Development of catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation

The application of tetradentate aminoalcohol ligands to the KOtBu-catalysed hydrogenation of benzophenone has been studied. Hydrogenation was found to proceed via a transfer hydrogenation process with the ligands acting as hydrogen donors. A series of bidentate and tetradentate ligands containing a variety of coordinating groups including amino, hydroxy, silyl, phosphine and amido functionalities have been prepared and applied to the transition metal-catalysed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones using iron, ruthenium and rhodium metals although none were found to be enantioselective for the hydrogenation of acetophenone. A series of asymmetric tethered ruthenium half sandwich complexes have been applied to the asymmetric pressure hydrogenation of ketones. Studies have investigated the effect of changing the sulfonamide group, halide and tether length on the activity of the catalysts. The application of an achiral tethered ruthenium half sandwich complex as a catalyst for the pressure hydrogenation of aldehydes is also reported. A novel synthesis of tethered ruthenium complexes using aryl substitution methodology has been developed and applied to the preparation of a series of novel complexes which were found to be highly active for asymmetric pressure hydrogenation of ketones. The application of the synthesis to the preparation of poly(methyl methacrylate) supported complexes is also discussed. Application of the supported catalysts to asymmetric pressure and transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone has shown potential for the development of an active heterogeneous catalyst for transfer hydrogenation of ketones in aqueous media

Tethered Ru(II) catalysts containing a Ru–I bond

Two new iodide-containing derivatives of the widely-adopted arene/Ru(II)/TsDPEN catalysts have been prepared and fully characterised, including through X-ray crystallography. They have been evaluated as catalysts for the asymmetric reduction of acetophenone under both transfer (ATH) and pressure hydrogenation (AH) conditions. The iodide-containing complexes are equally efficient in the ATH reaction, but less active in the AH reaction compared to the chloride derivatives

Direct formation of tethered Ru(II) catalysts using arene exchange

An ‘arene exchange’ approach has been successfully applied for the first time to the synthesis of Ru(II)-based ‘tethered’ reduction catalysts directly from their ligands in one step. This provides an alternative method for the formation of known complexes, and a route to a series of novel complexes. The novel complexes are highly active in both asymmetric transfer and pressure hydrogenation of ketones

Synthesis of enantiomerically-pure and racemic benzyl-tethered Ru (II)/TsDPEN complexes by direct arene substitution : further complexes and application

The use of a direct arene-exchange method for the synthesis of benzyl-tethered arene/Ru/TsDPEN complexes for use in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation is reported. A series of complexes tethered through a three-carbon linear chain was also prepared. The arene-exchange approach significantly simplifies the synthetic approach to this class of catalyst and permits the ready formation of modified analogues. The approach also provides a route to racemic catalysts for use in general reductions with either hydrogen or transfer hydrogenatio

Self-Optimization of Continuous Flow Electrochemical Synthesis Using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography

A continuous-flow electrochemical synthesis platform has been developed to enable self-optimization of reaction conditions of organic electrochemical reactions using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) and gas chromatography (GC) as online real-time monitoring techniques. We have overcome the challenges in using ATR FT-IR as the downstream analytical methods imposed when a large amount of hydrogen gas is produced from the counter electrode by designing two types of gas–liquid separators (GLS) for analysis of the product mixture flowing from the electrochemical reactor. In particular, we report an integrated GLS with an ATR FT-IR probe at the reactor outlet to give a facile and low-cost solution to determining the concentrations of products in gas–liquid two-phase flow. This approach provides a reliable method for quantifying low-volatile analytes, which can be problematic to be monitored by GC. Two electrochemical reactions the methoxylation of 1-formylpyrrolidine and the oxidation of 3-bromobenzyl alcohol were investigated to demonstrate that the optimal conditions can be located within the pre-defined multi-dimensional reaction parameter spaces without intervention of the operator by using the stable noisy optimization by branch and FIT (SNOBFIT) algorithm

Application of tethered ruthenium catalysts to asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones, and the selective Hydrogenation of aldehydes

An improved method for the synthesis of tethered ruthenium(II) complexes of monosulfonylated diamines is described, together with their application to the hydrogenation of ketones and aldehydes. The complexes were applied directly, in their chloride form, to asymmetric ketone hydrogenation, to give products in excess of 99% ee in the best cases, using 30 bar of hydrogen at 60 °C, and to the selective reduction of aldehydes over other functional groups

Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study in NMOSD.

Objective: To develop a resource of systematically collected, longitudinal clinical data and biospecimens for assisting in the investigation into neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Methods: To illustrate its research-enabling purpose, epidemiologic patterns and disease phenotypes were assessed among enrolled subjects, including age at disease onset, annualized relapse rate (ARR), and time between the first and second attacks. Results: As of December 2017, the Collaborative International Research in Clinical and Longitudinal Experience Study (CIRCLES) had enrolled more than 1,000 participants, of whom 77.5% of the NMOSD cases and 71.7% of the controls continue in active follow-up. Consanguineous relatives of patients with NMOSD represented 43.6% of the control cohort. Of the 599 active cases with complete data, 84% were female, and 76% were anti-AQP4 seropositive. The majority were white/Caucasian (52.6%), whereas blacks/African Americans accounted for 23.5%, Hispanics/Latinos 12.4%, and Asians accounted for 9.0%. The median age at disease onset was 38.4 years, with a median ARR of 0.5. Seropositive cases were older at disease onset, more likely to be black/African American or Hispanic/Latino, and more likely to be female. Conclusions: Collectively, the CIRCLES experience to date demonstrates this study to be a useful and readily accessible resource to facilitate accelerating solutions for patients with NMOSD

Localization of type 1 diabetes susceptibility to the MHC class I genes HLA-B and HLA-A

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) on chromosome 6 is associated with susceptibility to more common diseases than any other region of the human genome, including almost all disorders classified as autoimmune. In type 1 diabetes the major genetic susceptibility determinants have been mapped to the MHC class II genes HLA-DQB1 and HLA-DRB1 (refs 1-3), but these genes cannot completely explain the association between type 1 diabetes and the MHC region. Owing to the region's extreme gene density, the multiplicity of disease-associated alleles, strong associations between alleles, limited genotyping capability, and inadequate statistical approaches and sample sizes, which, and how many, loci within the MHC determine susceptibility remains unclear. Here, in several large type 1 diabetes data sets, we analyse a combined total of 1,729 polymorphisms, and apply statistical methods - recursive partitioning and regression - to pinpoint disease susceptibility to the MHC class I genes HLA-B and HLA-A (risk ratios >1.5; Pcombined = 2.01 × 10-19 and 2.35 × 10-13, respectively) in addition to the established associations of the MHC class II genes. Other loci with smaller and/or rarer effects might also be involved, but to find these, future searches must take into account both the HLA class II and class I genes and use even larger samples. Taken together with previous studies, we conclude that MHC-class-I-mediated events, principally involving HLA-B*39, contribute to the aetiology of type 1 diabetes. ©2007 Nature Publishing Group

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead