Net atomic charges, electric moments, and sign and magnitude of optical rotatory power in α-TeO2 at 296 K

Optical activity is determined from a point charge model in one enantiomorph of a chiral and semiconducting α-TeO2 crystal. Net atomic charges of Te and O atoms are iterated and electric moments derived. Second electric moments in the principal axis directions are calculated and their ratio is fitted by comparison with the corresponding ratio of the optical refraction indices. The components of the axial vectors are calculated and converted to the gyration tensor components. The optical rotatory power in the positive direction of the optic axis is determined, and the sense of optical rotation is defined from transformations of polar vectors of first rank of the TeO2 groups and visually confirmed in both enantiomorphs.

Assignment Through Chiroptical Methods of The Absolute Configuration of Fungal Dihydropyranpyran-4-5-Diones Phytotoxins, Potential Herbicides for Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris) Biocontrol

Radicinin and cochliotoxin (1 and 2) two phytotoxic pyranpyran-4,5-diones were isolated together with their close metabolites 3-epi-radicinin, radicinol, and its 3-epimer (3–5), from the culture filtrates of Cochliobolus australiensis, a fungus proposed as mycoherbcide for biocontrol of buffelgrass, a very noxious and dangerous weed. The absolute configuration of cochliotoxin was determined by chiroptical Optical Rotatory Dispersion (ORD), Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD), and Vibrational Circular Dichroism (VCD)) and computational methods. The same methods were used to confirm that of radicinin, radicinol and their 3-epimers, previously determined with chemical, spectroscopic and ECD methods.