Lewis Acid-Mediated Cyclization of Allenyl Aryl Ketones.

The cyclization of a series of nonheterocyclic allenyl aryl ketones was examined using boron trifluoride etherate and indium triflate to mediate the reaction. Yields with BF were low in most instances due mainly to competitive destruction of the substrates. With In(OTf), there was less decomposition, and the yields of the cyclized product were much higher, but only for substrates with electron-donating substituents.

A Practical Modeling Framework for Non-Fickian Transport and Multi-Species Sequential First-Order Reaction.

Many studies indicate that small-scale heterogeneity and/or mobile-immobile mass exchange produce transient non-Fickian plume behavior that is not well captured by the use of the standard, deterministic advection-dispersion equation (ADE). An extended ADE modeling framework is presented here that is based on continuous time random walk theory. It can be used to characterize non-Fickian transport coupled with simultaneous sequential first-order reactions (e.

Computational Study of Engineered Cytochrome P450-Catalyzed C-H Amination: The Origin of the Regio- and Stereoselectivity.

Cytochrome P450 enzymes were recently engineered to catalyze the C-H amination reaction of aryl sulfonyl azides with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity (Arnold and co-workers J. Am. Chem.

Residual ground-water levels of the neonicotinoid thiacloprid perturb chemosensing of Caenorhabditis elegans.

This study investigated the neurological effects of residual ground-water levels of thiacloprid on the non-target organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Nematodes treated with thiacloprid showed a dose-dependent and significantly increased twitch response at concentrations above 50 ng mL that disabled their forward locomotion in liquid culture. In comparison with untreated controls, 10 ng mL thiacloprid perturbed the chemosensory ability of C.

Computational Examination of (4 + 3) versus (3 + 2) Cycloaddition in the Interception of Nazarov Reactions of Allenyl Vinyl Ketones by Dienes.

A computational examination of the tandem Nazarov/cycloaddition process involving an allenyl vinyl ketone with a diene has been carried out using the ωB97X-D/6-311++G(d,p)//ωB97X-D/6-31+G(d,p) method with solvation modeled by SMD-PCM. The barrier for the initial Lewis acid mediated Nazarov reaction, which provided the intermediate cyclic oxylallyl cation, was higher than that for any subsequent cycloaddition. The barrier for the first step of a subsequent stepwise reaction did not vary much with the diene, and the lowest barrier was with the diene in its s-trans conformation.

Density Functional Theory Study of BF3-Mediated Additions of Enols and [(Trimethylsilyl)oxy]alkenes to an Oxyallyl Cation: Homologous Mukaiyama Reactions.

The addition of enols and [(trimethylsilyl)oxy]alkenes, bearing methyl substituents at various positions, to a cyclic, BF3-complexed oxyallyl cation has been studied at the M06/6-311G(d)//B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. The reactions with the [(trimethylsilyl)oxy]alkenes are homologous Mukaiyama reactions, which have not been examined computationally previously. In most instances a number of transition states were located, and the difference in energy between these transition states was not large, which pointed to low levels of diastereoselectivity in the reactions of the oxyallyl cation model compound.

Nazarov reactions intercepted by (4 + 3) cycloadditions with oxygen-substituted dienes.

The oxyallyl cation intermediate from the Lewis acid mediated Nazarov reaction of an allenyl vinyl ketone was intercepted by acyclic, 2-silyloxy-substituted butadienes by highly regioselective (4 + 3) cycloadditions. Stereoselectivity was often modest, but in some instances steric interactions were responsible for high selectivity. The results are consistent with concerted (4 + 3) cycloadditions.

Torquoselectivity in the Nazarov reactions of allenyl vinyl ketones.

Nazarov reactions mediated by BF3-etherate of a series of carbon-substituted allenyl vinyl ketones provided intermediates in which substituents on the termini of the allenes had rotated away from the vinyl moieties, and these intermediates were trapped by (4 + 3)-cyclizations. A computational examination of the torquoselectivity of these Nazarov reactions confirmed a kinetic preference for the observed isomers and pointed to steric interactions and the degree of allene deformation as significant factors in determining the torquoselectivity. The study also suggested that the high proportion of one geometrical isomer in the Nazarov products might also be due to some preferential trapping of the major Nazarov intermediate.

Modulation of global low-frequency motions underlies allosteric regulation: demonstration in CRP/FNR family transcription factors.

Allostery is a fundamental process by which ligand binding to a protein alters its activity at a distinct site. There is growing evidence that allosteric cooperativity can be communicated by modulation of protein dynamics without conformational change. The mechanisms, however, for communicating dynamic fluctuations between sites are debated.

ΔΔPT: a comprehensive toolbox for the analysis of protein motion.

Background: Normal Mode Analysis is one of the most successful techniques for studying motions in proteins and macromolecules. It can provide information on the mechanism of protein functions, used to aid crystallography and NMR data reconstruction, and calculate protein free energies.

Results: ΔΔPT is a toolbox allowing calculation of elastic network models and principle component analysis.

Improvements and corrections to AT123D code.

Although based on exact analytical solutions, semi-analytical solute transport models can have significant numerical error in applications with high frequency oscillatory source terms and when parameter value combinations cause series solution approximations to converge slowly. Methods for correcting these numerical errors are presented and implemented in the AT123D code, which employs Green's functions to represent point, linear, and rectangular prismatic source zones. In order to increase its computational accuracy, a Romberg numerical integration scheme was added to AT123D with prespecified error criteria, variable time stepping, and partitioning of the integral to handle rapidly changing source terms.

Selective formation of angular tricyclic compounds by ruthenium-mediated ring-rearrangement metathesis.

Unsaturated spirocyclic substrates bearing two alkenyl chains underwent ruthenium-mediated ring-rearrangement metathesis through relaying cyclohexene and cycloheptene moieties to give angularly fused tricyclics. In some instances where two products were expected, high degrees of selectivity were observed. In one instance the structural parameter leading to selectivity was very subtle; in others the transformation favoured the formation of products with a cis-fused cyclohexene moiety.

Analytical models of steady-state plumes undergoing sequential first-order degradation.

An exact, closed-form analytical solution is derived for one-dimensional (1D), coupled, steady-state advection-dispersion equations with sequential first-order degradation of three dissolved species in groundwater. Dimensionless and mathematical analyses are used to examine the sensitivity of longitudinal dispersivity in the parent and daughter analytical solutions. The results indicate that the relative error decreases to less than 15% for the 1D advection-dominated and advection-dispersion analytical solutions of the parent and daughter when the Damköhler number of the parent decreases to less than 1 (slow degradation rate) and the Peclet number increases to greater than 6 (advection-dominated).

Substituent-controlled reactivity in the Nazarov cyclisation of allenyl vinyl ketones.

Alkyl substitution α to the ketone of an allenyl vinyl ketone enhances Nazarov reactivity by inhibiting alternative pathways involving the allene moiety and through electron donation and/or steric hindrance. This substitution pattern also accelerates Nazarov cyclisation by increasing the population of the reactive conformer and by stabilising the oxyallyl cation intermediate. Furthermore, α substitution by an alkyl group does not alter the regioselectivity of interrupted Nazarov reactions when the oxyallyl cation intermediate is intercepted by addition of an oxygen nucleophile, or by [4+3] cyclisation with acyclic dienes.

Vinylogous anionic processes in the formation and interconversion of tetracyclic ring systems.

Tandem oxy-Cope and transannular vinylogous aldol reactions and/or vinylogous retro-aldol, conjugate addition, and transannular vinylogous aldol reactions transformed some tricyclic vinyl enones into fused tetracycles under basic conditions. Mesylates derived from similar tetracyclic products underwent efficient skeletal reorganization via transannular ring-opening but then different modes of transannular ring-closure upon treatment with tert-butoxide.

Nazarov cyclizations of an allenyl vinyl ketone with interception of the oxyallyl cation intermediate for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds.

Treatment of an allenyl vinyl ketone with BF(3) x Et(2)O leads to a cyclic oxyallyl cation by a Nazarov reaction, and when this reaction is conducted in the presence of an acyclic diene, [4 + 3] and [3 + 2] products are obtained efficiently with high regio- and stereoselectivity. The proportion of [4 + 3] to [3 + 2] product depends on the substitution on the diene. Cyclic dienes react with the oxyallyl cation by forming only one carbon-carbon bond, but the site of bond formation can be affected by steric hindrance.

2,3-Dihydro-4H-pyran-4-ones and 2,3-dihydro-4-pyridinones by cyclizations of alpha,beta-unsaturated 1,3-diketones.

A variety of alpha,beta-unsaturated 1,3-diketones cyclize to 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-ones in an acidic aqueous medium, with exceptions being alpha,beta-unsaturated 1,3-diketones in which the beta carbon is substituted by a phenyl group. Addition of 1-butanamine to the reaction medium results in the formation of 2,3-dihydro-4-pyridinones, which appear to arise via an initial 1,4-addition of the amine to the alpha,beta-unsaturated 1,3-diketones.

Synthesis of 5-hydroxycyclopent-2-enones from allenyl vinyl ketones via an interrupted Nazarov cyclization.

Treatment of an allenyl vinyl ketone with trifluoroacetic acid leads to Nazarov cyclization, and the intermediate carbocation is trapped efficiently by trifluoroacetate. Hydrolysis of the ester with methanol and basic alumina provides, in good to excellent overall yield, a 5-hydroxycyclopent-2-enone in which the alcohol is predominantly trans to a substituent at C-4.

cis-3,5-Cyclohexadiene-1,2-diol derivatives: facial selectivity in their Diels-Alder reactions with ethylenic, acetylenic and azo dienophiles.

The Diels-Alder reactions of maleimide with the acetonide derivative (6a) of cis-3,5-cyclohexadiene-1,2-diol (1a) in various solvents showed facial selectivities ranging from 1 : 1 to 1 : 9. The same derivative 6a reacted in benzene with ethylenic dienophiles with generally modest facial selectivity, but acetylenic dienophiles added exclusively anti to the oxygen functions of 6a. Dimerization of cyclic acetals 6a and 7 was mainly, but for 6a not exclusively, by anti addition with respect to both the diene and the dienophile partners.

A Pauson-Khand and ring-expansion approach to the aquariane ring system.

[Structure: see text] The carbocyclic ring system of the aquariolide diterpenes has been synthesized by two routes involving a diastereoselective Pauson-Khand reaction and subsequent ring expansion. In one route, a tetracyclic enone was elaborated to generate the nine-membered ring by Grob fragmentation. In the second approach, a spirocyclic tricycle underwent a facile anionic oxy-Cope rearrangement to complete the synthesis of the desired ring system.

Reactions of 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cycloalkenes with the diethyl acetals of aldehydes.

[reaction: see text] Lewis acid-mediated reactions of 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclobutene with acetals derived from a variety of aldehydes, followed by treatment with Amberlyst 15 resin in TFA, yielded 1,3-cyclopentanedione products, but reactions with 3,3-dimethyl-1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclobutene led to 1,2-cyclopentanediones. Reactions of 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclopentene gave intermediates that did not undergo skeletal rearrangement with Amberlyst 15 resin in TFA.

Synthesis of the tetracyclic core of the kempanes by a ring-closing metathesis strategy.

[reaction: see text] The synthesis of the tetracyclic ring system of the kempane diterpenes was achieved through the highly regio- and stereoselective Diels-Alder reaction of an isopropenyl-diene with 2,6-dimethyl-p-benzoquinone, addition of an allyl group, and ring-closing metathesis of the isopropenyl and allyl groups.

Synthetic studies toward the kempane diterpenes. Construction of a key tricyclic intermediate.

A synthetic sequence is described for construction of the tricyclic portion (35) of kempane diterpenes. The central stereochemistry was established by a Diels-Alder addition of 2,6-dimethyl-para-benzoquinone to a 5-membered, dithiane-protected diene, and the addition of acetylide, with very high chemoselectivity, provided a suitably functionalized handle that will be incorporated into the final seven-membered ring. The remaining stereogenic centres about the decalin moiety were established by a series of equilibration and reduction steps.

An ab Initio Study of Facial Selectivity in the Diels-Alder Reaction.

Facial selectivities in the Diels-Alder reactions of 5-substituted 1,3-cyclopentadienes with a variety of dienophiles are predicted reliably at the ab initio HF/6-31G level. The ranges of activation energies for syn addition are large relative to those for anti addition, which are all similar to the activation energy for cyclopentadiene itself. Partitioning the activation energy into diene deformation, dienophile deformation, and diene-dienophile interaction energies shows that the major factor in determining facial selectivity is in the energy required to deform the diene into its transition state geometry.

Diels-Alder Reactions of 5-Alkyl-1,3-cyclopentadienes.

Facial selectivity in the Diels-Alder reactions of 1,3-cyclopentadienes substituted at C-5 by a variety of simple alkyl groups has been assessed with a number of dienophiles. The results are consistent with an explanation based on steric hindrance. Syn addition is more favored with sterically less demanding dienophiles.