One-Pot Tandem Assembly of Amides, Amines, and Ketones: Synthesis of C4-Quaternary 3,4- and 1,4-Dihydroquinazolines.

A multicomponent tandem assembly procedure for the synthesis of diverse C4-quaternary 3,4-dihydroquinazolines from amides, amines, and ketones has been developed. The one-pot reaction involves successive triflic anhydride mediated amide dehydration, ketimine addition, and Pictet-Spengler-like cyclization processes and affords products in up to 92% yield. Conversion of 3,4-dihydroquinazolines to the corresponding 1,4-dihydroquinazolines via a two-step N1 dealkylation and regioselective N3 functionalization protocol, including computational rationale for the observed regioselectivity, is also described.

Nitric Oxide Dioxygenation by O2 Adducts of Manganese Porphyrins.

We describe here nitric oxide dioxygenation (NOD) by the dioxygen manganese porphyrin adducts Mn(Por)(η2-O2) (Por2- = the meso-tetra-phenyl or meso-tetra-p-tolylporphyrinato dianions, TPP2- and TTP2-). The Mn(Por)(η2-O2) was assembled by adding O2 to sublimed layers of MnII(Por). When NO was introduced and the temperature was slowly raised from 80 to 120 K, new IR bands with correlated intensities grew concomitant with depletion of the υ(O2) band. Isotope labeling experiments with 18O2, 15NO, and N18O combined with DFT calculations provide the basis for identifying the initial intermediates as the six-coordinate peroxynitrito complexes (ON)Mn(Por)(η1-OONO). Further warming to room temperature led to formation of the nitrato complexes Mn(Por)(η1-ONO2), thereby demonstrating the ability of these metal centers to promote NOD. However, comparable quantities of the nitrito complexes Mn(Por)(η1-ONO) are also formed. In contrast, when the analogous reactions were initiated with the weak σ-donor ligand tetrahydrofuran or dimethyl sulfide present in the layers, formation of Mn(Por)(η1-ONO2) is strongly favored (∼90%). The latter are formed via a 6-coordinate intermediate (L)Mn(Por)(η1-ONO2) (L = THF or DMS) that loses L upon warming. These reaction patterns are compared to those observed previously with analogous iron and cobalt porphyrin complexes.

Dynamics of Dinitrosyl Iron Complex (DNIC) Formation with Low Molecular Weight Thiols.

Dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs) are ubiquitous in mammalian cells and tissues producing nitric oxide (NO) and have been argued to play key physiological and pathological roles. Nonetheless, the mechanism and dynamics of DNIC formation in aqueous media remain only partially understood. Here, we report a stopped-flow kinetics and density functional theory (DFT) investigation of the reaction of NO with ferrous ions and the low molecular weight thiols glutathione (GSH) and cysteine (CysSH) as well as the peptides WCGPC and WCGPY to produce DNICs in pH 7.4 aqueous media. With each thiol, a two-stage reaction pattern is observed. The first stage involves several rapidly established pre-equilibria leading to a ferrous intermediate concluded to have the composition FeII(NO)(RS)2(H2O)x (C). In the second stage, C undergoes rate-limiting, unimolecular autoreduction to give thiyl radical (RS•) plus the mononitrosyl Fe(I) complex FeI(NO)(RS)(H2O)x following the reactivity order of CysSH > WCGPC > WCGPY > GSH. Time course simulations using the experimentally determined kinetics parameters demonstrate that, at a NO flux characteristic of inflammation, DNICs will be rapidly formed from intracellular levels of ferrous iron and thiols. Furthermore, the proposed mechanism offers a novel pathway for S-nitroso thiol (RSNO) formation in a biological environment.

Dinuclear PhotoCORMs: Dioxygen-Assisted Carbon Monoxide Uncaging from Long-Wavelength-Absorbing Metal-Metal-Bonded Carbonyl Complexes.

We describe a new strategy for triggering the photochemical release of caged carbon monoxide (CO) in aerobic media using long-wavelength visible and near-infrared (NIR) light. The dinuclear rhenium-manganese carbonyl complexes (CO)5ReMn(CO)3(L), where L = phenanthroline (1), bipyridine (2), biquinoline (3), or phenanthrolinecarboxaldehyde (4), each show a strong metal-metal-bond-to-ligand (σMM → πL*) charge-transfer absorption band at longer wavelengths. Photolysis with deep-red (1 and 2) or NIR (3 and 4) light leads to homolytic cleavage of the Re-Mn bonds to give mononuclear metal radicals. In the absence of trapping agents, these radicals primarily recombine to reform dinuclear complexes. In oxygenated media, however, the radicals react with dioxygen to form species much more labile toward CO release via secondary thermal and/or photochemical reactions. Conjugation of 4, with an amine-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) oligomer, gives a water-soluble derivative with similar photochemistry. In this context, we discuss the potential applications of these dinuclear complexes as visible/NIR-light-photoactivated CO-releasing moieties (photoCORMs).

Changing Mechanical Strength in Cr(III)- Metallosupramolecular Polymers with Ligand Groups and Light Irradiation.

We have demonstrated the ability to control the mechanical properties of metallosupramolecular materials via choice of ligand binding group, as well as with external light irradiation. These photoresponsive Cr(III)-based materials were prepared from a series of modified hydrogenated poly(ethylene-co-butylene) polymers linked through metal-ligand interactions between a Cr(III) metal center and pyridyl ligand termini of the polymers. The introduction of these Cr(III)-pyridine bonds gave rise to new mechanical and optical properties of the polymer materials. Depending on the type of pyridyl ligand, density functional theory calculations revealed changes in coordination to the Cr(III), which ultimately led to materials with significantly different mechanical properties. Electronic excitation of the Cr(III) materials with 450 and 655 nm CW lasers (800 mW/cm(2)) resulted in generation of excited state photophysical processes which led to temporary softening of the materials up to 143 kPa (41.5%) in storage modulus (G') magnitude. The initial mechanical strength of the materials was recovered when the light stimulus was removed, and no change in mechanical properties was observed with light irradiation where there was no absorbance by the Cr(III) moiety. These materials demonstrate that introduction of metal-ligand bonding interactions into polymers enables the design and synthesis of photoresponsive materials with tunable optical-mechanical properties not seen in traditional polymeric materials.

Dinitrosyl iron complexes with cysteine. Kinetics studies of the formation and reactions of DNICs in aqueous solution.

Kinetics studies provide mechanistic insight regarding the formation of dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs) now viewed as playing important roles in the mammalian chemical biology of the ubiquitous bioregulator nitric oxide (NO). Reactions in deaerated aqueous solutions containing FeSO4, cysteine (CysSH), and NO demonstrate that both the rates and the outcomes are markedly pH dependent. The dinuclear DNIC Fe2(µ-CysS)2(NO)4, a Roussin's red salt ester (Cys-RSE), is formed at pH 5.0 as well as at lower concentrations of cysteine in neutral pH solutions. The mononuclear DNIC Fe(NO)2(CysS)2(-) (Cys-DNIC) is produced from the same three components at pH 10.0 and at higher cysteine concentrations at neutral pH. The kinetics studies suggest that both Cys-RSE and Cys-DNIC are formed via a common intermediate Fe(NO)(CysS)2(-). Cys-DNIC and Cys-RSE interconvert, and the rates of this process depend on the cysteine concentration and on the pH. Flash photolysis of the Cys-RSE formed from Fe(II)/NO/cysteine mixtures in anaerobic pH 5.0 solution led to reversible NO dissociation and a rapid, second-order back reaction with a rate constant kNO = 6.9 × 10(7) M(-1) s(-1). In contrast, photolysis of the mononuclear-DNIC species Cys-DNIC formed from Fe(II)/NO/cysteine mixtures in anaerobic pH 10.0 solution did not labilize NO but instead apparently led to release of the CysS(•) radical. These studies illustrate the complicated reaction dynamics interconnecting the DNIC species and offer a mechanistic model for the key steps leading to these non-heme iron nitrosyl complexes.

Nitrite reduction mediated by heme models. Routes to NO and HNO?

The water-soluble ferriheme model Fe(III)(TPPS) mediates oxygen atom transfer from inorganic nitrite to a water-soluble phosphine (tppts), dimethyl sulfide, and the biological thiols cysteine (CysSH) and glutathione (GSH). The products with the latter reductant are the respective sulfenic acids CysS(O)H and GS(O)H, although these reactive intermediates are rapidly trapped by reaction with excess thiol. The nitrosyl complex Fe(II)(TPPS)(NO) is the dominant iron species while excess substrate is present. However, in slightly acidic media (pH ≈ 6), the system does not terminate at this very stable ferrous nitrosyl. Instead, it displays a matrix of redox transformations linking spontaneous regeneration of Fe(III)(TPPS) to the formation of both N2O and NO. Electrochemical sensor and trapping experiments demonstrate that HNO (nitroxyl) is formed, at least when tppts is the reductant. HNO is the likely predecessor of the N2O. A key pathway to NO formation is nitrite reduction by Fe(II)(TPPS), and the kinetics of this iron-mediated transformation are described. Given that inorganic nitrite has protective roles during ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury to organs, attributed in part to NO formation, and that HNO may also reduce net damage from I/R, the present studies are relevant to potential mechanisms of such nitrite protection.

Correction: 'Redox-mediated carbon monoxide release from a manganese carbonyl-implications for physiological CO delivery by CO releasing moieties' (2021), by Barrett et al.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211022.][This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211022.].

One-pot catalytic conversion of cellulose and of woody biomass solids to liquid fuels.

Efficient methodologies for converting biomass solids to liquid fuels have the potential to reduce dependence on imported petroleum while easing the atmospheric carbon dioxide burden. Here, we report quantitative catalytic conversions of wood and cellulosic solids to liquid and gaseous products in a single stage reactor operating at 300-320 °C and 160-220 bar. Little or no char is formed during this process. The reaction medium is supercritical methanol (sc-MeOH) and the catalyst, a copper-doped porous metal oxide, is composed of earth-abundant materials. The major liquid product is a mixture of C(2)-C(6) aliphatic alcohols and methylated derivatives thereof that are, in principle, suitable for applications as liquid fuels.

Photochemistry of trans-Cr(cyclam)(ONO)2+, a nitric oxide precursor.

Experimental and density functional theory (DFT) studies are described that are focused on outlining the reactivity of the known photochemical nitric oxide precursor trans-Cr(cyclam)(ONO)(2)(+) ("CrONO", cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetrazacycltetradecane). Studies in both aerated and deaerated aqueous media are described as are the roles of both the oxidant O(2) and a reductant such as glutathione in trapping the apparent Cr(IV) photoreaction intermediate trans-Cr(cyclam)(O)(ONO)(+). Also reported and characterized structurally is the Cr(V) product of long-term photolysis in the absence of reducing agents, the trans-dioxo species [trans-Cr(cyclam)(O)(2)](ClO(4)). Photosensitization experiments indicate that at least a significant fraction of the reaction occurs from the lowest energy doublet excited state(s). Lastly, cell culture experiments demonstrate that CrONO has little or no acute toxicity either before or after photolysis.

Redox-mediated carbon monoxide release from a manganese carbonyl-implications for physiological CO delivery by CO releasing moieties.

The dynamics of hydrogen peroxide reactions with metal carbonyls have received little attention. Given reports that therapeutic levels of carbon monoxide are released in hypoxic tumour cells upon manganese carbonyls reactions with endogenous H2O2, it is critical to assess the underlying CO release mechanism(s). In this context, a quantitative mechanistic investigation of the H2O2 oxidation of the water-soluble model complex fac-[Mn(CO)3(Br)(bpCO2)]2-, (A, bpCO2 2- = 2,2'-bipyridine-4,4'-dicarboxylate dianion) was undertaken under physiologically relevant conditions. Characterizing such pathways is essential to evaluating the viability of redox-mediated CO release as an anti-cancer strategy. The present experimental studies demonstrate that approximately 2.5 equivalents of CO are released upon H2O2 oxidation of A via pH-dependent kinetics that are first-order both in [A] and in [H2O2]. Density functional calculations were used to evaluate the key intermediates in the proposed reaction mechanisms. These pathways are discussed in terms of their relevance to physiological CO delivery by carbon monoxide releasing moieties.

Six-coordinate nitro complexes of iron(III) porphyrins with trans S-donor ligands. Oxo-transfer reactivity in the solid state.

Spectroscopic studies demonstrate that the 5-coordinate O-nitrito complexes Fe(Por)(eta(1)-ONO) (Por--meso-tetraphenyl- or meso-tetra-p-tolyl-porphyrinato dianions) react with the thioethers (R(2)S) dimethylsulfide and tetrahydrothiophene to give the 6-coordinate N-nitrito complexes Fe(Por)(R(2)S)(NO(2)). These reactions were conducted in low-temperature porous layered solids formed in a cryostat; however, with excess R(2)S in the atmosphere, the same species are moderately stable at room temperature. Six-coordinate O-nitrito isomers were not observed with the R(2)S proximal ligands, even though DFT calculations for the Fe(P)(DMS)(eta(1)-ONO) and Fe(P)(DMS)(NO(2)) models (P = porphinato dianion, DMS = dimethyl sulfide) show the latter to be only modestly lower energy (approximately 8 kJ/mol) than the former. Leaving this system at room temperature in the presence of excess R(2)S leads eventually to the appearance in the FTIR spectra of the nu(NO) band characteristic of the ferrous nitrosyl Fe(Por)(NO). Concomitantly, the mass spectrum of the gas phase demonstrated the molecular peaks of the sulfoxides R(2)SO, indicating oxygen atom transfer reactivity for the ferric porphryinato complexes of nitrite.

Nitrosyl isomerism in amorphous Mn(TPP)(NO) solids.

Reaction of NO with amorphous Mn(TPP) layers gives two Mn(TPP)(NO) isomers with linear and bent Mn-N-O geometries that reversibly interconvert with changes in temperature. DFT computations predict that the linear complex is the singlet ground state while the bent structure is a triplet state.

Hydrogen transfer from supercritical methanol over a solid base catalyst: a model for lignin depolymerization.

A (super)critical transfer: The consecutive hydrogenolysis and hydrogenation of the lignin model compound dihydrobenzofuran was studied in supercritical methanolic solutions using porous metal oxide catalysts. These catalysts promote H(2) production from methanol followed by hydrogenolysis of the ether linkages and reduction of the aromatic rings, leading principally to a mixture of cyclohexanols.

Substituent effects on nitrosyl iron corrole complexes Fe(Ar3C)(NO).

A series of nitrosyl tris(5,10,15-aryl)corrolate complexes of iron(III) Fe(Ar3C)(NO) with different substituents on the aryl groups have been prepared, and certain spectroscopic and reaction properties were compared. The cyclic voltammetric analysis of the various Fe(Ar3C)(NO) complexes demonstrated that both the one-electron oxidation and one-electron reduction potentials respond in systematic and nearly identical trends relative to the electron-donor properties of the substituents. A similar pattern was seen in the nitrosyl stretching frequency, nu(NO), which modestly decreased with the stronger donor substituents. Flash photolysis of Fe(Ar3C)(NO) solutions in toluene leads to NO dissociation followed by rapid [NO]-dependent decay of the transients formed (presumably Fe(Ar3C)) to regenerate the original spectra. As was seen in an earlier flash photolysis study of Fe(TNPC)(NO) (TNPC3- = 5,10,15-tris(4-nitro-phenyl)corrolate; Joseph, C.; Ford, P. C. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 6737-6743), the second-order rate constants, k(NO), are all much faster ((1-9) x 10(8) M(-1) s(-1) at 298 K) than those for analogous iron(III) complexes of porphyrins. However, on a more microscopic level there is no obvious pattern in these rates with respect to the donor properties of the aryl ring substituents. The high reactivity of the ferric triarylcorrolates with NO data is interpreted in terms of the strongly electron-donating character of the Ar3C3- ligand and the quartet electronic configuration of the Fe(Ar3C) intermediate.

Isomerization of substituted biphenyls by superacid. A remarkable confluence of experiment and theory.

Acid-catalyzed isomerization of dimethylbiphenyls is determined by the relative stability of intermediate carbocations, rather than the neutral products, and may be predicted by a simple semiempirical method (AM1). A general kinetic model for such isomerizations is suggested in which the rearrangement of an intermediate cation is the rate-limiting step. Control of regiochemistry of dialkylbiphenyls provides a useful entry into high-purity monomers for high-polymer synthesis.

Surface oxidation states in Si/SiO2 nanostructures prepared from Si/SiO2 mixtures.

Silica nanospheres have been produced by a novel technique where surface Si oxidation states can be adjusted using the ratio of metalloid ions/metalloid atoms in the starting mixture. When the proportions of Si4+/Si0 are equal in the synthesis, the resulting solid is considerably more reactive than Cab-O-Sil toward the phenol hydroxylation reaction and the surface shows an average Si oxidation state of +3. On the other hand, those silica nanospheres, produced from a mixture of Si4+/Si0 = 0.25, showed a lower reactivity comparable to that of Cab-O-Sil which XPS demonstrates has a surprisingly low average Si oxidation state close to +1. We speculate that the silicon surface oxidation state and the number of surface silanol groups play important roles in determining the activity of the solid toward the phenol hydroxylation reaction. In expanding our earlier report4 on the copper-silica system, we establish that the surface chemistry of the silica nanospheres is apparently different from that of fumed, amorphous silica. These results suggest that we are developing a technique that can be generalized to create supported, mixed metal oxides having tunable average surface oxidation states.