Measuring Spin Relaxation Rates Using Satellite Exchange NMR Spectroscopy.

An approach to the indirect measurement of nuclear spin relaxation rates of low-magnetogyric ratio (γ) nuclei using the process of satellite exchange is described. The method does not require the observation of, or even the ability to provide radio-frequency pulses to, the low-γ nucleus, but requires this to be scalar coupled to an NMR observable nucleus, such as 31 P or 1 H, making it especially attractive for the study of diamagnetic transition metals. In situations where spin relaxation is dominated by chemical shift anisotropy (CSA), the determination of the longitudinal spin relaxation time constant (T1 ) of the metal becomes possible, as illustrated for 195 Pt and 107/109 Ag.

Catalytic enantio- and diastereoselective Mannich reaction of α-substituted isocyanoacetates and ketimines.

The highly diastereo- and enantioselective Mannich addition/cyclisation reaction of α-substituted isocyanoacetate ester pronucleophiles and (hetero)aryl and alkyl methyl ketone-derived ketimines using a silver acetate and a cinchona-derived amino phosphine binary catalyst system is reported.

Hydrogen Bonding to Hexafluoroisopropanol Controls the Oxidative Strength of Hypervalent Iodine Reagents.

Hexafluoroisopropan-2-ol (HFIP) has been found to be an unusually beneficial solvent for undertaking hypervalent iodine-initiated [2+2] cycloaddition of styrenes. For the initiator phenyliodine(III) diacetate (PIDA), voltammetric data demonstrate that the enhanced reactivity in HFIP is due to its greater oxidizing abilities in this fluorinated solvent such that in HFIP the reactivity of PIDA is comparable if not superior to its fluorinated analog phenyliodine(III) bis(trifluoroacetate). These results contrast with the often reported view that the role of the fluoroalcohol is to stabilize a radical cation formed by single electron transfer. Moreover, combined NMR and HRMS results reveal the formation of a strong H-bonded adduct between the solvent and oxidizing reagent which is the physical origin of the observed altered synthetic reactivity.

Scalar Cross-Relaxation Detected in the NOESY Spectra of Oxazolidines and Thiazolidines.

Anomalous cross-peaks observed in the NOESY spectra of 2,4-disubstituted thiazolidines and oxazolidines that cannot be attributed to classical dipolar NOE or chemical exchange peaks have been investigated experimentally and computationally and have been shown to arise from scalar cross-relaxation of the first kind. This process is stimulated by the relatively slow modulation of scalar couplings and, for the systems studied, arises from slow on-off proton exchange of the amino nitrogen, a process influenced by solution temperature, acidity, and concentration. The mechanism is likely to be significant for many systems in which proton exchange occurs on the millisecond time scale, and misinterpretation of these cross-peaks may lead to erroneous conclusions should their true origins not be recognized.

Synthesis of Five-Porphyrin Nanorings by Using Ferrocene and Corannulene Templates.

The smallest and most strained member of a family of π-conjugated cyclic porphyrin oligomers was synthesized by using pentapyridyl templates based on ferrocene and corannulene. Both templates are effective for directing the synthesis of the butadiyne-linked cyclic pentamer, despite the fact that the radii of their N5 donor sets are too small by 0.5 Šand 0.9 Å, respectively (from DFT calculations). The five-porphyrin nanoring exhibits a structured absorption spectrum and its fluorescence extends to 1200 nm, reflecting strong π conjugation and Herzberg-Teller vibronic coupling.

Barrierless Photoisomerization of 11-cis Retinal Protonated Schiff Base in Solution.

A hallmark of the primary visual event is the barrierless, ultrafast, and efficient 11-cis to all-trans photoisomerization of the retinal protonated Schiff base (RPSB) chromophore. The remarkable reactivity of RPSB in the visual pigment rhodopsin has been attributed to potential energy surface modifications enabled by evolution-optimized chromophore-protein interactions. Here, we use a combined synthetic and ultrafast spectroscopic approach to show that barrierless photoisomerization is an intrinsic property of 11-cis RPSB, suggesting that the protein may merely adjust the ratio between fast reactive and slow unreactive decay channels. These results call for a re-evaluation of our understanding and theoretical description of RPSB photochemistry.

α- and α'-Lithiation-Electrophile Trapping of N-Thiopivaloyl and N-tert-Butoxythiocarbonyl α-Substituted Azetidines: Rationalization of the Regiodivergence Using NMR and Computation.

(1)H NMR and computational analyses provide insight into the regiodivergent (α- and α'-) lithiation-electrophile trapping of N-thiopivaloyl- and N-(tert-butoxythiocarbonyl)-α-alkylazetidines. The magnitudes of the rotation barriers in these azetidines indicate that rotamer interconversions do not occur at the temperature and on the time scale of the lithiations. The NMR and computational studies support the origin of regioselectivity as being thiocarbonyl-directed lithiation from the lowest energy amide-like rotameric forms (cis for N-thiopivaloyl and trans for N-tert-butoxythiocarbonyl).

Self-Assembly of Russian Doll Concentric Porphyrin Nanorings.

Electronic communication between concentric macrocycles with wave functions that extend around their circumferences can lead to remarkable behavior, as illustrated by multiwalled carbon nanotubes and photosynthetic chlorophyll arrays. However, it is difficult to hold one π-conjugated molecular ring inside another. Here, we show that ring-in-ring complexes, consisting of a 6-porphyrin ring locked inside a 12-porphyrin ring, can be assembled by placing different metals in the two rings (zinc and aluminum). A bridging ligand with carboxylate and imidazole binding sites forms spokes between the two rings, resulting in a highly cooperative supramolecular self-assembly process. Excitation is transferred from the inner 6-ring to the outer 12-ring of this Russian doll complex within 40 ps. These complexes lead to a form of template-directed synthesis in which one nanoring promotes formation of a larger concentric homologous ring; here, the effective template is an eight-component noncovalent assembly. Russian doll templating provides a new approach to amplifying the size of a covalent nanostructure.

Anomalous nuclear Overhauser effects in carbon-substituted aziridines: scalar cross-relaxation of the first kind.

Anomalous NOESY cross-peaks that cannot be explained by dipolar cross-relaxation or chemical exchange are described for carbon-substituted aziridines. The origin of these is identified as scalar cross-relaxation of the first kind, as demonstrated by a complete theoretical description of this relaxation process and by computational simulation of the NOESY spectra. It is shown that this process relies on the stochastic modulation of J-coupling by conformational transitions, which in the case of aziridines arise from inversion at the nitrogen center. The observation of scalar cross-relaxation between protons does not appear to have been previously reported for NOESY spectra. Conventional analysis would have assigned the cross-peaks as being indicative of a chemical exchange process occurring between correlated spins, were it not for the fact that the pairs of nuclei displaying them cannot undergo such exchange.

Physical autocatalysis driven by a bond-forming thiol-ene reaction.

Autocatalysis has been extensively studied because it is central to the propagation of living systems. Chemical systems which self-reproduce like living cells would offer insight into principles underlying biology and its emergence from inanimate matter. Protocellular models feature a surfactant boundary, providing compartmentalization in the form of a micelle or vesicle and any model of the emergence of cellular life must account for the appearance, and evolution of, such boundaries. Here, we describe an autocatalytic system where two relatively simple components combine to form a more complex product. The reaction products aggregate into micelles that catalyse molecular self-reproduction. Study of the reaction kinetics and aggregation behaviour suggests a mechanism involving micelle-mediated physical autocatalysis and led to the rational design of a second-generation system. These reactions are driven by irreversible bond formation and provide a working model for the autocatalytic formation of protocells from the coupling of two simple molecular components.

Synthetic control of retinal photochemistry and photophysics in solution.

Understanding how molecular structure and environment control energy flow in molecules is a requirement for the efficient design of tailor-made photochemistry. Here, we investigate the tunability of the photochemical and photophysical properties of the retinal-protonated Schiff base chromophore in solution. Replacing the n-butylamine Schiff base normally chosen to mimic the saturated linkage found in nature by aromatic amines results in the reproduction of the opsin shift and complete suppression of all isomerization channels. Modification of retinal by directed addition or removal of backbone substituents tunes the overall photoisomerization yield from 0 to 0.55 and the excited state lifetime from 0.4 to 7 ps and activates previously inaccessible reaction channels to form 7-cis and 13-cis products. We observed a clear correlation between the presence of polarizable backbone substituents and photochemical reactivity. Structural changes that increase reaction speed were found to decrease quantum yields, and vice versa, so that excited state lifetime and efficiency are inversely correlated in contrast to the trends observed when comparing retinal photochemistry in protein and solution environments. Our results suggest a simple model where backbone modifications and Schiff base substituents control barrier heights on the excited-state potential energy surface and therefore determine speed, product distribution, and overall yield of the photochemical process.

A discrete three-layer stack aggregate of a linear porphyrin tetramer: solution-phase structure elucidation by NMR and X-ray scattering.

Formation of stacked aggregates can dramatically alter the properties of aromatic π-systems, yet the solution-phase structure elucidation of these aggregates is often impossible because broad distributions of species are formed, giving uninformative spectroscopic data. Here, we show that a butadiyne-linked zinc porphyrin tetramer forms a remarkably well-defined aggregate, consisting of exactly three molecules, in a parallel stacked arrangement (in chloroform at room temperature; concentration 1 mM-0.1 µM). The aggregate has a mass of 14.7 kDa. Unlike most previously reported aggregates, it gives sharp NMR resonances and aggregation is in slow exchange on the NMR time scale. The structure was elucidated using a range of NMR techniques, including diffusion-editing, (1)H-(29)Si HMBC, (1)H-(1)H COSY, TOCSY and NOESY, and (1)H-(13)C edited HSQC spectroscopy. Surprisingly, the (1)H-(1)H COSY spectrum revealed many long-range residual dipolar couplings (RDCs), and detailed analysis of magnetic field-induced (1)H-(13)C RDCs provided further evidence for the structural model. The size and shape of the aggregate is supported by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data. It adopts a geometry that maximizes van der Waals contact between the porphyrins, while avoiding clashes between side chains. The need for interdigitation of the side chains prevents formation of stacks consisting of more than three layers. Although a detailed analysis has only been carried out for one compound (the tetramer), comparison with the NMR spectra of other oligomers indicates that they form similar three-layer stacks. In all cases, aggregation can be prevented by addition of pyridine, although at low pyridine concentrations, disaggregation takes many hours to reach equilibrium.

Synthesis of 3-fluoropyrrolidines and 4-fluoropyrrolidin-2-ones from allylic fluorides.

Various 3-fluoropyrrolidines and 4-fluoropyrrolidin-2-ones were prepared by 5-exo-trig iodocyclisation from allylic fluorides bearing a pending nitrogen nucleophile. These bench-stable precursors were made accessible upon electrophilic fluorination of the corresponding allylsilanes. The presence of the allylic fluorine substituent induces syn-stereocontrol upon iodocyclisation with diastereomeric ratios ranging from 10:1 to > 20:1 for all N-tosyl-3-fluoropent-4-en-1-amines and amides. The sense and level of stereocontrol is strikingly similar to the corresponding iodocyclisation of structurally related allylic fluorides bearing pending oxygen nucleophiles. These results suggest that the syn selectivity observed upon ring closure involves I(2)-π complexes with the fluorine positioned inside.

Conformational analysis of fluorinated pyrrolidines using 19F-1H scalar couplings and heteronuclear NOEs.

A series of 3-fluoropyrrolidines have been studied to investigate the influence of the stereoelectronic fluorine gauche effect on ring conformations in the solid state by single-crystal X-ray analysis and in solution phase by NMR spectroscopy. As part of these studies 1D (19)F-(1)H heteronuclear NOE (HOESY) experiments have been optimised for applications to small molecules and are described in detail. These have been employed to estimate (19)F-(1)H internuclear distances and were combined with vicinal (3)J(F,H) and (3)J(H,H) scalar coupling constants to analyse the ring conformations. Where possible the derived solution-phase structural data have been compared with those of the crystalline state. The results demonstrate the influence of the gauche effect in stabilising C(γ)-exo conformations of the fluorinated pyrrolidines. It was further shown that when steric interactions were also present, this conformational bias was diminished and the contribution of the alternative C(γ)-endo conformation was seen to increase in solution at lower sample temperatures.

Unusual inverse temperature dependence on reaction rate in the asymmetric autocatalytic alkylation of pyrimidyl aldehydes.

Observations of an intriguing inverse temperature dependence on reaction rate and a profound induction period in the Soai autocatalytic reaction are reported along with detailed kinetic and NMR investigations of the product alkoxide at low temperatures, leading to the suggestion that the active catalyst is derived in situ from the tetrameric ground state.

Synthesis of regio- and stereoselectively deuterium-labelled derivatives of L-glutamate semialdehyde for studies on carbapenem biosynthesis.

L-glutamate semialdehyde (L-GSA) is an intermediate in biosynthetic pathways including those leading to the carbapenem antibiotics. We describe studies on asymmetric deuteration or hydrogenation of appropriate didehydro-amino acid precursors for the stereoselective synthesis of C-2- and/or C-3-[2H]-labelled L-GSA suitable for use in mechanistic studies. Regioselective deuterium incorporation into the 5-position of L-GSA was achieved using a labelled form of the Schwartz reagent (Cp2Zr2HCl). 4,4-Dideuterated and fully backbone deuterated L-GSAs were prepared. The application of the labelled L-GSA derivatives to biosynthetic studies was exemplified by the chemo-enzymatic preparation of selectively deuterated trans-carboxymethylprolines using two different carboxymethylproline synthases (CarB and ThnE), enzymes that catalyse early steps in the biosynthesis of two carbapenems: (5R)-carbapenem-3-carboxylate and thienamycin, respectively.

Synthesis and conformational analysis of cyclic analogues of inverse gamma-turns.

Gamma-turn analogues comprising a modified dipeptide constrained in an eleven-membered ring were prepared by alkene metathesis and analysed by NMR and molecular modelling studies. The results reveal that some of the cyclic analogues form inverse gamma-turns and preferentially adopt conformations determined by the identity of the incorporated amino acid residues and the nature of the constraining linker (E/Z-alkene or alkane).