Chemoselective Esterification of Natural and Prebiotic 1,2-Amino Alcohol Amphiphiles in Water.

In cells, a vast number of membrane lipids are formed by the enzymatic O-acylation of polar head groups with acylating agents such as fatty acyl-CoAs. Although such ester-containing lipids appear to be a requirement for life on earth, it is unclear if similar types of lipids could have spontaneously formed in the absence of enzymatic machinery at the origin of life. There are few examples of enzyme-free esterification of amphiphiles in water and none that can occur in water at physiological pH using biochemically relevant acylating agents.

Chemoenzymatic Generation of Phospholipid Membranes Mediated by Type I Fatty Acid Synthase.

The formation of lipid membranes from minimal reactive precursors is a major goal in synthetic cell research. In nature, the synthesis of membrane phospholipids is orchestrated by numerous enzymes, including fatty acid synthases and membrane-bound acyltransferases. However, these enzymatic pathways are difficult to fully reproduce .

Parallel Strategies for the Synthesis of Annulated Pyrido[3,4-]indoles via Rh(I)- and Pd(0)-Catalyzed Cyclotrimerization.

Two different pathways for the synthesis of annulated pyrido[3,4-]indoles are reported using metal-catalyzed cyclotrimerization reactions. A stepwise process using Rh(I)-catalysis in the final step of the synthesis and a multicomponent, tandem catalytic approach using Pd(0)-catalysis both lead to complex nitrogen-containing heterocycles in good yields. Substituent effects are investigated for both pathways, demonstrating that the Pd(0)-catalyzed approach is more sensitive to electron- withdrawing groups.

Concise Synthesis of Annulated Pyrido[3,4-b]indoles via Rh(I)-Catalyzed Cyclization.

The synthesis of pyridines bearing multiple ring fusions poses a considerable challenge for organic chemists. To address this problem, we describe the synthesis of a small library of pyrido[3,4-b]indoles via an efficient, five-step sequence. The key transformation is a Rh(I)-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cyclization that forms three rings in one reaction flask.