The synthesis and resolution of 2,2'-, 4,4'-, and 6,6'-substituted chiral biphenyl derivatives for application in the preparation of chiral materials.

Various routes were examined for the synthesis of chiral biphenyl species that are substituted at the 2,2', 4,4' and 6,6' positions. Because the biaryl bond is tetrasubstituted, many coupling reactions were not suitable. The most reliable coupling reaction proved to be the Ullmann, which gave the desired product in 82% yield. The products were required as the starting point for the preparation of chiral materials using these as the monomer. For this reason, a route was required that produced large quantities of both enantiomers. The two enantiomers were resolved at the penultimate step by the use of chiral HPLC. A complicating feature proved to be the necessity to have a reactive group at the 4,4' positions, which would permit polymerization though this point. Ultimately, we employed an Ullmann coupling on a dibrominated arene, which occurred selectively at the more hindered bromine by virtue of the directing effect of an ortho ester substituent.

La3+-catalyzed methanolysis of N-aryl-beta-lactams and nitrocefin.

The kinetics of the La(3+)-catalyzed methanolysis of N-phenyl-beta-lactam (2) and N-p-nitrophenyl-beta-lactam (3) as well as that of nitrocefin (1) were studied at 25 degrees C under buffered conditions. In the case of 2 and 3, the observed second-order rate constants (k(2)(obs)) for catalysis plateau at pH 7.5-7.8, reaching values of 1 x 10(-)(2) and 35 x 10(-)(2) M(-)(1) s(-)(1) respectively. Potentiometric titrations of solutions of 2 x 10(-)(3) M La(OTf)(3) were analyzed in terms of a dimer model (La(3+)(2)((-)OCH(3))(n)()), where the number of methoxides varies from 1 to 5. The species responsible for catalysis in the pH range investigated contain 1-3 methoxides, the one having the highest catalytic activity being La(3+)(2)((-)OCH(3))(2), which comprises 80% of the total La(3+) forms present at its pH maximum of 8.9. The catalysis afforded by the La(3+) dimers at a neutral pH is impressive relative to the methoxide reactions: at pH 8.4 a 1 mM solution of catalyst (generated from 2 mM La(OTf)(3)) accelerated the methanolysis of 2 by approximately 2 x 10(7)-fold and 3 by approximately 5 x 10(5)-fold. As a function of metal ion concentration, the La(3+)-catalyzed methanolysis of 1 proceeds by pathways involving first one bound metal ion and then a second La(3+) leading to a plateau in the k(obs) vs [La(3+)](total) plots at all pH values. The k(max)(obs) pseudo-first-order rate constants at the plateaus, representing the spontaneous methanolysis of La(3+)(2)(1(-)) forms, has a linear dependence on [(-)OCH(3)] (slope = 0.84 +/- 0.05 if all pH values are used and 1.02 +/- 0.03 if all but the two highest pH values are used). The speciation of bound 1 at a La(3+) concentrations corresponding to that of the onset of the kinetic plateau region was approximated through potentiometric titration of the nonreactive 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid in the presence of 2 equiv of La(OTf)(3). A total speciation diagram for all bound forms of La(3+)(2)(1(-))((-)OCH(3))(n)(), where n = 0-5, was constructed and used to determine their kinetic contributions to the overall pH vs k(max)(obs) plot under kinetic conditions. Two kinetically equivalent mechanisms were analyzed: methoxide attack on La(3+)(2)(1(-))((-)OCH(3))(n)(), n = 0-2; unimolecular decomposition of the forms La(3+)(2)(1(-))((-)OCH(3))(n)(), n = 1-3.

Methanolysis of nitrocefin catalyzed by one and two Zn(2+) ions. A simplified model for class B beta-lactamases.

The methanolysis of nitrocefin (1) was investigated at 25 degrees C in anhydrous methanol as a function of [Zn(2+)] and as a model for the chemistry believed to occur in the active site of Zn(2+)(-)beta-lactamases. In the absence of metal ion, the vs rate constant profile shows a long plateau region having k(obs) = 9 x 10(-5) s(-1) between 7.5 and 12 generated after ionization of the COOH of 1 (kinetic pK(a) of 7.34) followed by attack of CH(3)O(-) with k(CH)3(O) = 1.18 M(-1) s(-1). Strong catalysis of the methanolysis is observed at all pH values between 7.95 and 11.34 in the presence of as little as 0.05-3 mM Zn(2+). Plots of the pseudo-first-order rate constant for methanolysis (k(obs)) as a function of reveal a saturation phenomenon indicative of formation of a 1:Zn(2+) complex, followed by a linear section indicative of the intervention of a second Zn(2+) ion in promoting the methanolysis of the complex. The two processes can be separated since the slope of the linear part of the plots gives the second-order rate constant (k(2)(obs)) for the second Zn process, while the intercept gives the spontaneous rate constant for methanolysis of 1:Zn(2+) (k(cat.)(obs)). A plot of log k(cat.)(obs) vs is bell-shaped, maximizing at 10, with ascending and descending domains both first order in [CH(3)O(-)]. A plot of log k(2) vs gives an ascending domain second order in [CH(3)O(-)], followed by a plateau above 9.5. The data are analyzed in terms of a one-Zn and two-Zn model in which the former involves rate-limiting attack of methoxide on a 1:Zn(2+) complex up to the maximum and a spontaneous reaction of 1:Zn(2+):(CH(3)O(-))(2), while the latter involves bimolecular attack of Zn(2+)(CH(3)O(-))(2) on both 1:Zn(2+) and 1:Zn(2+):(CH(3)O(-))(2). The relevance of these observations is discussed in terms of the currently accepted mechanism for hydrolyses of beta-lactams promoted by the Zn(2+)(-)beta-lactamases.