Synthesis of different glutathione–sulfur mustard adducts of verified and potential biomarkers

Sulfur Mustard (SM) is a blistering agent used as a chemical weapon. Glutathione (GSH) is involved in the β-lyase degradation pathway of SM and recently, bioadducts between SM and GSH were observed in vitro. While these bioadducts have never been isolated from in vivo tests or real poisoning with SM, they could be of interest as potential future biomarkers for the retrospective validation of exposure. We herein report the synthesis of different observed and new potential GSH–SM bioadducts as reference materials for analytical investigation. Two distinct approaches were investigated: a building-block pathway and the direct reaction with GSH. The availability of these references will aid future studies and may lead to the discovery of new GSH–SM biomarkers

Unravelling the mechanism of cobalt-catalysed remote C-H nitration of 8-aminoquinolinamides and expansion of substrate scope towards 1-naphthylpicolinamide

Previously, an unexpected Co-catalysed remote C-H nitration of 8-aminoquinolinamide compounds was developed. This report provided a novel reactivity for Co and was assumed to proceed through the mechanistic pathway already known for analogous Cu-catalysed remote couplings of the same substrates. In order to shed light into this intriguing, and previously unobserved reactivity for Co, a thorough computational study has now been performed, which has allowed for a full understanding of the operative mechanism. This study demonstrates that the Co-catalysed remote coupling does not occur through the previously proposed Single Electron Transfer (SET) mechanism, but actually operates through a High-Spin Induced Remote Radical Coupling mechanism, through a key intermediate with significant proportion of spin density at the 5- and 7-positions of the aminoquinoline ring. Additionally, new experimental data provides expansion of the synthetic utility of the original nitration procedure towards 1-naphthylpicolinamide which unexpectedly appears to operate via a subtly different mechanism despite having a similar chelate environment

Effect of alkyl chain length on the properties of triphenylamine-based hole transport materials and their performance in perovskite solar cells

A new series of diacetylide-triphenylamine (DATPA) derivatives with five different alkyl chains in the para position, MeO, EtO, nPrO, iPrO and BuO, were synthesised, fully characterised and their function as hole-transport materials in perovskite solar cells (PSC) studied. Their thermal, optical and electrochemical properties were investigated along with their molecular packing and charge transport properties to analyse the influence of different alkyl chains in the solar cell parameters. The shorter alkyl chain facilitates more compact packing structures which enhanced the hole mobilities and reduced recombination. This work suggests that the molecule with the methoxy substituent (MeO) exhibits the best semiconductive properties with a power conversion efficiency of up to 5.63%, an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.83 V, a photocurrent density (Jsc) of 10.84 mA cm−2 and a fill factor of 62.3% in perovskite solar cells. Upon replacing the methoxy group with longer alkyl chain substituents without changing the energy levels, there is a decrease in the charge mobility as well as PCE (e.g. 3.29% for BuO-DATPA). The alkyl chain length of semiconductive molecules plays an important role in achieving high performance perovskite solar cells

Origins of High Catalyst Loading in Copper(I)-Catalysed Ullmann- Goldberg C-N Coupling Reactions

Mechanistic investigation of Ullmann-Golberg reactions using soluble and partially soluble bases led to identification of various pathways for catalyst deactivation through (i) product inhibition with amine products, (ii) byproduct inhibition with inorganic halide salts, and (iii) ligand exchange by soluble carboxylate bases. Reactions using a partially soluble inorganic bases showed variable induction periods, which is responsible for reproducibility issues in these reactons. Surprisingly, more finely milled Cs2CO3 resulted in longer induction period due to higher concentration of deprotonated amine/amide, leading to suppressed catalytic activity. These results have singificant implications on future ligand development for Ullmann-Goldberg reaction, and on the solid form of the inorganic bases as an important variable with mechanistic ramifications in many catalytic reactions

Origins of High Catalyst Loading in Copper(I)-Catalysed Ullmann- Goldberg C-N Coupling Reactions

Mechanistic investigation of Ullmann-Golberg reactions using soluble and partially soluble bases led to identification of various pathways for catalyst deactivation through (i) product inhibition with amine products, (ii) byproduct inhibition with inorganic halide salts, and (iii) ligand exchange by soluble carboxylate bases. Reactions using a partially soluble inorganic bases showed variable induction periods, which is responsible for reproducibility issues in these reactons. Surprisingly, more finely milled Cs2CO3 resulted in longer induction period due to higher concentration of deprotonated amine/amide, leading to suppressed catalytic activity. These results have singificant implications on future ligand development for Ullmann-Goldberg reaction, and on the solid form of the inorganic bases as an important variable with mechanistic ramifications in many catalytic reactions

Synthesis of marmycin A and investigation into its cellular activity

Anthracyclines such as doxorubicin are used extensively in the treatment of cancers. Anthraquinone-related angucyclines also exhibit antiproliferative properties and have been proposed to operate via similar mechanisms, including direct genome targeting. Here, we report the chemical synthesis of marmycin A and the study of its cellular activity. The aromatic core was constructed by means of a one-pot multistep reaction comprising a regioselective Diels-Alder cycloaddition, and the complex sugar backbone was introduced through a copper-catalysed Ullmann cross-coupling, followed by a challenging Friedel-Crafts cyclization. Remarkably, fluorescence microscopy revealed that marmycin A does not target the nucleus but instead accumulates in lysosomes, thereby promoting cell death independently of genome targeting. Furthermore, a synthetic dimer of marmycin A and the lysosome-targeting agent artesunate exhibited a synergistic activity against the invasive MDA-MB-231 cancer cell line. These findings shed light on the elusive pathways through which anthraquinone derivatives act in cells, pointing towards unanticipated biological and therapeutic applications

Synthesis of heterocycles via aerobic oxidation

\u3cp\u3eResearch in the field of aerobic oxidation has recently gained much attention from both academia and industry. The main reason for this has to be found in the inherent greenness of such methods. Although much investigation has been undertaken to develop new methods and reactions and to elucidate the mechanistic aspects of this chemistry, its applications in the synthesis of heterocycles have been relatively limited. In this review, the recent developments in this field are summarized.\u3c/p\u3