Philip Power at 65:An icon of organometallic chemistry

We are delighted to present this collection of articles to celebrate the work of Philip Power on the occasion of his 65th birthday.</p

Magnesium-catalysed nitrile hydroboration

A β-diketiminato n-butylmagnesium complex is presented as a selective precatalyst for the reductive hydroboration of organic nitriles with pinacolborane (HBpin). Stoichiometric reactivity studies indicate that catalytic turnover ensues through the generation of magnesium aldimido, aldimidoborate and borylamido intermediates, which are formed in a sequence of intramolecular nitrile insertion and inter- and intramolecular B–H metathesis events. Kinetic studies highlight variations in mechanism for the catalytic dihydroboration of alkyl nitriles, aryl nitriles bearing electron withdrawing (Ar(EWG)CN) and aryl nitriles bearing electron donating (Ar(EDG)CN) substitution patterns. Kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) for catalysis performed with DBpin indicate that B–H bond breaking and C–H bond forming reactions are involved in the rate determining processes during the dihydroboration of alkyl nitriles and Ar(EDG)CN substrates, which display divergent first and second order rate dependences on [HBpin] respectively. In contrast, the hydroboration of Ar(EWG)CN substrates provides no KIE and HBpin is not implicated in the rate determining process during catalysis. Irrespective of these differences, a common mechanism is proposed in which the rate determining steps are deduced to vary through the establishment of several pre-equilibria, the relative positions of which are determined by the respective stabilities of the dimeric and monomeric magnesium aldimide and magnesium aldimidoborate intermediates as a result of adjustments to the basicity of the nitrile substrate. More generally, these observations indicate that homogeneous processes performed under heavier alkaline earth catalysis are likely to demonstrate previously unappreciated mechanistic diversity

Harnessing Plasticity in an Amine-Borane as a Piezoelectric and Pyroelectric Flexible Film

We demonstrate that trimethylamine borane can exhibit desirable piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties. The material was shown to be able operate as a flexible film for both thermal sensing, thermal energy conversion and mechanical sensing with high open circuit voltages (&gt;10 V). A piezoelectric coefficient of d33≈10–16 pC N−1, and pyroelectric coefficient of p≈25.8 μC m−2 K−1 were achieved after poling, with high pyroelectric figure of merits for sensing and harvesting, along with a relative permittivity of (Formula presented.) 6.3.</p

Beyond dehydrocoupling:group 2 mediated boron-nitrogen desilacoupling

The alkaline earth bis(trimethylsilyl)amides, [Ae{N(SiMe3)2}2(THF)2] [Ae = Mg, Ca, Sr], are effective pre-catalysts for boron-nitrogen bond formation through the desilacoupling of amines, RR’NH (R = alkyl, aryl; R′ = H, alkyl, aryl), and pinBSiMe2Ph. This reactivity also yields a stoichiometric quantity of Me2PhSiH and provides the first example of a catalytic main group element-element coupling that is not dependent on the concurrent elimination of H2

Safety, pharmacokinetics and exploratory pro-cognitive effects of HTL0018318, a selective M1 receptor agonist, in healthy younger adult and elderly subjects: a multiple ascending dose study.

Funder: Sosei HeptaresBACKGROUND: The cholinergic system and M1 receptor remain an important target for symptomatic treatment of cognitive dysfunction. The selective M1 receptor partial agonist HTL0018318 is under development for the symptomatic treatment of Dementia's including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We investigated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and exploratory pharmacodynamics of multiple doses of HTL0018318 in healthy younger adults and elderly subjects. METHODS: This randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled study was performed, investigating oral doses of 15-35 mg/day HTL0018318 or placebo in 7 cohorts of healthy younger adult (n = 36; 3 cohorts) and elderly (n = 50; 4 cohorts) subjects. Safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetic measurements were performed. Pharmacodynamics were assessed using a battery of neurocognitive tasks and electrophysiological biomarkers of synaptic and cognitive functions. RESULTS: HTL0018318 was generally well-tolerated in multiple doses up to 35 mg/day and were associated with mild or moderate cholinergic adverse events. There were modest increases in blood pressure and pulse rate when compared to placebo-treated subjects, with tendency for the blood pressure increase to attenuate with repeated dosing. There were no clinically significant observations or changes in blood and urine laboratory measures of safety or abnormalities in the ECGs and 24-h Holter assessments. HTL0018318 plasma exposure was dose-proportional over the range 15-35 mg. Maximum plasma concentrations were achieved after 1-2 h. The apparent terminal half-life of HTL0018318 was 16.1 h (± 4.61) in younger adult subjects and 14.3 h (± 2.78) in elderly subjects at steady state. HTL0018318 over the 10 days of treatment had significant effects on tests of short-term (working) memory (n-back) and learning (Milner maze) with moderate to large effect sizes. CONCLUSION: Multiple doses of HTL0018138 showed well-characterised pharmacokinetics and were safe and generally well-tolerated in the dose range studied. Pro-cognitive effects on short-term memory and learning were demonstrated across the dose range. These data provide encouraging data in support of the development of HTL0018138 for cognitive dysfunction in AD and DLB. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Netherlands Trial Register identifier NTR5781 . Registered on 22 March 2016

Safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of HTL0009936, a selective muscarinic M1 -acetylcholine receptor agonist: A randomized cross-over trial.

AIMS: HTL0009936 is a selective M1 muscarinic receptor agonist in development for cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. Safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics and exploratory pharmacodynamic effects of HTL0009936 administered by continuous IV infusion at steady state were investigated in elderly subjects with below average cognitive functioning (BACF). METHODS: Part A was a four-treatment open label sequential study in healthy elderly investigating 10-83 mg HTL0009936 (IV) and a 24 mg HTL0009936 single oral dose. Part B was a five-treatment randomized, double-blind, placebo and physostigmine controlled cross-over study with IV HTL0009936 in elderly subjects with BACF. Pharmacodynamic assessments were performed using neurocognitive and electrophysiological tests. RESULTS: Pharmacokinetics of HTL0009936 showed dose-proportional increases in exposure with a mean half-life of 2.4 hours. HTL0009936 was well-tolerated with transient dose-related adverse events (AEs). Small increases in mean systolic blood pressure of 7.12 mmHg (95% CI [3.99-10.24]) and in diastolic of 5.32 mmHg (95% CI [3.18-7.47]) were noted at the highest dose in part B. Overall, there was suggestive, but no definitive, positive or negative pharmacodynamic effects. Statistically significant effects were observed on P300 with HTL0009936 and adaptive tracking with physostigmine. CONCLUSIONS: HTL0009936 showed well-characterized pharmacokinetics and single doses were safe and generally well-tolerated in healthy elderly subjects. Due to physostigmine tolerability issues and subject burden, the study design was changed and some pharmacodynamic assessments (neurocognitive) were performed at suboptimal drug exposures. Therefore no clear conclusions can be made on pharmacodynamic effects of HTL0009936, although an effect on P300 is suggestive of central target engagement

A phase 1b/2a multicenter study of the safety and preliminary pharmacodynamic effects of selective muscarinic M1 receptor agonist HTL0018318 in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Funder: Allergan Incorporated (now AbbVie)INTRODUCTION: This study examined the safety and pharmacodynamic effects of selective muscarinic M1 receptor orthosteric agonist HTL0018318 in 60 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) on background donepezil 10 mg/day. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 4-week safety study of HTL0018318 with up-titration and maintenance phases, observing exploratory effects on electrophysiological biomarkers and cognition. RESULTS: Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were mild and less frequently reported during maintenance versus titration. Headache was most commonly reported (7-21%); 0 to 13% reported cholinergic TEAEs (abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, nausea) and two patients discontinued due to TEAEs. At 1 to 2 hours post-dose, HTL0018318-related mean maximum elevations in systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 5 to 10 mmHg above placebo were observed during up-titration but not maintenance. Postive effects of HTL0018318 were found on specific attention and memory endpoints. DISCUSSION: HTL0018318 was well tolerated in mild-to-moderate AD patients and showed positive effects on attention and episodic memory on top of therapeutic doses of donepezil

Philip Power at 65:An icon of organometallic chemistry

Professor Philip P. Power turns 65 in 2018. His contributions to organometallic and inorganic chemistry over the last four decades are expansive, and he has been instrumental in the definition of several new subfields in the discipline. Professor Power has contributed over 500 publications to the literature. His lab remains an active source of exciting chemistry and has been a way point in numerous successful chemists’ careers. A focus on low-coordinate, low-valent and low-oxidation state compounds defines Power's career and molecules in this class generally feature a small energy difference between frontier orbitals.</p

The multiple bonding in heavier group 14 element alkene analogues is stabilized mainly by dispersion force effects

The structures and bonding in the heavier group 14 element olefin analogues [E{CH(SiMe3)2}2]2 and [E{N(SiMe3)2}2]2 (E = Ge, Sn, or Pb) and their dissociation into :E{CH(SiMe3)2}2 and :E{N(SiMe3)2}2 monomers were studied computationally using hybrid density functional theory (DFT) at the B3PW91 with basis set superposition error and zero point energy corrections. The structures were reoptimized with the dispersion-corrected B3PW91-D3 method to yield dispersion force effects. The calculations generally reproduced the experimental structural data for the tetraalkyls with a few angular exceptions. For the alkyls, without the dispersion corrections, dissociation energies of -2.3 (Ge), +2.1 (Sn), and -0.6 (Pb) kcal mol-1 were calculated, indicating that the dimeric E-E bonded structure is favored only for tin. However, when dispersion force effects are included, much higher dissociation energies of 28.7 (Ge), 26.3 (Sn), and 15.2 (Pb) kcal mol-1 were calculated, indicating that all three E-E bonded dimers are favored. Calculated thermodynamic data at 25 °C and 1 atm for the dissociation of the alkyls yield ΔG values of 9.4 (Ge), 7.1 (Sn), and -1.7 (Pb) kcal mol-1, indicating that the dimers of Ge and Sn, but not Pb, are favored. These results are in harmony with experimental data. The dissociation energies for the putative isoelectronic tetraamido-substituted dimers [E{N(SiMe3)2}2]2 without dispersion correction are -7.0 (Ge), -7.4 (Sn), and -4.8 (Pb) kcal mol-1, showing that the monomers are favored in all cases. Inclusion of the dispersion correction yields the values 3.6 (Ge), 11.7 (Sn), and 11.8 (Pb) kcal mol-1, showing that dimerization is favored but less strongly so than in the alkyls. The calculated thermodynamic data for the amido germanium, tin, and lead dissociation yield ΔG values of -12.2, -3.7, and -3.6 kcal mol-1 at 25 °C and 1 atm, consistent with the observation of monomeric structures. Overall, these data indicate that, in these sterically-encumbered molecules, dispersion force attraction between the ligands is of greater importance than group 14 element-element bonding, and is mainly responsible for the dimerization of the metallanediyls species to give the dimetallenes. In addition, calculations on the non-dissociating distannene [Sn{SiMe t Bu2}2]2 show that the attractive dispersion forces are key to its stability