Catalytic artificial nitroalkane oxidases - a way towards organocatalytic umpolung.

Nitroalkane oxidases (NAOs) are flavoenzymes that catalyse the oxidation of nitroalkanes to their corresponding carbonyl compounds while producing nitrite anions. Herein, we present an artificial catalytic system using flavins or ethylene-bridged flavinium salts that works an NAO-like process. Under conditions optimised in terms of solvent, base, temperature and oxygen pressure, primary nitroalkanes were transformed to aldehydes.

Amide Bond Formation via Aerobic Photooxidative Coupling of Aldehydes with Amines Catalyzed by a Riboflavin Derivative.

We report an effective, operationally simple, and environmentally friendly system for the synthesis of tertiary amides by the oxidative coupling of aromatic or aliphatic aldehydes with amines mediated by riboflavin tetraacetate (), an inexpensive organic photocatalyst, and visible light using oxygen as the sole oxidant. The method is based on the oxidative power of an excited flavin catalyst and the relatively low oxidation potential of the hemiaminal formed by amine to aldehyde addition.

Photocatalytic Oxidative [2+2] Cycloelimination Reactions with Flavinium Salts: Mechanistic Study and Influence of the Catalyst Structure.

Flavinium salts are frequently used in organocatalysis but their application in photoredox catalysis has not been systematically investigated to date. We synthesized a series of 5-ethyl-1,3-dimethylalloxazinium salts with different substituents in the positions 7 and 8 and investigated their application in light-dependent oxidative cycloelimination of cyclobutanes. Detailed mechanistic investigations with a coumarin dimer as a model substrate reveal that the reaction preferentially occurs via the triplet-born radical pair after electron transfer from the substrate to the triplet state of an alloxazinium salt.

Nitrosobenzene: Reagent for the Mitsunobu Esterification Reaction.

Nitrosobenzene has been demonstrated to participate in the Mitsunobu reaction in an analogous manner to dialkyl azodicarboxylates. The protocol using nitrosobenzene and triphenylphosphine (1:1) under mild conditions (0 °C) provides the ester derivatives of aliphatic and aromatic acids using various alcohols in moderate yield and with good enantioselectivity, giving the desired products predominantly with an inversion of configuration. The proposed mechanism, which is analogous to that observed using dialkyl azodicarboxylates, involves a nitrosobenzene-triphenylphosphine adduct and an alkoxytriphenylphosphonium ion and was supported by density functional theory calculations, P NMR spectroscopy, and experiments conducted with isotopically labeled substrates.

Azodicarboxylate-free esterification with triphenylphosphine mediated by flavin and visible light: method development and stereoselectivity control.

Triphenylphosphine (Ph3P) activated by various electrophiles (e.g., alkyl diazocarboxylates) represents an effective mediator of esterification and other nucleophilic substitution reactions.

Blood parasites in northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) with an emphasis to Leucocytozoon toddi.

Haemosporidians and trypanosomes of the northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) population in the Czech Republic were studied by morphological and molecular methods. Despite the wide distribution of these medium-large birds of prey, virtually nothing is known about their blood parasites. During a 5-year period, altogether 88 nestlings and 15 adults were screened for haemosporidians and trypanosomes by microscopic examination of blood smears and by nested PCR.

Tailoring flavins for visible light photocatalysis: organocatalytic [2+2] cycloadditions mediated by a flavin derivative and visible light.

A new application of flavin derivatives in visible light photocatalysis was found. 1-Butyl-7,8-dimethoxy-3-methylalloxazine, when irradiated by visible light, was shown to allow an efficient cyclobutane ring formation via an intramolecular [2+2] cycloaddition of both styrene dienes, considered as electron-rich substrates, and electron-poor bis(arylenones), presumably proceeding via an energy transfer mechanism.

Electron-deficient heteroarenium salts: an organocatalytic tool for activation of hydrogen peroxide in oxidations.

A series of monosubstituted pyrimidinium and pyrazinium triflates and 3,5-disubstituted pyridinium triflates were prepared and tested as simple catalysts of oxidations with hydrogen peroxide, using sulfoxidation as a model reaction. Their catalytic efficiency strongly depends on the type of substituent and is remarkable for derivatives with an electron-withdrawing group, showing reactivity comparable to that of flavinium salts which are the prominent organocatalysts for oxygenations. Because of their high stability and good accessibility, 4-(trifluoromethyl)pyrimidinium and 3,5-dinitropyridinium triflates are the catalysts of choice and were shown to catalyze oxidation of aliphatic and aromatic sulfides to sulfoxides, giving quantitative conversions, high preparative yields and excellent chemoselectivity.

Structural and physiochemical characterization of rhamnolipids produced by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Enterobacter asburiae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in single strain and mixed cultures.

Rhamnolipids are naturally occurring biosurfactants with a wide range of potential commercial applications. As naturally derived products they present an ecological alternative to synthetic surfactants. The majority of described rhamnolipid productions are single strain Pseudomonas spp.

Biomimetic aerobic oxidative hydroxylation of arylboronic acids to phenols catalysed by a flavin derivative.

Flavin-catalysed oxidative hydroxylation of substituted arylboronic acids by molecular oxygen with the assistance of hydrazine or ascorbic acid resulted in phenols in high yields. This mild organocatalytic protocol is compatible with a variety of functional groups and it is alternatively usable for transformation of alkylboronic acids to alcohols. Reaction takes place also in water and fulfils criteria for a green procedure.

Characterization of rhamnolipids produced by non-pathogenic Acinetobacter and Enterobacter bacteria.

Rhamnolipid production by two non-pathogenic bacterial strains Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Enterobacter asburiae, and established rhamnolipid producer Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated. Rhamnolipids were separated from supernatant and further purified by thin-layer chromatography. Mass spectrometry with negative electrospray ionization revealed rhamnolipid homologues varying in chain length and unsaturation.