Rhodium(I)-Catalyzed Annulation of Bicyclo[1.1.0]butyl-Substituted Dihydroquinolines and Dihydropyridines.

Bicyclo[1.1.0]butane-containing compounds feature a unique chemical reactivity, trigger "strain-release" reaction cascades, and provide novel scaffolds with considerable utility in the drug discovery field. We report the synthesis of new bicyclo[1.1.0]butane-linked heterocycles by a nucleophilic addition of bicyclo[1.1.0]butyl anions to 8-isocyanatoquinoline, or, alternatively, iminium cations derived from quinolines and pyridines. The resulting bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes are converted with high regioselectivity to unprecedented bridged heterocycles in a rhodium(I)-catalyzed annulative rearrangement. The addition/rearrangement process tolerates a surprisingly large range of functional groups. Subsequent chemo- and stereoselective synthetic transformations of urea, alkene, cyclopropane, and aniline moieties of the 1-methylene-5-azacyclopropa[cd]indene scaffolds provide several additional new heterocyclic building blocks. X-ray structure-validated quantum mechanical DFT calculations of the reaction pathway indicate the intermediacy of rhodium carbenoid and metallocyclobutane species.

Cross-coupling by a noncanonical mechanism involving the addition of aryl halide to Cu(II).

Copper complexes are widely used in the synthesis of fine chemicals and materials to catalyze couplings of heteroatom nucleophiles with aryl halides. We show that cross-couplings catalyzed by some of the most active catalysts occur by a mechanism not previously considered. Copper(II) [Cu(II)] complexes of oxalamide ligands catalyze Ullmann coupling to form the C-O bond in aryl ethers by concerted oxidative addition of an aryl halide to Cu(II) to form a high-valent species that is stabilized by radical character on the oxalamide ligand. This mechanism diverges from those involving Cu(I) and Cu(III) intermediates that have been posited for other Ullmann-type couplings. The stability of the Cu(II) state leads to high turnover numbers, >1000 for the coupling of phenoxide with aryl chloride electrophiles, as well as an ability to run the reactions in air.

Accurate Potential Energy Surfaces Using Atom-Centered Potentials and Minimal High-Level Data.

We demonstrate that a Δ-density functional theory (Δ-DFT) approach based on atom-centered potentials (ACPs) represents a computationally inexpensive and accurate method for representing potential energy surfaces (PESs) for the HONO and HFCO molecules and vibrational frequencies derived therefrom. Using as few as 100 CCSD(T)-F12a reference energies, ACPs developed for use with B3LYP/def2-TZVPP are shown to produce PESs for HONO and HFCO with mean absolute errors of 27.7 and 5.8 cm-1, respectively. Application of the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) method with ACP-corrected B3LYP/def2-TZVPP PESs produces vibrational frequencies for cis- and trans-HONO with mean absolute percent errors (MAPEs) of 0.8 and 1.1, compared to 0.8 obtained for the two isomers with CCSD(T)-F12a/cc-pVTZ-F12/MCTDH. For HFCO, the vibrational frequencies obtained using the present (Δ-DFT)/MCTDH approach give a MAPE of 0.1, which is the error obtained with CCSD(T)-F12a/cc-pVTZ-F12/MCTDH. The ACP approach is therefore successful in representing a PES calculated at a high level of theory (CCSD(T)-F12a) and a promising method for the development of a general protocol for the representation of accurate molecular PESs and the calculation of molecular properties from them.

C(sp2)-H cyclobutylation of hydroxyarenes enabled by silver-π-acid catalysis: diastereocontrolled synthesis of 1,3-difunctionalized cyclobutanes.

Ring-opening of bicyclo[1.1.0]butanes (BCBs) is emerging as a powerful strategy for 1,3-difunctionalized cyclobutane synthesis. However, reported radical strain-release reactions are typically plagued with diastereoselectivity issues. Herein, an atom-economic protocol for the highly chemo- and diastereoselective polar strain-release ring-opening of BCBs with hydroxyarenes catalyzed by a π-acid catalyst AgBF4 has been developed. The use of readily available starting materials, low catalyst loading, high selectivity (up to >98 : 2 d.r.), a broad substrate scope, ease of scale-up, and versatile functionalizations of the cyclobutane products make this approach very attractive for the synthesis of 1,1,3-trisubstituted cyclobutanes. Moreover, control experiments and theoretical calculations were performed to illustrate the reaction mechanism and selectivity.

Tunable nanogap devices for ultra-sensitive electrochemical impedance biosensing.

A wealth of research has been available discussing nanogap devices for detecting very small quantities of biomolecules by observing their electrical behavior generally performed in dry conditions. We report that a gold nanogapped electrode with tunable gap length for ultra-sensitive detection of streptavidin based on electrochemical impedance technique. The gold nanogap is fabricated using simple monolayer film deposition and in-situ growth of gold nanoparticles in a traditional interdigitated array (IDA) microelectrode. The electrochemical impedance biosensor with a 25-nm nanogap is found to be ultra-sensitive to the specific binding of streptavidin to biotin. The binding of the streptavidin hinder the electron transfer between two electrodes, resulting in a large increase in electron-transfer resistance (Ret) for operating the impedance. A linear relation between the relative Ret and the logarithmic value of streptavidin concentration is observed in the concentration range from 1 pM (picomolar) to 100 nM (nanomolar). The lowest detectable concentration actually measured reaches 1 pM. We believe that such an electrochemical impedance nanogap biosensor provides a useful approach towards biomolecular detection that could be extended to a number of other systems.

Selective detection toward quercetin and kaempferol on NH3-plasma treated carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode.

NH3-plasma treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (pn-MWCNTs) were prepared based on the plasma technique and developed as sensing materials for detection of quercetin and kaempferol with the differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and amperometric measurement. Such experimental parameters as pH values, accumulation potential and accumulation time were carefully investigated. The pn-MWCNTs modified electrode (pn-MWCNTs/GCE) was further explored for the analysis of quercetin and kaempferol in diluted blood serum and average recovery rates of 96.91 and 100.5% were obtained, respectively. In addition, the interference and stability measurements were evaluated under the optimized experimental conditions. More importantly, selective detection toward quercetin and kaempferol was achieved, and the proposed electrochemical sensing strategy was available to distinguish substances with similar oxidation potential.

A hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on the direct electron transfer of hemoglobin encapsulated in liquid-crystalline cubic phase on electrode.

Liquid crystal cubic phase formed with monoolein has been used as immobilizing matrix to host redox protein hemoglobin on glassy carbon electrode surface. The promoted direct electron transfer between hemoglobin and electrode was observed and a large average kinetic electron transfer rate constant k(s) of 3.03(±0.02)s(-1) was estimated. The electrode modified with cubic phase containing hemoglobin retains the bioactivity of hemoglobin and shows excellent bioelectrocatalytic activity to the reduction of hydrogen peroxide with a small apparent Michaelis-Menten constant of 0.25(±0.03)mM. A novel reagentless hydrogen peroxide biosensor was constructed using the hemoglobin-containing cubic phase modified electrode and the proposed hydrogen peroxide biosensor shows a linear range of 7.0-239µM with a detection limit of 3.1(±0.2)µM and good stability and reproducibility.

[Studies on hydrolysis of aconitine].

OBJECTIVE: To find out hydrolysis regularity of aconitine. METHOD: Aconitine was air-tighted and hydrolyzed in water for 8, 12, 16, 20, 24 h. The hydrolysis products were analyzed by HPLC-MS. A major hydrolysis product was isolated by alumina oxide column chromatography, and identified by 1H and 13C-NMR spectra. RESULT: HPLC-MS analysis shows that the major hydrolysis products are benzoylaconine and aconine. The hydrolysis can mostly be completed within 20 hours. CONCLUSION: Diester aconitum alkaloid can be changed to monoester aconitum and aconine alkaloids. Under the controled condition benzoylaconine is a major hydrolysis products.