Rotation Barriers in Pyridinium Salts Depend on the Number of Available Ground State Conformations

The enthalpy and entropy of activation for the rotation about the C–N bond were measured in a series of five N-(1-hydroxybutan-2-yl)pyridinium salts, the 2,6-substituents being methyl, ethyl and isopropyl. Replacement of a methyl by an ethyl does not change the activation parameters, while replacement by an isopropyl increases both the activation enthalpy and the activation entropy. The latter is due to the decreased number of conformations available in the ground state. The activation entropies fit a simple model based on entropy of mixing

Comparative and Functional Genomics of Rhodococcus opacus PD630 for Biofuels Development

The Actinomycetales bacteria Rhodococcus opacus PD630 and Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 bioconvert a diverse range of organic substrates through lipid biosynthesis into large quantities of energy-rich triacylglycerols (TAGs). To describe the genetic basis of the Rhodococcus oleaginous metabolism, we sequenced and performed comparative analysis of the 9.27 Mb R. opacus PD630 genome. Metabolic-reconstruction assigned 2017 enzymatic reactions to the 8632 R. opacus PD630 genes we identified. Of these, 261 genes were implicated in the R. opacus PD630 TAGs cycle by metabolic reconstruction and gene family analysis. Rhodococcus synthesizes uncommon straight-chain odd-carbon fatty acids in high abundance and stores them as TAGs. We have identified these to be pentadecanoic, heptadecanoic, and cis-heptadecenoic acids. To identify bioconversion pathways, we screened R. opacus PD630, R. jostii RHA1, Ralstonia eutropha H16, and C. glutamicum 13032 for growth on 190 compounds. The results of the catabolic screen, phylogenetic analysis of the TAGs cycle enzymes, and metabolic product characterizations were integrated into a working model of prokaryotic oleaginy.Cambridge-MIT InstituteMassachusetts Institute of Technology. (Seed Grant program)Shell Oil CompanyNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.)United States. National Institutes of HealthNational Institutes of Health. Department of Health and Human Services (Contract No. HHSN272200900006C

Selective Excitation 1D-NMR Experiments for the Assignment of the Absolute Configuration of Secondary Alcohols

Routine selective excitation experiments, easy to set up on modern NMR spectrometers, allow for the determination of the absolute configuration of chiral secondary alcohols by double derivatization directly in the NMR tube. As a general method, TOCSY1D with selective excitation of the α proton in the MPA esters and with a short mixing time reveals only the nearby protons in the coupling network. Typically, the analysis takes less than 30 min. A longer mixing time, selective excitation of other signals, or NOESY1D experiments can be used for measuring Δδ<i>RS</i> of other protons

Biocatalytic Synthesis Towards Both Antipodes of 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanitrile a Precursor to Fluoxetine, Atomoxetine and Nisoxetine

The bakers’ yeast reduction of 3-oxo-3-phenylpropanenitrile (1) has been difficult to achieve due to a dominant alkylating mechanism. A library of 20 bakers’ yeast reductases, that are overexpressed in Escherichia coli, were screened against (1). Four enzymes were found to reduce this substrate and by varying the enzyme both enantiomers of 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanitrile (2) could be prepared with a high enantiomeric excess. In addition, the Escherichia coli whole-cell system can be optimized to nearly eliminate the competing alkylating mechanism. By using this system, a formal biocatalytic synthesis of both antipodes of fluoxetine, atomoxetine and nisoxetine has been demonstrated

Complex Hydroindoles by an Intramolecular Nitrile-Intercepted Allylic Alkylation Cascade Reaction

Bisnucleophilic reagents derived from malononitrile, ketones, benzaldehydes, and nitromethane can react with bisallylic electrophiles via a nitrile-intercepted allylic alkylation cascade reaction to yield complex hydroindole architectures. Also noteworthy is that the only stoichiometric byproducts from the preparation and reaction of the bisnucleophile and biselectrophile are water, acetic acid, and bicarbonate, making it a potentially “green” platform for multistep complex molecule synthesis. These scaffolds can be converted into hydrooxindoles by a unique olefin isomerization followed by Witkop–Winterfeldt-like oxidation