Selective adsorptive separation of cyclohexane over benzene using thienothiophene cages.

The selective separation of benzene (Bz) and cyclohexane (Cy) is one of the most challenging chemical separations in the petrochemical and oil industries. In this work, we report an environmentally friendly and energy saving approach to separate Cy over Bz using thienothiophene cages (ThT-cages) with adaptive porosity. Interestingly, cyclohexane was readily captured selectively from an equimolar benzene/cyclohexane mixture with a purity of 94%. This high selectivity arises from the C-H⋯S, C-H⋯π and C-H⋯N interactions between Cy and the thienothiophene ligand. Reversible transformation between the nonporous guest-free structure and the host-guest assembly, endows this system with excellent recyclability with minimal energy requirements.

A Direct and an Efficient Regioselective Synthesis of 1,2-Benzothiazine 1,1-dioxides, ß-Carbolinones, Indolo[2,3-c]pyran-1-ones, Indolo[3,2-c]pyran-1-ones, Thieno[2,3-c]pyran-7-ones and Pyrano[3',4':4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-1-ones via Tandem Stille/Heterocyclization Reaction.

A general regioselective one-pot synthesis of 1,2-benzothiazine 1,1-dioxides from 2-iodo benzenesulfonamide moieties and allenylstannanes is described using a domino Stille-like/Azacyclization reaction. The conditions developed also opened a novel access to ß-carbolinones, indolopyranones, thienopyranones and pyrano-imidazopyridines.

Synthesis and evaluation of heterocycle structures as potential inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis UGM.

In this study, we screen three heterocyclic structures as potential inhibitors of UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM), an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In order to understand the binding mode, docking simulations are performed on the best inhibitors. Their activity on Mycobacterium tuberculosis is also evaluated. This study made it possible to highlight an "oxazepino-indole" structure as a new inhibitor of UGM and of M. tuberculosis growth in vitro.

Phosphenium Versus Pro-Phosphide Character of P-tert-butyl-dicyclopropeniophosphine: Zwitterionic Palladate Complexes of a Dicationic Phosphido Ligand.

With the view to enhancing the unique coordinating ability of the known phenyl-tetrakis(diisopropylamino)dicyclopropeniophosphine (Ph-DCP), replacement of the phenyl substituent by a tert-butyl substituent was envisaged. Both α-dicationic R-DCP phosphines, with R = Ph and tBu, were prepared in 54%-55% yield by substitution of RPCl2 with two equivalents of bis(diisopropylamino)-dicyclopropenylidene (BAC) and metathesis with NaBF4. This method is implicitly consistent with the representation of R-DCPs as BAC-phosphenium adducts. The R-DCP salts were found to coordinate hard and soft Lewis acids such as a promoted oxygen atom (in the singlet spin state) in the corresponding R-DCP oxides, and electron-rich transition-metal centers in η1-R-DCP complexes with AuCl, PtCl3-, or PdCl3-, respectively. Coordination of Ph-DCP with PdCl2, which is a more electron-deficient Pd(II) center, leads to pentachlorinated dinuclear complexes [(Ph-DCP)PdCl2]2Cl-, where the dicoordinate Cl- bridge screens the repelling pairs of positive charges from each other. The same behavior is inferred for the tBu-DCP ligand, from which addition of an excess of (MeCN)2PdCl2 was found to trigger a heterolytic cleavage of the DCP-tBu bond, releasing tBu+ and a dicationic phosphide, DCP-: the latter is evidenced as a ligand in a tetranuclear complex ion [(µ2-DCP-)Pd2Cl4]2, which, upon HCl treatment, dissociates to a doubly zwitterionic dipalladate complex. All the complexes were isolated in 82%-97% yield, and five of them were characterized by X-ray crystallography.

The search for formal electrostatic effects on molecular conformation and crystal packing: crystal structure of 2,2''-disubstituted (H versus PPh2) 1,1'-(1,2-phenylene)bis(3-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium) bis(trifluoromethanesulfonate).

Electrostatic interactions between localized integral charges make the stability and structure of highly charged small and rigid organics intriguing. Can σ/π-electron delocalization compensate reduced conformational freedom by lowering the repulsion between identical charges? The crystal structure of the title salt, C14H16N4(2+)·2CF3SO3(-), (2), is described and compared with that of the 2,2''-bis(diphenylphosphanyl) derivative, (4). The conformations of the dications and their interactions with neighbouring trifluoromethanesulfonate anions are first analyzed from the standpoint of formal electrostatic effects. Neither cation exhibits any geometrical strain induced by the intrinsic repulsion between the positive charges. In contrast, the relative orientation of the imidazolium rings [i.e. anti for (2) and syn for (4)] is controlled by different configurations of the interactions with the closest trifluoromethanesulfonate anions. The long-range arrangement is also found to be specific: beyond the formal electrostatic packing, C-H...O and C-H...F contacts have no definite `hydrogen-bond' character but allow the delineation of layers, which are either pleated or flat in the packing of (2) or (4), respectively.

Carbene-stabilized phosphenium oxides and sulfides.

Carbene→chalcogenophosphenium adducts, which correspond to an intermolecular stabilization mode of the so far elusive, free oxo- and thiooxophosphenium species [R(2)P(+) = X] (X = O, S) by imidazolylidene (NHC) and diaminocyclopropenylidene (BAC) donors, have been isolated and fully characterized. The dative character of the R(2)C:→P(+)(X)Ph(2) bond was confirmed experimentally by nucleophilic displacement of the carbene donor with a chloride ion and by an exchange reaction of the NHC ligand of the NHC:→P(+)(O)Ph(2) adduct with an independently prepared BAC ligand, thereby giving the BAC:→P(+)(O)Ph(2) adduct. This dative character was further characterized by the DFT-calculated preference of carbene→chalcogenophosphenium systems for a heterolytic dissociation mode over a homolytic one.

On the P-coordinating limit of NHC-phosphenium cations toward Rh(I) centers.

Two types of imidazoliophosphane with additional electron-withdrawing substituents, such as alkoxy or imidazolio groups, are experimentally described and theoretically studied. Diethyl N,N'-2,4,6-methyl(phenyl)imidazoliophosphonite is shown to retain a P-coordinating ability toward a {RhCl(cod)} (cod = cycloocta-1,5-diene) center, thus competing with the cleavage of the labile C-P bond. Derivatives of N,N'-phenylene-bridged diimidazolylphenylphosphane were isolated in good yield. Whereas the dicationic phosphane proved to be inert in the presence of [{RhCl(cod)}(2)], the monocationic counterpart was shown to retain the P-coordinating ability toward a {RhCl(cod)} center, thus competing with the N-coordinating ability of the nonmethylated imidazolyl substituent. The ethyl phosphinite version of the dication, thus possessing an extremely electron-poor P(III) center, was also characterized. According to the difference between the calculated homolytic and heterolytic dissociation energies, the N(2)C⋅⋅⋅P bond of imidazoliophosphanes with aryl, amino, or alkoxy substituents on the P atom is shown to be of dative nature. The P-coordinating properties of imidazoliophosphanes with various combinations of phenyl or ethoxy substituents on the P atom and those of six diimidazolophosphane derivatives with zero, one, or two methylium substituents on the N atom, were analyzed by comparison of the corresponding HOMOs and LUMOs and by calculation of the IR C=O stretching frequencies of their [RhCl(CO)(2)] complexes. Comparison of the ν(CO)  values allows the family of the electron-poor Im(+) PRR' (Im = imidazolyl) potential ligands to be ranked in the following order versus (R,R'): P(OEt)(3)<(Ph,Ph)<(Ph,OEt)<(OEt,OEt)

Flexible and enantioselective access to jaspine B and biologically active chain-modified analogues thereof.

Whereas the all-cis tetrahydrofuran framework of the cytotoxic anhydrophytosphingosine jaspine B is considered as a relevant pharmacophore, little is known about the influence of the aliphatic chain of this amphiphilic molecule on its activity. We developed a synthetic strategy allowing flexible introduction of various lipophilic fragments in the jaspine's skeleton. The route was validated with two distinct approaches to jaspine B. Five chain-modified analogues were also prepared. Biological evaluation of these derivatives demonstrated a good correlation between their cytotoxicity and their capacity to inhibit conversion of ceramide into sphingomyelin in melanoma cells. A series of potent and selective inhibitors of sphingomyelin production was thus identified. Furthermore, the good overall potency of an omega-aminated analogue allowed us to dissociate of the pharmacological action of jaspine B from its amphiphilic nature.