Origin of the Diastereoselectivity of the Heterogeneous Hydrogenation of a Substituted Indolizine.

In this work, the stereoselective heterogeneous hydrogenation of a tetrasubstituted indolizine was studied. Partial hydrogenation products were obtained in three steps from a substituted pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde prepared from commercial pyridoxine hydrochloride. The hydrogenation of the indolizine ring was shown to be diastereoselective, forming trans-6b and cis-9. Theoretical calculations (ab initio and DFT) were used to rationalize the unusual trans stereoselectivity for 6b, and a keto-enol tautomerism under kinetic control has been proposed as the source of diastereoselectivity.

Synthesis of Xylitan Derivatives and Preliminary Evaluation of in Vitro Trypanocidal Activity.

A series of novel xylitan derivatives derived from xylitol were synthesized using operationally simple procedures. A xylitan acetonide was the key intermediate used to prepare benzoate, arylsulfonate esters and 1,2,3-triazole derivatives of xylitan. These compounds were evaluated for their in vitro anti-Trypanosoma cruzi activity against trypomastigote and amastigote forms of the parasite in T. cruzi-infected cell lineages. Benznidazole was used as positive control against T. cruzi and cytotoxicity was determined in mammalian L929 cells. The arylsulfonate xylitan derivative bearing a nitro group displayed the best activity of all the compounds tested, and was slightly more potent than the reference drug benznidazole. The importance of the isopropylidene ketal moiety was established and the greater lipophilicity of these compounds suggests enhancement in cell penetration.

Charge Tags for Most Comprehensive ESI-MS Monitoring of Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH)/aza-MBH Reactions: Solid Mechanistic View and the Dualistic Role of the Charge Tagged Acrylate.

Neutral and charge tagged reagents were used to investigate the mechanism of the classical Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction as well as its aza-version using mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (ESI-MS). The use of an acrylate (activated alkene) with a methylimidazolium ion as a charge tag eliminates the requirement for adding acids as ESI(+) additives, which are normally used to favor protonation and therefore detection of reaction partners (reagents, intermediates, and products) by ESI(+)-MS. For both charge tagged reactions (MBH/aza-MBH), most reactants, intermediates, and the final adducts were efficiently detected in the form of abundant doubly and singly charged ions. Characterization of the reactions partners was performed via both tandem mass spectrometry (ESI(+)-MS/MS) and accurate m/z measurements. The charge tagged reactions also showed faster conversion rates when compare to the neutral reaction, indicating a dualistic role for the charge tagged acrylate. It acts as both the reagent and a cocatalyst due to the inherent ionic-coordination nature of the methylimidazolium ion, which stabilizes the zwitterionic intermediates and reagents through different types of coordination ion pairs. Hemiacetal intermediates for the rate-limiting proton transfer step were also intercepted and characterized for both classical and aza-MBH charge tagged reactions.