Publications by authors named "Jean Marion"

Enantioselective construction of small molecules displaying a configurationally stable helical shape built on a fused-tetracyclic core is a daunting synthetic challenge even more pronounced when five-membered rings are incorporated in the structure. The resulting higher configurational lability strongly hampers their access, and therefore the development of new efficient methodologies is timely and highly desirable. In this context, we describe a padlocking approach the enantioselective organocatalytic domino furannulation of appropriately designed achiral fused-tricyclic precursors resulting in the synthesis of configurationally locked helically chiral tetracyclic scaffolds featuring one or two five-membered rings with the simultaneous control of central and helical chiralities.

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Two different alkynyl-substituted -symmetric cyclotribenzylenes (CTB) were synthesized in racemic and enantiomerically pure forms, and six gold(I) phosphine complexes differing by the nature of the CTB and the phosphine were prepared and characterized, in particular by NMR spectroscopy, DOSY, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Their ECD patterns depended on the substitution of the starting CTBs and were shifted bathochromically by comparison with the latter. ESI-MS in the presence of HCOH allowed us to detect the complexes as proton adducts.

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Accessing each enantiomer of a chiral molecule starting from a racemic mixture remains a daunting challenge in chemistry. Indeed, until now, only a few solutions exist to separate enantiomers of an equimolar mixture of a chiral precursor. In this study, we establish a new strategy to prepare simultaneously and physically separate both enantioenriched enantiomers of a molecule starting from a racemic substrate.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study reports the creation of new compounds featuring a chromophore and a helicenic structure, focusing on their preparation and characterization.
  • The enantiomers of various chiral molecules were successfully separated using chiral HPLC, with their racemisation rates also measured for unstable variants.
  • Measurements of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and circular polarized luminescence (CPL) were conducted, revealing significant responses in chiral porphyrins and Bodipys across a broad part of the visible spectrum.
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The concept of atropisomeric N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-metal complexes was extended to NHCs possessing a -symmetry and implemented to prepare palladium-based complexes. An in-depth study of the NHC precursors and the screening of various NHC ligands enabled us to circumvent the issue associated with the formation of complexes. A set of 8 atropisomeric NHC-palladium complexes were prepared and then obtained with high enantiopurities, thanks to an efficient resolution by chiral HPLC at the preparative scale.

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We report the synthesis and absolute configuration (AC) of a chiral isotopologue of -cryptophane-B. Low chiral signatures were measured by polarimetry and electronic circular dichroism, whereas most significant chiroptical effects were observed by vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and Raman optical activity (ROA). The comparison of experimental VCD and ROA spectra with those predicted by DFT calculations allows the determination of the AC of the two enantiomers as (-)--- and (+)---.

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The (Z) and (E)-isomers of an extended tetraphenylethylene-based chromophore with optimized two-photon-induced luminescence properties are separated and functionalized with water-solubilizing pendant polymer groups, promoting their self-assembly in physiological media in the form of small, colloidal stable organic nanoparticles. The two resulting fluorescent suspensions are then evaluated as potential two-photon luminescent contrast agents for intravital epifluorescence and two-photon fluorescence microscopy. Comparisons with previously reported works involving similar fluorophores devoid of polymer side chains illustrate the benefits of later functionalization regarding the control of the self-assembly of the nano-objects and ultimately their biocompatibility toward the imaged organism.

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The preparation of several covalently linked [6]-helicene-porphyrins is reported. A fused [6]-helicene-porphyrin π-extended aromatic system was isolated, the enantiomers separated and the chiroptical properties determined. The oxidative cyclodehydrogenation proved to be very effective for six-membered fused helical systems, but not suited for the formation of five-membered fused systems.

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We report a new molecular design to afford persistent chiral organic open-shell systems with configurational stability and an inversion in energy of the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) and the highest doubly occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) for both mono- and diradical states. The unpaired electron delocalization within the designed extended helical π-conjugated systems is a crucial factor to reach chemical stabilities, which is not obtained using the classical steric protection approach. The unique features of the obtained helical monoradicals allow an exploration of the chiral intramolecular electron transfer (IET) process in solvents of different polarity by means of optical and chiroptical spectroscopies, resulting in an unprecedented electronic circular dichroism (ECD) sign inversion for the radical transitions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers developed the first chiral helicene-NHC gold(I) complexes that excel in enantioselective catalysis, utilizing a unique L-shaped chiral ligand.
  • The synthesis involved a key post-functionalization step, introducing chiral elements into a racemic mixture of complexes with central, axial, and helical chirality.
  • After conducting HPLC for enantiomeric resolution, the complexes were structurally characterized using X-ray crystallography and theoretical calculations, showcasing their efficacy in asymmetric catalysis with impressive results in cycloisomerization.
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A series of chiral cyclometalated iridium complexes of the type [Ir(C^N)(C^C:)], {(C^N) = ppy (2); dfppy (3)} featuring a naphthalimide N-heterocyclic carbene ligand (C^C:) = (Naphthalimide-NHC) are described and fully characterized. The racemic complexes -2 and -3 were resolved chiral column chromatography techniques into their corresponding enantiopure species -2, -2, -3, -3 as confirmed by their CD curves. This unique class of molecules containing organic and inorganic chromophores might be used as a platform to probe the stereochemical effect on the photophysical properties.

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Chiral gold(I) acetylide trinuclear complexes 1-3 based on the cyclotribenzylene platform and terminal PR ligands (R=Ph, Et, and Cy, respectively), were characterized and their light emission studied. They exhibited long-lived blue phosphorescence in CHCl and a weak fluorescence in the UV. In MeOH/CHCl mixtures of >1:1 volume ratio, 1 and 2 exhibited a new emission band at ca.

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Stereogenic silicon centres in functionalised tetracoordinated organosilanes generally exhibit very high configurational stability under neutral conditions. This stability drops completely when higher coordination states of the silicon centre are reached due to rapid substituent exchange. Herein we describe the synthesis of chiral and neutral pentacoordinate silicon derivatives with high configurational stability.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study involves creating chiral transition metal complexes using achiral imidazolinium salts and various metals like palladium and gold, which leads to a unique axial chirality in these compounds.
  • These complexes are stabilized by metal-carbene bonds, allowing for the effective separation of enantiomers through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), achieving over 99% enantiopurity.
  • The research also indicates that while the stability of these complexes varies based on their structure and the metal used, it does not directly determine their effectiveness in inducing enantioselectivity in certain chemical reactions.
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Two new hemicryptophanes combining a cyclotriveratrylene unit with either an aminotrisamide or a tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (tren) moiety have been synthesized. Although a conventional synthesis approach was used, the molecular cages obtained are devoid of the expected symmetry. NMR analyses and X-ray crystal structure determination showed that these hemicryptophanes exhibited symmetry due to the unusual arrangement of the substituents of the cyclotriveratrylene unit.

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Enantiopure helicene-porphyrin conjugates were prepared. They show strong changes in their circular dichroic response as compared to classical helicene derivatives, with highly intense bisignate Exciton Coupling (EC) signal and Δ values up to 680 M cm for the Soret band. They also display circularly polarized fluorescence in the (far-)red region, with dissymmetry factors up to 7 × 10.

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  • The study focuses on synthesizing and optically resolving two types of tris-aza-cryptophanes, which are closely related to known compounds cryptophane-A (chiral) and cryptophane-B (achiral).
  • Researchers utilized quantum calculations and vibrational circular dichroism spectroscopy to determine the configurations of these compounds.
  • The findings reveal that despite their structural similarities to cryptophane-A and -B, the new tris-aza-cryptophanes interact very differently with xenon in organic solutions, highlighting the challenges of predicting physical properties solely based on structure.
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A reinvestigation of a chiral phosphoric-acid-catalyzed four-component Hantzsch enantioselective synthesis of polyhydroquinolines reported in 2009 is presented. In our hands, when the reaction was performed with fidelity to the original report using a chiral enantiopure phosphoric acid catalyst, no enantioselectivity was observed. Unlike in the original report, enantioselectivity results are backed by baseline separation of the enantiomers by HPLC analyses on chiral stationary phase with UV and chiroptical detection.

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Article Synopsis
  • A simple method is provided for synthesizing partially saturated H-fluoreno[n]helicenes, using an intramolecular McMurry reaction on specific diketones.
  • Each synthesized helicenic compound is found to exist as three different diastereoisomers at room temperature, with one being achiral due to rapid interconversion between two enantiomers.
  • The compounds can be oxidatively aromatized to yield fluoreno[n]helicenes, and their chiroptical properties have been analyzed and confirmed through quantum-chemical calculations, showcasing their unique helicoidal structure.
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Mono- and di-boranil-substituted helicenes were prepared by BF -borylation of the corresponding anils, readily synthesized by condensation of 2-amino- and 2,15-diamino-helicenes with 4-(diethylamino)salicylaldehyde. After enantiomeric resolution using HPLC, their chiroptical properties including circularly polarized fluorescence in solution and in PMMA films were investigated and rationalized with the help of NMR, X-ray and quantum-chemical calculations.

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  • Researchers successfully synthesized 3,4-Dimercaptophenylalanines and 2,3-Dimercaptophenylalanines for the first time using nucleophilic substitution techniques.
  • The key steps involved protecting dithiol functions as thioketals and synthesizing intermediates from dihydroxy benzoates or toluene-3,4-dithiol.
  • The study concluded that this simple synthetic method allows for the production of dithiolene-functionalized peptides, which have potential applications in catalysis, diagnostics, and nanotechnology.
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Peptides were produced in high yields and, if any, very low epimerization, by mechanochemical coupling of peptide fragments containing highly epimerization-prone and/or highly hindered amino acids at C-term. Ball milling was clearly identified as the key element enabling one to obtain such results.

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This paper aims at designing chromophores with efficient aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties for two-photon fluorescence microscopy (2PFM), which is one of the best-suited types of microscopy for the imaging of living organisms or thick biological tissues. Tetraphenylethylene (TPE) derivatives are common building blocks in the design of chromophores with efficient AIE properties. Therefore, in this study, extended TPE AIEgens specifically optimized for two-photon absorption (2PA) are synthesized and the resulting (/) isomers are separated using chromatography on chiral supports.

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We report persistent chiral organic mono- and diradical cations based on bicarbazole molecular design with an unprecedented stability dependence on the type of chirality, namely, axial versus helical. An unusual chemical stability was observed for sterically unprotected axial bicarbazole radical in comparison with monocarbazole and helical bicarbazole ones. Such results were experimentally and theoretically investigated, revealing an inversion in energy of the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) and the highest (doubly) occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) in both axial and helical bicarbazole monoradicals along with a subtle difference of electronic coupling between the two carbazole units, which is modulated by their relative dihedral angle and related to the type of chirality.

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