Isolation and X-ray crystal structure of tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids from Calycotome villosa Subsp. intermedias

Two tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids were extracted from the alkaloid fraction of a methanol extract of the seeds of Calycotome Villosa Subsp. intermedia. Their structures were established as (R)-1-hydroxymethyl-7-8-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro- isoquinoline (1) and (S)-7-hydroxymethyl-2-3-dimethoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydroisoquinoline chloride (2) by spectroscopic techniques and X-ray diffraction analysis

A surprising steric effect on a tandem cycloaddition/ring-opening reaction : rapid syntheses of difluorinated analogues of (hydroxymethyl)conduritols

Difluorinated analogues of (hydroxymethyl)conduritols can be synthesised from selected furans and a difluorinated dienophile in two reaction steps

Synthetic strategies for preparing BEDT-TTF derivatives functionalised with metal ion binding groups

The syntheses of BEDT-TTF (ET) derivatives with potential metal ion binding pyridyl, bipyridyl and terpyridyl groups are achieved either by stepwise construction of the organosulfur core or via reactions of hydroxymethyl-ET for which a cheap and efficient four step route is reported. The tosylate of hydroxymethyl-ET, reported for the first time, undergoes nucleophilic substitutions with pyridyl, bipyridyl- and terpyridyl-thiolates to give new donors. The X-ray crystal structures of two substituted ET derivatives show considerable deviation of the organosulfur donor system from planarity by bending about the short molecular axis of the ET group

Base-catalyzed reactions of environmentally relevant N-chloro-piperidines. A quantum-chemical study

Electronic structure methods have been applied to calculate the gas and aqueous phase reaction energies for base-induced rearrangements of N-chloropiperidine, N-chloro-3-(hydroxymethyl)piperidine, and N-chloro-4-4-fluorophenyl)-3-(hydroxymethyl)piperidine. These derivatives have been selected as representative models for studying the chemical fate of environmentally relevant chloramines. The performance of different computational methods (MP2, MP4, QCISD, B3LYP and B2PLYP) for calculating the thermochemistry of rearrangement reactions was assessed. The latter method produces energies similar to those obtained at G3B3(+) level, which themselves have been tested against experimental results. Experimental energy barriers and enthalpies for ring inversion, nitrogen inversion and dehydrochlorination reactions in -chloropiperidine have been accurately reproduced when solvent effects have been included. It was also found that the combined use of continuum solvation models (e.g. CPCM) and explicit consideration of a single water molecule is sufficient to properly describe the water-assisted rearrangement of N-chlorinated compounds in basic media. In the case of N-chloro-4-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-(hydroxymethyl)piperidine, which represents the chlorinated metabolite of the antidepressant paroxetine, several different reactions (intramolecular addition, substitution, and elimination reactions) have been investigated. Transition state structures for these processes have been located together with minimum energy structures of conceivable products. Imine 4A is predicted to be the most stable reaction product, closely followed by imine 4B and oxazinane 8, while formation of isoxazolidine 7 is much less favourable. Calculated reaction barriers in aqueous solution are quite similar for all four processes, the lowest barrier being predicted for the formation of imine 4A

The derivation of the formyl-group oxygen of chlorophyll b in higher plants from molecular oxygen.

The mechanism of formation of the formyl group of chlorophyll b has long been obscure but, in this paper, the origin of the 7-formyl-group oxygen of chlorophyll b in higher plants was determined by greening etiolated maize leaves, excised from dark-grown plants, by illumination under white light in the presence of either H218O or 18O2 and examining the newly synthesized chlorophylls by mass spectroscopy. To minimize the possible loss of 18O label from the 7-formyl substituent by reversible formation of chlorophyll b-71-gem-diol (hydrate) with unlabelled water in the cell, the formyl group was reduced to a hydroxymethyl group during extraction with methanol containing NaBH4: chlorophyll a remained unchanged during this rapid reductive extraction process. Mass spectra of chlorophyll a and [7-hydroxymethyl]-chlorophyll b extracted from leaves greened in the presence of either H218O or 18O2 revealed that 18O was incorporated only from molecular oxygen but into both chlorophylls: the mass spectra were consistent with molecular oxygen providing an oxygen atom not only for incorporation into the 7-formyl group of chlorophyll b but also for the well-documented incorporation into the 131-oxo group of both chlorophylls a and b [see Walker, C. J., Mansfield, K. E., Smith, K. M. & Castelfranco, P. A. (1989) Biochem. J. 257, 599–602]. The incorporation of isotope led to as much as 77% enrichment of the 131-oxo group of chlorophyll a: assuming identical incorporation into the 131 oxygen of chlorophyll b, then enrichment of the 7-formyl oxygen was as much as 93%. Isotope dilution by re-incorporation of photosynthetically produced oxygen from unlabelled water was negligible as shown by a greening experiment in the presence of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea. The high enrichment using 18O2, and the absence of labelling by H218O, unequivocally demonstrates that molecular oxygen is the sole precursor of the 7-formyl oxygen of chlorophyll b in higher plants and strongly suggests a single pathway for the formation of the chlorophyll b formyl group involving the participation of an oxygenase-type enzyme

Self-immolative linkers in polymeric delivery systems

There has been significant interest in the methodologies of controlled release for a diverse range of applications spanning drug delivery, biological and chemical sensors, and diagnostics. The advancement in novel substrate-polymer coupling moieties has led to the discovery of self-immolative linkers. This new class of linker has gained popularity in recent years in polymeric release technology as a result of stable bond formation between protecting and leaving groups, which becomes labile upon activation, leading to the rapid disassembly of the parent polymer. This ability has prompted numerous studies into the design and development of self-immolative linkers and the kinetics surrounding their disassembly. This review details the main concepts that underpin self-immolative linker technologies that feature in polymeric or dendritic conjugate systems and outlines the chemistries of amplified self-immolative elimination

Synthesis of racemic and chiral BEDT-TTF derivatives possessing hydroxy groups and their achiral and chiral charge transfer complexes

Chiral molecular crystals built up by chiral molecules without inversion centers have attracted much interest owing to their versatile functionalities related to optical, magnetic, and electrical properties. However, there is a difficulty in chiral crystal growth due to the lack of symmetry. Therefore, we made the molecular design to introduce intermolecular hydrogen bonds in chiral crystals. Racemic and enantiopure bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF) derivatives possessing hydroxymethyl groups as the source of hydrogen bonds were designed. The novel racemic trans-vic-(hydroxymethyl)(methyl)-BEDT-TTF 1, and racemic and enantiopure trans-vic-bis(hydroxymethyl)-BEDT-TTF 2 were synthesized. Moreover, the preparations, crystal structure analyses, and electrical resistivity measurements of the novel achiral charge transfer salt θ21-[(S,S)-2]3[(R,R)-2]3(ClO4)2 and the chiral salt α’-[(R,R)-2]ClO4(H2O) were carried out. In the former θ21-[(S,S)-2]3[(R,R)-2]3(ClO4)2, there are two sets of three crystallographically independent donor molecules [(S,S)-2]2[(R,R)-2] in a unit cell, where the two sets are related by an inversion center. The latter α’-[(R,R)-2]ClO4(H2O) is the chiral salt with included solvent H2O, which is not isostructural with the reported chiral salt α’-[(S,S)-2]ClO4 without H2O, but has a similar donor arrangement. According to the molecular design by introduction of hydroxy groups and a ClO4− anion, many intermediate-strength intermolecular hydrogen bonds (2.6–3.0 Å) were observed in these crystals between electron donor molecules, anions, and included H2O solvent, which improve the crystallinity and facilitate the extraction of physical properties. Both salts are semiconductors with relatively low resistivities at room temperature and activation energies of 1.2 ohm cm with Ea = 86 meV for θ21-[(S,S)-2]3[(R,R)-2]3(ClO4)2 and 0.6 ohm cm with Ea = 140 meV for α'-[(R,R)-2]2ClO4(H2O), respectively. The variety of donor arrangements, θ21 and two kinds of α’-types, and their electrical conductivities of charge transfer complexes based upon the racemic and enantiopure (S,S)-2, and (R,R)-2 donors originates not only from the chirality, but also the introduced intermolecular hydrogen bonds involving the hydroxymethyl groups, perchlorate anion, and the included solvent H2O

Synthesis of bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF) derivatives functionalised with two, four or eight hydroxyl groups

Short synthetic routes to a range of BEDT-TTF derivatives functionalised with two, four or eight hydroxyl groups are reported, of interest because of their potential for introducing hydrogen bonding between donor and anion into their radical cation salts. The cycloaddition of 1,3-dithiole-2,4,5-trithione with alkenes to construct 5,6-dihydro-1,3-dithiolo[4,5-b]1,4-dithiin-2-thiones is a key step, with homo- or hetero-coupling procedures and O-deprotection completing the syntheses. The first synthesis of a single diastereomer of tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)BEDT-TTF, the cis, trans product, was achieved by careful choice of O-protecting groups to facilitate separation of homo- and hetero-coupled products. Cyclisation of the trithione with enantiopure 1R,2R,5R,6R-bis(O,O-isopropylidene)hex-3-ene-1,2,5,6-tetrol (from D-mannitol) gave two separable diastereomeric thiones, which can be transformed to enantiomeric BEDT-TTF derivatives with four or eight hydroxyl groups