pH-Dependent peptide bond formation by the selective coupling of α-amino acids in water

Selective peptide elongation chemistry by coupling α-amino acids via mixed anhydride intermediates in water.

Exploration of Mesyl Chloride in a One Pot Conversion of Carboxylic Acids to Ketones

Background: Due to the ubiquitous nature of the ketone functionality, it is considered an important functional group in organic chemistry. Hence, the synthesis of ketones from readily available starting materials is an important chemical transformation in organic synthesis. Consequently, several research efforts have been reported in the literature for the transformation of carboxylic acids to ketones in a one-pot synthesis. However, some of the procedures have limitations, such as long reaction times, harsh reaction conditions, and usage of expensive metal catalysts. Thus, a simple and convenient one-pot conversion of carboxylic acids to ketones remains desirable. Objective: We intended to develop a simple and convenient one-pot methodology for the synthesis of ketones from carboxylic acids. Our objective was to build up a carboxylic acid-based chemical template where various types of organometallic reagents can interact to produce the desired ketone. Methods: In this procedure, a carboxylic acid was converted to a mixed anhydride using mesyl chloride in the presence of a base. This mixed anhydride was then reacted with a suitable organometallic reagent at -20°C to obtain the desired ketone. The reaction was performed in a one-pot fashion. Results: Under the optimized reaction conditions, various aromatic and heteroaromatic carboxylic acids were converted to the corresponding ketones using organolithium and organomagnesium reagents with short reaction times. Moderate to good yields of the desired ketones were observed in many of these transformations. Conclusion: A simple and convenient one-pot method for the conversion of carboxylic acids to ketones has been reported. Specifically, various aromatic and `heteroaromatic carboxylic acids have been converted to the corresponding ketones in moderate to good yields. Organomagnesium and organolithium reagents were used as nucleophiles for this reaction.

Synthesis of acylic derivatives of prolylleucylglycinamide

Tert-butyloxycarbonylprolylleucylglycinamide is obtained both by the interaction of tert-butyloxycarbonylprol ylleucylglycine ethyl ester with a methanolic ammonia solution and by the reaction of glycine amide with a mixed anhydride which was synthesized from tert-butyloxycarbonylprolylleucine and isobutylchloroformate. The removal of the tert-butyloxycarbonyl group by the action of formic acid or a dioxane solution of hydrogen chloride and treatment of the resulting salts with the corresponding base yielded a prolylleucylglycinamide, by the interaction of which with acetic, benzoic or 5-phenylisoxazole-3-carboxylic acids chlorides acyl derivatives of prolylleucylglycinamide are obtained.

Synthesis of 1-Palmitoyl-2-((E)-9- and (E)-10-nitrooleoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholines

Extensive investigation of nitrated phospholipids in connection with various biologically important processes requires reliable access to suitable material. A selective chemical synthesis introducing a defined nitrofatty acid at the sn-2 position of a 2-lyso sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine was developed. Given that the nitroalkene moiety of both reactant nitrofatty acid derivative and the product esters is characterised by particular sensitivity to nucleophile addition and, depending on the intermediate, subsequent olefin isomerisation and retro-Henry-type reaction, a reliable two-step ester formation was introduced. The activation of the nitrofatty acid succeeded after reaction with trichlorobenzoyl chloride, and the mixed anhydride could be isolated via extractive work-up. Subsequent reaction with 1-palmitoyl-2-lyso-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine enabled the sn-2 esterification to be achieved with high yield by using a minimum of reagents, avoiding the formation of side products and facilitating final isolation and purification.