Allenyl esters as quenching agents for ruthenium olefin metathesis catalysts.

In the attempt to synthesize substituted allenyl esters through a metathesis coupling of unsubstituted allenyl esters and alkenes using a variety of ruthenium catalysts, it was discovered that allenyl esters themselves cleanly arrested the activity of the catalysts. Further studies suggests possible utility of allene esters as general quenching agents for metathesis reactions. To explore this idea, several representative olefin metathesis reactions, including ring closing, were successfully terminated by the addition of simple allenyl esters for more convenient purification.

Michael-Stork addition of cyclopentyl enamine to allenyl ketones and esters.

[Chemical reaction: see text] We report the first examples of a Michael-Stork enamine addition to allenyl esters and ketones. Studies reveal that 2 equivalents of enamine are required for optimal yields. In the case of an allenyl methyl ketone, cyclopentyl enamine addition led to 8-oxobicyclo[3.

Studies on the manganese-mediated isomerization of alkynyl carbonyls to allenyl carbonyls.

[reaction: see text] A study of the role of base in the isomerization of manganese-coordinated conjugated alkynyl carbonyls to the corresponding allenyl carbonyls is described. The use of phosphine additives indicates that manganese requires a ligand prior to isomerization with amine bases. A series of amine bases were also examined for their efficacy in this isomerization reaction revealing a strong dependence on pK(a).

Design, synthesis, anti-HIV activities, and metabolic stabilities of alkenyldiarylmethane (ADAM) non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors.

The alkenyldiarylmethane (ADAM) HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) are effective anti-HIV agents in cell culture. However, the potential clinical utility of the ADAMs is expected to be limited by the presence of methyl ester moieties that are likely to be metabolized by nonspecific esterases in blood plasma to biologically inactive carboxylic acid derivatives. The present investigation was therefore undertaken to investigate the anti-HIV activities of the ADAMs versus HIV-1(IIIB) and HIV-2(ROD) in MT-4 cells and the stabilities of the biologically active ADAMs in rat plasma.

The 'apparent' hydrolysis of alkyl esters during electrospray ionization.

Electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry was employed to obtain both molecular weight confirmation and structural information for a series of novel alkenyldiarylmethane (ADAM) analogs. The mass spectral data were intended for use during the structure elucidation of ester hydrolysis products formed during an in vitro metabolism study of a series of novel ADAM analogs. The data on the precursor molecules show the presence of the molecular ion peak, [M+H](+), as well as a peak consistent with the hydrolysis product of the original ester ([MH-ROH+H(2)O](+)).