Addition of Vindoline to p-Benzoquinone: Regiochemistry, Stereochemistry and Symmetry Considerations

Vindoline and catharanthine are the major alkaloids of Catharanthus roseus and are extracted in large quantities to prepare the pharmaceutically important Vinca type alkaloids vincaleukoblastine, vincristine and navelbine. The higher yield of vindoline relative to catharanthine makes it an attractive substrate for developing new chemistry and adding value to the plant. In this context, we have reacted vindoline with a selection of electrophiles among which benzoquinone. Conditions were developed to optimize the synthesis of a mono-adduct, of five bis-adducts, and of tri-adducts and tetra-adducts, several of these adducts being mixtures of conformational isomers. Copper(II) was added to the reactions to promote reoxidation of the intermediate hydroquinones and simplify the reaction products. The structures were solved by spectroscopic means and by symmetry considerations. Among the bis-isomers, the 2,3-diadduct consists of three unseparable species, two major ones with an axis of symmetry, thus giving a single set of signals and existing as two different species with indistinguishable NMR spectra. The third and minor isomer has no symmetry and therefore exhibits nonequivalence in the signals of the two vindoline moieties. These isomers are designated as syn (minor) and anti (major) and there exists a high energy barrier between them making their interconversion difficult. DFT calculations on simplified model compounds demonstrate that the syn-anti interconversion is not possible at room temperature on the NMR chemical shift time scale. These molecules are not rigid and calculations showed a back-and-forth conrotatory motion of the two vindolines. This “windshield wiper” effect is responsible for the observation of exchange correlations in the NOESY spectra. The same phenomenon is observed with the higher molecular weight adducts, which are also mixtures of rotational isomers. The same lack of rotations between syn and anti isomers is responsible for the formation of four tri-adducts and of seven tetra-adducts. On a biological standpoint, the mono adduct displayed anti-inflammatory properties at the 5 μM level while the di-adducts and tri-adducts showed moderate cytotoxicity against Au565, and HeLa cancer cell lines.

Reaction of ammonia and dioxygen in solid neon excited with far-ultraviolet radiation investigated with electronic and vibrational spectra

Irradiation of dilute mixtures of NH3 and O2 dispersed in solid Ne at 3.6 K with radiation of wave lengths 200, 192.5, 173 and 143 nm from an electron synchrotron initiated photochemical dissociation of those precursors and the production of N, NH, NH2, O, O3, HO2, NO, NO2, N2O, H2O, HONO in both s-cisoid and s-transoid rotational isomers, and HONO2, detected according to their spectra in mid-infrared absorption from 450 to 4000 cm-1, and in absorption and emission from 200 to 1100 nm. HONO2 was not previously detected in related experiments even though our conditions were much more dilute.

A Versatile New Reagent for Nitrosation under Mild Conditions

We report a new chemical reagent for transnitrosation under mild experimental conditions. This new reagent is stable to air and moisture across a broad range of temperatures, and is effective for transnitrosation in multiple solvents. Compared to traditional nitrosation methods, our reagent shows high functional group tolerance for substrates that are susceptible to oxidation or reversible transnitrosation. Several challenging nitroso-compounds are accessed here for the first time, including 15N isotopologues. X-ray data confirms two rotational isomers of the reagent are configurationally stable at room temperature, although only one isomer is effective for transnitrosation. Computational analysis describes the energetics of rotamer interconversion, including interesting geometry-dependent hybridization ef-fects.

A Versatile New Reagent for Nitrosation under Mild Conditions

We report a new chemical reagent for transnitrosation under mild experimental conditions. This new reagent is stable to air and moisture across a broad range of temperatures, and is effective for transnitrosation in multiple solvents. Compared to traditional nitrosation methods, our reagent shows high functional group tolerance for substrates that are susceptible to oxidation or reversible transnitrosation. Several challenging nitroso-compounds are accessed here for the first time, including 15N isotopologues. X-ray data confirms two rotational isomers of the reagent are configurationally stable at room temperature, although only one isomer is effective for transnitrosation. Computational analysis describes the energetics of rotamer interconversion, including interesting geometry-dependent hybridization ef-fects.

Low-coordinate organophosphorus compounds: some stereochemical considerations

Utilizing 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl as a sterically demanding group (abbreviated as Mes*), we have been successful in isolation, characterization, physical and chemical property investigation of low-coordinate organophosphorus compounds such as those carrying P=P and P=C bonds. Diphosphene, 1-phosphaethene, 1,3-diphosphaallene, 1-phosphaallene, and 3,4-diphosphinidenecyclobutenes are discussed in terms of stereochemistry including E/Z isomerization around P=P or P=C bond and R/S resolution of rotational isomers around crowded P–C bonds with chiral HPLC column. (π-Allyl)palladium complexes ligated with 3,4-diphosphinidenecyclobutene are useful in such catalytic organic reactions as the Tsuji-Trost reaction by which from a chiral s-alcohol, the corresponding chiral amine is obtained with retention of chirality suggesting double inversion process.

Novel sulfur containing derivatives of carboranes and metallacarboranes

A series of newcloso- andnido-carborane based functional derivatives 1-X(CH2)nS-1,2-C2B10H11(X=COOH, N3, CH(NH2)COOH) and [7-X(CH2)nS-7,8-C2B9H11]−(X=COOH, N3, NH2, CH(NH2)COOH) was prepared by alkylation of 1-mercapto-ortho-carborane. Dialkylsulfonium derivatives ofnido-carborane 9-R(Me)S-7,8-C2B9H11and 10-R(Me)S-7,8-C2B9H11with boron-sulfur bond were prepared by alkylation of the corresponding methyl-carboranyl thioether. New types of intramolecular B–H···X and B–H···π(C≡C) interactions were found innido-carborane alkylmethyl sulfonium derivatives 9-XCH2S(Me)S-7,8-C2B9H11and 10-RC≡CCH2S(Me)S-7,8-C2B9H11, respectively. Isomeric methylsulfide derivatives of transition metal bis(dicarbollide) complexes [X,Y-(MeS)2-3,3′-M(1,2-C2B9H10)2]−(M=Co, Fe) were prepared starting from the corresponding methylcarboranyl thioethers. The intramolecular CHcarb···S(Me)S hydrogen bonding between the dicarbollide ligands in cobalt bis(dicarbollide) complexes results in stabilization of definite rotational isomers –transoidin the case of the 8,8′-isomer andgauchein the case of the 4,4′- and 4,7′-isomers.