Recent advances in the synthesis of 5'-deoxynucleoside phosphonate analogs

: The present review focuses on the synthesis of cyclic 5-deoxynucleoside phosphonate analogs. The formation of various phosphonate alkyl moieties is accomplished through (i) Wittig (or HWE) type condensation to the nucleoside aldehyde moiety; (ii) nucleophilic displacement reaction using phosphonate anion or Lewis acid; (iii) Arbuzov reaction; (iv) olefin cross-metathesis between vinyl phosphonates and vinylated nucleosides; and (v) radical reaction and Pd catalyzed alkyne. For the coupling of nucleobases with cyclic moieties, the Mitsunobu reaction, and Sonogashira-type cross-coupling are usually applied. For the coupling of furanose moieties with nucleobases, Vorbrüggen-type condensation is generally applied. Addition reactions mediated by selenium ions are mainly applied for the coupling of carbocyclic moieties. Their biological activity results are summarized.

Convertible and Constrained Nucleotides: The 2’-Deoxyribose 5’-C-Functionalization Approach, a French Touch

Many strategies have been developed to modulate the biological or biotechnical properties of oligonucleotides by introducing new chemical functionalities or by enhancing their affinity and specificity while restricting their conformational space. Among them, we review our approach consisting of modifications of the 5’-C-position of the nucleoside sugar. This allows the introduction of an additional chemical handle at any position on the nucleotide chain without disturbing the Watson–Crick base-pairing. We show that 5’-C bromo or propargyl convertible nucleotides (CvN) are accessible in pure diastereoisomeric form, either for nucleophilic displacement or for CuAAC conjugation. Alternatively, the 5’-carbon can be connected in a stereo-controlled manner to the phosphate moiety of the nucleotide chain to generate conformationally constrained nucleotides (CNA). These allow the precise control of the sugar/phosphate backbone torsional angles. The consequent modulation of the nucleic acid shape induces outstanding stabilization properties of duplex or hairpin structures in accordance with the preorganization concept. Some biological applications of these distorted oligonucleotides are also described. Effectively, the convertible and the constrained approaches have been merged to create constrained and convertible nucleotides (C2NA) providing unique tools to functionalize and stabilize nucleic acids.

Synthesis of Tailored Perfluoro Unsaturated Monomers for Potential Applications in Proton Exchange Membrane Preparation

The aim of the present work is the synthesis and characterization of new perfluorinated monomers bearing, similarly to Nafion®, acidic groups for proton transport for potential and future applications in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. To this end, we focused our attention on the synthesis of various molecules with (i) sufficient volatility to be used in vacuum polymerization techniques (e.g., PECVD)), (ii) sulfonic, phosphonic, or carboxylic acid functionalities for proton transport capacity of the resulting membrane, (iii) both aliphatic and aromatic perfluorinated tags to diversify the membrane polarity with respect to Nafion®, and (iv) a double bond to facilitate the polymerization under vacuum giving a preferential way for the chain growth of the polymer. A retrosynthetic approach persuaded us to attempt three main synthetic strategies: (a) organometallic Heck-type cross-coupling, (b) nucleophilic displacement, and (c) Wittig–Horner reaction (carbanion approach). Preliminary results on the plasma deposition of a polymeric film are also presented. The variation of plasma conditions allowed us to point out that the film prepared in the mildest settings (20 W) shows the maximum monomer retention in its structure. In this condition, plasma polymerization likely occurs mainly by rupture of the π bond in the monomer molecule.

Determination of the Mechanism of Nucleophilic Reaction of Fenitrothion Using Substituted Phenoxide Nucleophiles in Aqueous Media

The mechanism of the nucleophilic displacement reaction at the phosphorus centre of organophosphates was determined. Phenoxide nucleophiles were reacted with fenitrothion (O,O-dimethyl O-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl) phosphorothioate) in water at 25oC and pseudo-first order rate constant measurements taken. Second-order rate constant (kNuc) was determined for the different concentrations of nucleophiles while the second-order rate constant (klg) for the investigation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxide ion with and series of aryl phosphorothioate esters was also determined. Linear free energy relationship was further determined using the Brϕnsted-type plot. The plots are linear over a range of pKaNuc of 7.15-11.10 that straddles the pKa of the leaving 3-methyl-4-nitrophenoxide ion (pKa = 7.20) with statistically acceptable linear correlations (R2 = 0.987) and (R2 = 0.980). The linearity in the traditional Brϕnsted-type plots shows the sensitivity of the nucleophilic displacement to the basicity of the nucleophiles and hence is consistent with a single transition-state mechanism whose barrier to decomposition is low hence concerted. Analysis of the values of βNuc, βLg and βeq (0.734) with the effective charge distribution in the transition state shows that it has no positive character. The Leffler index presents bond formation being slightly ahead of bond rupture.

An efficient and practical chemo-enzymatic route to (3R,3aR,6R,6aR)-hexahydrofuro[3,2-b]furan-6-amino-3-ol (6-aminoisomannide) from renewable sources

The synthesis of 6-aminoisomannide is easily achieved starting from the renewable, inexpensive and commercially available isosorbide, in 66% overall yield. A biocatalysed highly regioselective acetylation of the 3-endo hydroxyl group of isosorbide was followed by the stereospecific interconversion of the 6-exo hydroxyl group into azido group, through reaction with trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride followed by nucleophilic displacement of the triflate group by sodium azide. Finally, reduction of the azido group and deacetylation of the 3-hydroxy group were performed one pot by using LiAlH4.

Direct Amination of Nitroquinoline Derivatives via Nucleophilic Displacement of Aromatic Hydrogen

The vicarious nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen (VNS) reaction in electron-deficient nitroquinolines was studied. Properties of all new products have been characterized by several techniques: MS, HRMS, FTIR, GC-MS, electronic absorption spectroscopy, and multinuclear NMR. The structures of 4-chloro-8-nitroquinoline, 8-(tert-butyl)-2-methyl-5-nitroquinoline, 9-(8-nitroquinolin-7-yl)-9H-carbazole and (Z)-7-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-8-(hydroxyimino)quinolin-5(8H)-one were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements. The 9-(8-nitroquinolin-7-yl)-9H-carbazole and (Z)-7-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-8-(hydroxyimino)quinolin-5(8H)-one illustrate the nitro/nitroso conversion within VNS reaction. Additionally, 9-(8-isopropyl-2-((8-isopropyl-2-methyl-5-nitroquinolin-6-yl)methyl)-5-nitrosoquinolin-6-yl)-9H-carbazole is presented as a double VNS product. It is postulated that the potassium counterion interacts with the oxygen on the nitro group, which could influence nucleophile attack in that way.

Nucleophilic Displacement Reaction on Tosyl Cellulose by L-Methionine to the Synthesis of Novel Water-Soluble Cellulose Derivative and Its Antibacterial Activity

A novel ampholytic cellulose derivative, cellulose-L-methionine, has been synthesized by means of an esterification reaction of microcrystalline cellulose with tosyl chloride (p-TsCl) in DMAc/LiCl (8%) at 8°C that was followed by nucleophilic displacement (SN) of the tosyl group by the L-methionine amino acid. The resulting structure of cellulose-L-methionine has been characterized by elemental analysis (CHNSO), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antibacterial activity of the synthesized product was screened against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microbial strains such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, by the agar well diffusion method, and compared with commercial antibiotics such as ampicillin and chloramphenicol. It was found that antibacterial experiment revealed excellent antibacterial activity of the cellulose-methionine with respect to a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) reference.