Value-added oil and animal feed production from corn-ethanol stillage using the oleaginous fungus Mucor circinelloides.

This study highlights the potential of oleaginous fungus, Mucor circinelloides in adsorbing/assimilating oil and nutrients in thin stillage (TS), and producing lipid and protein-rich fungal biomass. Fungal cultivation on TS for 2 days in a 6-L airlift bioreactor, resulted in a 92% increase in oil yield from TS, and 20 g/L of fungal biomass (dry) with a lipid content of 46% (g of oil per 100g dry biomass). Reduction in suspended solids and soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) in TS were 95% and 89%, respectively. The polyunsaturated fatty acids in fungal oil were 52% of total lipids. Fungal cells grown on Yeast Malt (YM) broth had a higher concentration of γ-linolenic acid (17 wt.%) than those grown on TS (1.4 wt.%). Supplementing TS with crude glycerol (10%, v/v) during the stationary growth phase led to a further 32% increase (from 46% to 61%) in cellular oil content.

Tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF)-catalyzed addition of substituted trialkylsilylalkynes to aldehydes, ketones, and trifluoromethyl ketones.

Herein we report that tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) is a very efficient catalyst for the addition of trialkylsilylalkynes to aldehydes, ketones, and trifluoromethyl ketones in THF solvent at room temperature. The reaction conditions are mild and operationally simple, and a variety of aryl functional groups, such as chloro, trifluoromethyl, bromo, and fluoro groups, are tolerated. Impressively, using our protocol, useful CF(3)-bearing tertiary propargylic alcohols can be synthesized. Product yields are generally better than or comparable to those in the literature. 1-Phenyl-2-trimethylsilyl acetylene, trimethyl ((4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)ethynyl)silane, 1-trimethylsilyl-1-hexyne, and trimethyl(thiophen-3-ylethynyl)silane underwent clean conversion to their corresponding propargylic alcohols as products under our conditions. Heterocyclic carbonyl compounds, such as furan-3-carboxaldehyde, thiophene-3-carboxaldehyde, and 2-pyridyl ketone, gave good yields of propargylic alcohols.

P[N(i-Bu)CH(2)CH(2)](3)N: nonionic Lewis base for promoting the room-temperature synthesis of α,ß-unsaturated esters, fluorides, ketones, and nitriles using Wadsworth-Emmons phosphonates.

The bicyclic triaminophosphine P(RNCH(2)CH(2))(3)N (R = i-Bu, 1c) serves as an effective promoter for the room-temperature stereoselective synthesis of α,ß-unsaturated esters, fluorides, and nitriles from a wide array of aromatic, aliphatic, heterocyclic, and cyclic aldehydes and ketones, using a range of Wadsworth-Emmons (WE) phosphonates. Among the analogues of 1c [R = Me (1a), i-Pr (1b), Bn (1d)], 1a and 1b performed well, although longer reaction times were involved, and 1d led to poorer yields than 1c. Functionalities such as cyano, chloro, bromo, methoxy, amino, ester, and nitro were well tolerated. We were able to isolate and characterize (by X-ray means; see above) the reactive WE intermediate species formed from 2b and 1c.

An electron-rich proazaphosphatrane for isocyanate trimerization to isocyanurates.

A facile synthesis of the new electron-rich, sterically hindered proazaphosphatrane shown above is described herein. This proazaphosphatrane catalyzes the cyclotrimerization of a wide variety of isocyanates to isocyanurates under mild conditions with unprecedentedly fast reaction times, giving moderate to high product yields. It is also shown that this proazaphosphatrane can be recycled up to 5 times.

Advantageous use of tBu2P-N=P(iBuNCH2CH2)3N in the Hiyama coupling of aryl bromides and chlorides.

An efficient catalytic route to biaryls by employing (generally) only 0.25 mol % of Pd(OAc)(2) and 0.5 mol % of 1 in the Hiyama coupling reaction is reported. High yields for electron-rich, -neutral, and -deficient aryl chlorides are obtained. A variety of phenylsiloxanes undergo coupling with aryl bromides and chlorides with low Pd(OAc)(2)/1 loadings.

P(PhCH2NCH2CH2)3N catalysis of Mukaiyama aldol reactions of aliphatic, aromatic, and heterocyclic aldehydes and trifluoromethyl phenyl ketone.

Herein we find that proazaphosphatrane 1c is a very efficient catalyst for Mukaiyama aldol reactions of aldehydes with trimethylsilyl enolates in THF solvent. Only the activated ketone 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone underwent clean aldol product formation with a variety of trimethylsilyl enolates under similar conditions as the aldehydes. The reactions were carried out at room temperature using (1-methoxy-2-methyl-1-propenyloxy)trimethylsilane, whereas the temperature was -15 degrees C in the case of 1-phenyl-1-(trimethylsilyloxy)ethylene. The reaction conditions are mild and operationally simple, and a variety of aryl functional groups, such as nitro, amino, ester, chloro, trifluoromethyl, bromo, iodo, cyano, and fluoro groups, are tolerated. Product yields are generally better than or comparable to those in the literature. 1-Phenyl-1-(trimethylsilyloxy)ethylene, 1-(trimethylsilyloxy)cyclohexene, and 2-(trimethylsilyloxy)furan underwent clean conversion to beta-hydroxy carbonyl compounds under our reaction conditions. In the case of bulky (2,2-dimethyl-1-methylenepropoxy)trimethylsilane, only alpha,beta-unsaturated esters were isolated. Heterocyclic aldehydes, such as pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde, benzofuran-2-carboxaldehyde, benzothiophene-2-carboxaldehyde, and 1-methyl-2-imidazolecarboxaldehyde, gave good yields of Mukaiyama products. An optimized synthesis for the catalyst 1c is also reported herein.

P(PhCH(2)NCH(2)CH(2))(3)N: an efficient lewis base catalyst for the synthesis of propargylic alcohols and Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts via aldehyde alkynylation.

Proazaphosphatrane P(PhCH(2)NCH(2)CH(2))(3)N (1a) is an efficient catalyst for the addition of aryl trimethylsilyl alkynes to a variety of aromatic, aliphatic, and heterocyclic aldehydes in THF at room temperature. The reaction conditions are mild and employ a low catalyst loading (ca. 5 mol %). Only propargylic alcohols were isolated in good to excellent isolated yields when electron-rich, electron-neutral, heterocyclic, and aliphatic aldehydes were employed, whereas beta-branched Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) type adducts were isolated with electron-deficient aromatic aldehydes after conventional acid hydrolysis of the TMS ether products. Alkynes containing heterocyclic and aromatic groups bearing electron-withdrawing or -donating substituents underwent clean addition to cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde and to electron-rich aromatic aldehydes to give propargylic alcohols in excellent isolated yields. beta-Branched Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) type adducts were isolated when electron-deficient aromatic aldehydes were employed. Reaction pathways to both types of products are proposed.

P(i-PrNCH2CH2)3N as a Lewis base catalyst for the synthesis of beta-hydroxynitriles using TMSAN.

Proazaphosphatrane 1a was found to be an efficient catalyst for synthesis of beta-hydroxynitriles via the reaction of trimethylsilylacetonitrile (TMSAN) with aldehydes under mild reaction conditions and typically low catalyst loading (ca. 2 mol %). A variety of functional groups were tolerated, and good to excellent product yields were obtained.

Catalysis of mukaiyama aldol reactions by a tricyclic aluminum alkoxide Lewis acid.

The Mukayiama aldol reaction of aldehydes is efficiently accomplished with a low concentration of the dimeric alumatrane catalyst 2 at mild or subambient temperatures. Our protocol tolerates a wide variety of electron-rich, neutral, and deficient aryl, alkyl, and heterocyclic aldehydes. A wide variety of enol silyl ethers are also tolerated. An intermediate that was isolated provides mechanistic information regarding the role of dimeric 2 in the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. Experimental evidence is presented for the stronger Lewis acidity of 5 compared with F3B.

P(i-PrNCH2CH2)3N: efficient catalyst for synthesizing beta-hydroxyesters and alpha,beta-unsaturated esters using alpha-trimethylsilylethylacetate (TMSEA).

We present an efficient synthesis of beta-hydroxyesters and alpha,beta-unsaturated esters via activation of the silicon-carbon bond of alpha-trimethylsilylethylacetate using catalytic amounts of the commercially available P(i-PrNCH(2)CH(2))(3)N 1a. Selectivity for either of these two products can be achieved simply by altering the catalyst loading and reaction temperature to afford addition or stereoselective condensation. This method is mild and tolerates a wide array of functional groups.

(t-Bu)2PN=P(i-BuNCH2CH2)3N: new efficient ligand for palladium-catalyzed C-N couplings of aryl and heteroaryl bromides and chlorides and for vinyl bromides at room temperature.

By employing Pd(OAc)2, Cs2CO3, or NaOH, and the new ligand (t-Bu)2PN=P(i-BuNCH2CH2)3N (3a), an electronically diverse array of aryl bromides and chlorides possessing base-sensitive substituents (nitro, ester, and keto) provide coupling products with bulky aryl amines in good to excellent yields. Aryl halides possessing other functional groups including cyano, amino, trifluoromethyl, and phenol, coupled with equal ease, producing highly functionalized amines in good to excellent yields. Moreover, an aryl chloro group can be preserved in the presence of a bromo substituent under our reaction conditions. BOC-protected amines also participated efficiently. Heterocyclic bromides and chlorides underwent clean couplings with amines in excellent yields. An important strength of our protocol is the use of lower palladium loadings than those reported earlier, without compromising yields. The air-stable palladium complex (eta3-cinnamyl)PdCl.(3a) (5) was also employed successfully in C-N coupling reactions while the crotyl analogue was less efficacious. The 3a/Pd(OAc)2 catalyst system promotes, for the first time, efficient coupling of vinyl bromides with a variety of amines to produce imines and enamines at room temperature.

Water solubilization of DDGS via derivatization with phosphite esters.

Ethanol production from corn starch in the corn dry milling process leaves Distillers' Dry Grains and Solubles (DDGS) as a major by-product from which additional ethanol may be economically obtained from its glucan content. A challenge in processing the cellulose content of this material lies in its extensive inter-cellulose chain hydrogen bonding, which inhibits access of enzymes capable of cleaving glycosidic bonds, a transformation required for providing fermentable sugars. The phosphitylation of cellulosic OH groups using a reactive bicyclic phosphite ester is utilized to disrupt cellulosic hydrogen bonds, thus providing access to cellulose chains for further processing. We describe a method of pretreating DDGS with commercially available trimethylolpropane phosphite [P(OCH2)3CEt] in the presence of a slight molar excess of water to afford greater than 90% DDGS solubility in the reaction mixture in methanol and in water. Preliminary results using a model compound [D-(+)-permethylated cellobiose] indicate that glycosidic bonds are cleaved as a consequence of this pretreatment.

Comparisons of phosphorus ligation properties in P(CH2NR)3P.

Bicyclic P(CH2NMe)3P was synthesized, and its reactions with MnO2, elemental sulfur, p-toluenesulfonyl azide, BH3.THF, and W(CO)5(THF) were shown to furnish a variety of products in which the PC3 and/or the PN3 phosphorus are oxidized/coordinated. In contrast, reactions of the previously known P(CH2NPh)3P with Mo(0) and Ru(II) precursors were shown to afford products in which only the PC3 phosphorus is coordinated. The contrast in reactivity of P(CH2NR)3P (R = Me, Ph) with the aforementioned reagents is discussed in terms of steric and electronic factors. The new compounds are characterized by analytical and spectroscopic (IR, 1H, 31P, and 13C NMR) methods. The results of crystal and molecular structure X-ray analyses of the previously known compounds P(CH2O)3P and P(CH2NPh)3P and 6 of the 14 new compounds obtained in this investigation are presented. Salient features of these structures and the analysis of the Tolman cone angles calculated from their structural parameters are discussed in terms of the effects of constraint in the bicyclic moieties. Evidence is presented for greater M-P sigma bonding effects on coordination of the PC3 phosphorus of P(CH2NR)3P (R = Me, Ph) than are present in PMe3 analogues of group 6B metal carbonyls. From 1JBP data on the BH3 adducts of P(CH2NMe)3P, it is suggested that the free bases MeC(CH2NMe)3P < P(CH2NMe)3P < (Me2N)3P < P(MeNCH2CH2)3N increase in Lewis basicity at the PN3 phosphorus in the order shown. Substantial differences in 31P chemical shifts in the bicyclic compounds discussed herein relative to their acyclic analogues do not seem to be associated with the relatively small bond angle changes that occur around either the PN3 or the PC3 trivalent phosphorus atoms.

Steric stabilization of a monomeric proalumatrane: experimental and theoretical studies.

Treatment of tripodal tris(3-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-5-methylbenzyl)amine (L) with 1 equiv of trimethylaluminum in toluene gave the stable proalumatrane (AlL) (1) [wherein L = tris(3-tert-butyl-5-methyl-2-oxidobenzyl)amine] featuring a distorted trigonal monopyramidal four-coordinate aluminum geometry. An analogous reaction uses the less sterically congested isomer of L, namely, tris(5-tert-butyl-2-hydroxy-3-methylbenzyl)amine provided dimeric (AlL')2 (2) [wherein L' = tris(5-tert-butyl-3-methyl-2-oxidobenzyl)amine], which contains two bridging alumatrane moieties possessing five-coordinate TBP aluminum geometries. Reaction of AlL with water provided the adduct H2O. AlL (3), a species that is representative of a coordinatively stabilized intermediate in the hydrolysis of an aluminum alkoxide. Theoretical calculations revealed that considerable stabilization energy is obtained by the coordination of a water molecule to the tetracoordinate aluminum in AlL and that this result is consistent with the postulate that the Lewis acidity of AlL exceeds that of boron trifluoride, despite the presence of the transannular N-->Al bond in AlL.

Merrifield Resin-C6H4CH2N3P(MeNCH2CH2)3N: an efficient reusable catalyst for room-temperature 1,4-addition reactions and a more convenient synthesis of its precursor P(MeNCH2CH2)3N.

1,4-additions to a variety of Michael acceptors with a wide variety of donors were efficiently catalyzed at room temperature by the title reusable Merrifield resin-supported catalyst. Advantages of this catalyst include a simple workup (filtration of the reaction mixture) and good to excellent product yields. We also report a substantially simplified synthesis of the commercially available strong nonionic base 1, a precursor to the title polymer-bound catalyst.

Synthesis and characterization of R2PN=P(iBuNCH2CH2)3N: a new bulky electron-rich phosphine for efficient Pd-assisted Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions.

Pro-azaphosphatrane 1a [P(iBuNCH2CH2)3N] reacts with iodine under mild conditions to give [IP(iBuNCH2CH2)3N]I in excellent yield, which on subsequent reaction with ammonia followed by deprotonation with KOtBu provided HN=P(iBuNCH2CH2)3N (3a) in quantitative yield. Reaction of 3a with R'2PCl afforded sterically bulky electron-rich phosphines of the type R'2PN=P(iBuNCH2CH2)3N (4) [R'=Ph (4a), iPr (4b), tBu (4c)]. The Pd(OAc)2/4c catalyst system was particularly efficient for the coupling of arylboronic acids with aryl bromides as well as aryl chlorides to give biaryls in excellent yields.

Facile synthesis of monomeric alumatranes.

Alumatranes, tricyclic neutral molecules featuring a transannular N --> Al bond, can act as Lewis acids that activate substrates in the axial coordination site. Treatment of tris(2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)amine with AlMe(3) afforded dimeric (AlL)(2) 1 [wherein L = tris(2-oxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)amine]. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed bridging between AlL monomers by two Al-O bonds. Reactions of 1 with substrates containing O or N donors generated the alumatranes THF-AlL 2, PhCHO-AlL 3, H(2)NCH(2)CH(2)NH(2)-AlL 4, and [PhO-AlL](-) 5, in which the apical added ligand on the five-coordinate aluminum center causes variation in the transannular bond distance. Water coordinates with 1 at -20 degrees C to form the alumatrane H(2)O-AlL 6 that undergoes partial hydrolysis at room temperature to produce 7, which X-ray crystallography showed to be composed of four AlL fragments linked by an (H(2)O)(2)(HO)(2)Al(OH)(2)Al(OH)(2)(H(2)O)(2) framework in which the O(4)AlO(2)AlO(4) moiety is of local D(2)(h)() symmetry. According to X-ray analysis, 7 can crystallize in at least two polymorphic modifications: triclinic 7a and monoclinic 7b. The reaction of 3 with water also generated 6 and 7, depending on the reaction temperature. Dimeric 1 was found to promote the reaction of benzaldehyde with trimethylsilyl cyanide at room temperature to provide 2-trimethylsilyoxyphenylacetonitrile in 95% yield.

Synthesis and photoelectron spectroscopic studies of N(CH2CH2NMe)3P=E (E = O, S, NH, CH2).

The synthesis and the crystal and molecular structure of N(CH(2)CH(2)NMe)(3)P=CH(2) is reported. The P-N(ax) distance is rather long in N(CH(2)CH(2)NMe)(3)P=CH(2). The ylide N(CH(2)CH(2)NMe)(3)P=CH(2) proved to be a stronger proton acceptor than proazaphosphatrane N(CH(2)CH(2)NMe)(3)P, since it was shown to deprotonate N(CH(2)CH(2)NMe)(3)PH(+). The extremely strong basicity of the ylide is in accordance with its low ionization energy (6.3 eV), which is the lowest in the presently investigated series N(CH(2)CH(2)NMe)(3)P=E (E: CH(2), NH, lone pair, O and S), and to the best of our knowledge it is the smallest value observed for a non-conjugated phosphorus ylide. Computations reveal the existence of two bond strech isomers, and the stabilization of the phosphorus centered cation by electron donation from the equatorial and the axial nitrogens. Similar stabilizing effects operate in the case of protonation of E. A fine balance of these different interactions determines the P-N(ax) distance, which is thus very sensitive to the level of the theory applied. According to the quantum mechanical calculations, methyl substitution at the equatorial nitrogens flattens the pyramidality of this atom, increasing its electron donor capability. As a consequence, the PN(ax) distance in the short-transannular bonded protonated systems and the radical cations is longer by about 0.5 A in the N(eq)(Me) than in the N(eq)(H) systems. Accordingly, isodesmic reaction energies show that a stabilization of about 25 and 10 kcal/mol is attributable to the formation of the transannular bond in case of N(eq)(H) and the experimentally realizable N(eq)(Me) species, respectively.

3/2-order chain kinetics involving a postulated dicationic intermediate in the isomerization of a p-isocyano to a p-cyano azaphosphatrane monocation.

Kinetic evidence suggests the possibility of a dicationic intermediate in the title reaction. Thus the linkage isomerization reaction, PNC+ = PCN+, is described by the rate law, nu = 3/2k[PNC+]3/2, which can be interpreted by a chain mechanism with the propagation reaction PNC+ + P2+ --> P2+ + PCN+. Such propagation is unusual in that the intermediate regenerates itself in this single step rather than forming a different intermediate for a second propagation step. Cyanide ions inhibit the rate because they participate in the termination step, P2+ + CN- --> PCN+. The rate constant in CD3CN at 100 degrees C is 3/2k = 7.2 +/- 0.6 x 10-5 L1/2 mol-1/2 s-1; 3/2k represents the composite (kinit/kterm)1/2 kprop. When the reaction is carried out in the presence of PBr+, however, the reaction becomes much faster and is described by the rate law, nu = kBr[PBr+][PNC+]; because [PBr+] remains at constant concentration, the time-course experiments follow first-order kinetics.