Hetero-Diels-Alder Reactions of In Situ-Generated Azoalkenes with Thioketones; Experimental and Theoretical Studies

The hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of in situ-generated azoalkenes with thioketones were shown to offer a straightforward method for an efficient and regioselective synthesis of scarcely known N-substituted 1,3,4-thiadiazine derivatives. The scope of the method was fairly broad, allowing the use of a series of aryl-, ferrocenyl-, and alkyl-substituted thioketones. However, in the case of N-tosyl-substituted cycloadducts derived from 1-thioxo-2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutan-3-one and the structurally analogous 1,3-dithione, a more complicated pathway was observed. By elimination of toluene sulfinic acid, the initially formed cycloadducts afforded 2H-1,3,4-thiadiazines as final products. Advanced DFT calculations revealed that the observed high regioselectivity was due to kinetic reaction control and that the (4 + 2)-cycloadditions of sterically less unhindered thiones occurred via highly unsymmetric transition states with shorter C..S-distances (2.27–2.58 Å) and longer N..C-distances (3.02–3.57 Å). In the extreme case of the sterically very hindered 2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutan-1,3-dione-derived thioketones, a zwitterionic intermediate with a fully formed C‒S bond was detected, which underwent ring closure to the 1,3,4-thiadiazine derivative in a second step. For the hypothetical formation of the regioisomeric 1,2,3-thiadiazine derivatives, the DFT calculations proposed more symmetric transition states with considerably higher energies.

No Free C2 Is Involved in the DFT-Computed Mechanistic Model for the Reported Room-Temperature Chemical Synthesis of C2.

<p>Trapping experiments were claimed to demonstrate the first chemical synthesis of the free diatomic species C₂ at room temperatures, as generated by unimolecular fragmentation of an alkynyl iodonium salt precursor. Alternative mechanisms based on DFT energy calculations are reported here involving no free C₂, but which are instead bimolecular 1,1- or 1,2-iodobenzene displacement reactions from the zwitterionic intermediate <b>11</b> by galvinoxyl radical, or by hydride transfer from 9,10-dihydroanthracene. These result in the same trapped products as observed experimentally, but unlike the mechanism involving unimolecular generation of free C₂, exhibit calculated free energy barriers commensurate with the reaction times observed at room temperatures. The relative energies of the transition states for 1,1 <i>vs</i> 1,2 substitution provide a rationalisation for the observed isotopic substitution patterns and the same mechanism also provides an energetically facile path to polymerisation by extending the carbon chain attached to the iodonium group, eventually resulting in formation of species such as amorphous carbon and C₆₀.</p><div><br><div><p><br></p></div></div>

No Free C2 Is Involved in the DFT-Computed Mechanistic Model for the Reported Room-Temperature Chemical Synthesis of C2.

<p>Trapping experiments were claimed to demonstrate the first chemical synthesis of the free diatomic species C₂ at room temperatures, as generated by unimolecular fragmentation of an alkynyl iodonium salt precursor. Alternative mechanisms based on DFT energy calculations are reported here involving no free C₂, but which are instead bimolecular 1,1- or 1,2-iodobenzene displacement reactions from the zwitterionic intermediate <b>11</b> by galvinoxyl radical, or by hydride transfer from 9,10-dihydroanthracene. These result in the same trapped products as observed experimentally, but unlike the mechanism involving unimolecular generation of free C₂, exhibit calculated free energy barriers commensurate with the reaction times observed at room temperatures. The relative energies of the transition states for 1,1 <i>vs</i> 1,2 substitution provide a rationalisation for the observed isotopic substitution patterns and the same mechanism also provides an energetically facile path to polymerisation by extending the carbon chain attached to the iodonium group, eventually resulting in formation of species such as amorphous carbon and C₆₀.</p><div><br><div><p><br></p></div></div>

Electric field–catalyzed single-molecule Diels-Alder reaction dynamics

Precise time trajectories and detailed reaction pathways of the Diels-Alder reaction were directly observed using accurate single-molecule detection on an in situ label-free single-molecule electrical detection platform. This study demonstrates the well-accepted concerted mechanism and clarifies the role of charge transfer complexes with endo or exo configurations on the reaction path. An unprecedented stepwise pathway was verified at high temperatures in a high-voltage electric field. Experiments and theoretical results revealed an electric field–catalyzed mechanism that shows the presence of a zwitterionic intermediate with one bond formation and variation of concerted and stepwise reactions by the strength of the electric field, thus establishing a previously unidentified approach for mechanistic control by electric field catalysis.

Synthesis of Maleimide-Based Enediynes with Cyclopropane Moiety for Enhanced Cytotoxicity under Normoxic and Hypoxic Conditions

Myers-Saito cycloaromatization (MSC) is the working mechanism of many natural enediyne antibiotics with high antitumor potency. However, the presence of the equilibrium between diradical and zwitterionic intermediate in MSC severely...

Unveiling the Lewis Acid Catalyzed Diels–Alder Reactions Through the Molecular Electron Density Theory

The effects of metal-based Lewis acid (LA) catalysts on the reaction rate and regioselectivity in polar Diels–Alder (P-DA) reactions has been analyzed within the molecular electron density theory (MEDT). A clear linear correlation between the reduction of the activation energies and the increase of the polar character of the reactions measured by analysis of the global electron density transfer at the corresponding transition state structures (TS) is found, a behavior easily predictable by analysis of the electrophilicity ω and nucleophilicity N indices of the reagents. The presence of a strong electron-releasing group in the diene changes the mechanism of these P-DA reactions from a two-stage one-step to a two-step one via formation of a zwitterionic intermediate. However, this change in the reaction mechanism does not have any chemical relevance. This MEDT study makes it possible to establish that the more favorable nucleophilic/electrophilic interactions taking place at the TSs of LA catalyzed P-DA reactions are responsible for the high acceleration and complete regioselectivity experimentally observed.

Fungal Indole Alkaloid Biogenesis Through Evolution of a Bifunctional Reductase/Diels-Alderase

Prenylated indole alkaloids isolated from various fungi possess great structural diversity and pharmaceutical utility. Among them are the calmodulin inhibitory malbrancheamides and paraherquamides, used as anthelmintics in animal health. Herein, we report complete elucidation of the malbrancheamide biosynthetic pathway accomplished through complementary approaches. These include a biomimetic total synthesis to access the natural alkaloid and biosynthetic intermediates in racemic form, and in vitro enzymatic reconstitution that provides access to the natural antipode (+)-malbrancheamide. Reductive cleavage of a L-Pro-L-Trp dipeptide from the MalG nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) followed by reverse prenylation and a cascade of post-NRPS reactions culminates in an intramolecular [4+2] hetero-Diels-Alder (IMDA) cyclization to furnish the bicyclo[2.2.2]diazaoctane scaffold. Enzymatic assembly of optically pure (+)-premalbrancheamide involves an unexpected zwitterionic intermediate where MalC catalyzes enantioselective cycloaddition as a bifunctional NADPH-dependent reductase/Diels-Alderase. Crystal structures of substrate and product complexes together with site-directed mutagenesis and molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated how MalC and PhqE, its homolog from the paraherquamide pathway, catalyze diastereo- and enantioselective cyclization in the construction of this important class of secondary metabolites.