylphosphine due to the reversibility of the reaction of triisopropylphosphine with ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate. The molecular structures of the adducts of triisopropylphosphine with 2,6-dichloro- and 2,4,6-trichlorophenyl isothiocyanates were confirmed by X-ray diffraction study. Protonation of the adduct of triisopropylphosphine with 2,6-dichlorophenyl isothiocyanate occurred at the nitrogen atom, whereas methylation with methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate afforded an S-methylation product. The results of X-ray diffraction study of the resulting compounds are presented.     

2-Cyanoacrylates in the conjugate addition of trifluoroacetic acid and nucleophilic reagents

In the presence of trifluoroacetic acid, ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate readily reacts with nucleophilic reagents, such as 2-chloro-1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphole, (EtO)₃P, (EtO)₂PCl, Ph₂PCl, Ph₃P, and thiourea. In these reactions the acid proton enters position 2 of the cyanoacrylate, whereas the nucleophilic component enters position 3, in accordance with the electron density distribution in the acrylate. In the absence of trifluoroacetic acid the above reagents, except 2-chloro-1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphole, cause ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate polymerization. The interaction of ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate with 2-chloro-1,3,2-benzodioxaphosphole and trifluoroacetic acid is the first example of a 2-cyanoacrylate taking part in the acid-initiated electrophilic conjugate addition of a weak nucleophile.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1245–1247, July, 1993.     

Inhibition and labeling of enzymes and abzymes by phosphonate diesters

Reactive phosphonate diesters were designed and prepared as inhibitors of serine proteases and esterases. Inactivation of trypsin, chymotrypsin, and butyrylcholinesterase was determined by residual enzymaticactivity as well as by the release of a chromogenic or fluorogenic product of the inhibition reaction. Second-order rate constants were determined from rates of nitrophenol formation. Application of the reaction for active-site titration of enzyme preparations is demonstrated. A basic functional group present in the nitrophenyl tropane phosphonate diester was shown to confer selectivity for inactivation of try psin and chymotrypsin. Biotinylated derivatives of the phosphonate diesters were prepared to permitanalysis of proteins modified in the inhibition reaction. Labeled polypeptides were resolved by SDSPAGE, electroblotted, and detected by streptavidin-peroxidase staining. A detection limit of less than 4 ng, corresponding to 20 nM of trypsin, was demonstrated. Pretretment of enzymes with DFP or nonbiotinylated phosphonates specifically blocks the labeling. This technique permits identification of serine proteases in complex mixtures with good sensitivity and specificity.     

C→N Migrations of the ethoxycarbonyl group in reactions of ortho-substituted aryl isocyanates with the 1,3-zwitterion derived from triisopropylphosphine and ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate

The reactions of meta—para-substituted aryl isocyanates with phosphorus-containing 1,3-zwitterions, which proceed with the CN migration of the CO₂Et group to form the corresponding carbamates, were extended to ortho-substituted aryl isocyanates. The influence of the steric and electronic effects of the ortho substituents in the aromatic rings of aryl isocyanates on the ease of this rearrangement is qualitatively considered.     

Atropisomerism of phosphorus-containing N-aryl carbamates. Experimental and computational data

Studies by ¹H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed hindered rotation of the aromatic substituent about the C_Ar—N bond in ortho-substituted (except for o-fluorine-substituted) phosphorus-containing carbamates. The energy barriers to rotation (G _c ) and coalescence temperatures (T _c) determined by the coalescence method increase with increasing volume of the ortho substituent. Conformations resulting from rotation of the ortho-substituted aryl group about the C_Ar—N bond were analyzed by quantum-chemical methods, potential curves were constructed, and differences between the conformational energies and the heights of rotation barriers were estimated. The theoretical rotation barriers change in parallel with the experimental values of G _c ; however, the theoretical values are much smaller in magnitude.     

Nucleophilic proteolytic antibodies

Proteolytic antibodies appear to utilizecatalytic mechanisms akin to nonantibody serine proteases, assessed from mutagenesis and protease-inhibitor studies. The catalytic efficiency derives substantially from the ability to recognize the ground state with high affinity. Because the proteolytic activity is germline-encoded, catalysts with specificity for virtually any target polypeptide could potentially be developed by applying appropriate immunogens and selection strategies. Analysis of transition-state stabilizing interactions suggests that chemical reactivity ofactive-site serine residues is an important contributor to catalysis. A prototype antigen analog capable of reacting covalently with nucleophilic serine residues permitted enrichment of the catalysts from a phage-displayed lupus light-chain library. Further mechanistic developments in understanding proteolytic antibodies may lead to the isolation of catalysts suitable for passive immunotherapy of major diseases, and elicitation of catalytic immunity as a component of prophylactic vaccination.     

Ethyl α-cyanoacrylate in the Michael reaction

Ethyl -cyanocarylate undergoes the Michael reaction with strong CH-acids (pK _a < 13) in the presence of strong basic amines such as butylamine, piperidine, and triethylamine. Only polymerization of ethyl -cyanoacrylate occurs under the same conditions with weaker CH-acids in the presence of less basic amines such as aniline, N-methylaniline, and pyridine.A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organometallic Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117813 Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 10, pp. 2449–2452, October, 1992.     

Reaction of α-cyanoacrylic acid and cyanoacrylates with dialkyl and diaryl phosphites

-Cyanoacrylic acid and -cyanoacrylates add dialkyl and diaryl phosphites and diethyl thiophosphite at the C=C double bond in the absence of catalyst. This is an anti-Markovnikov reaction, which yields the corresponding phosphonates and thiophosphonates.A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organometallic Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117813 Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1913–1915, August, 1992.     

Salts of α-cyanoacrylic acid with sterically hindered tertiary amines

Syntheses are reported for representatives of a new class of derivatives of -cyanoacrylic acid, namely, its salts with brucine, tert-butyldimethylamine, and diisopropylmethylamine.A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organometallic Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117813 Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 212–214, January, 1992.