Role of Acamprosate and Baclofen as Anti-craving Agents in Alcohol Use Disorder: A 12-Week Prospective Study.

Background Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is one of the most common substance use disorders globally. It is a chronic mental illness characterized by frequent relapses. Hence, preventing relapse is one of the most important aspects of the management of patients with AUD. Aims This study aimed to compare the role of acamprosate and baclofen as anti-craving agents in patients diagnosed with AUD. Settings and design This was a 12-week interventional follow-up study conducted in the Department of Psychiatry of S N Medical College, a tertiary care teaching hospital in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Methods and materials Patients with AUD were enrolled in the study. Following medical management of alcohol withdrawal symptoms, patients were alternately assigned to receive either acamprosate or baclofen and were then followed up for 12 weeks. Measures to compare the effectiveness of the two medications were craving as measured using the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS), days to first alcohol consumption, days to relapse, number of drinks consumed at one occasion, number of patients who completed the study, and number of patients who remained abstinent throughout the duration of the study. Descriptive statistics were used to present the data while unpaired t-test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the two groups.  Results A total of 63 patients were enrolled in the study. Following medical management of alcohol withdrawal symptoms for one week, 50 (79.37%) patients were retained in the study. Hence, these 50 patients were assigned to treatment with either acamprosate or baclofen alternately in a 1:1 ratio. Only 32 (64%) of the patients who were started on these medications completed the study and were available for analysis at the end of 12 weeks. Acamprosate-treated patients were found to have less severe cravings (p < 0.01) for alcohol at the end of the study and also had consumed less number of drinks on a single occasion (p < 0.05). For other variables being considered in the study, namely, days to first alcohol consumption, days to relapse to previous drinking pattern, number of patients who dropped from the study versus those who completed the study, and those who were abstinent versus those who relapsed, no statistically significant difference was noted. Conclusion Acamprosate-treated patients had significantly lesser cravings for alcohol and consumed a lesser number of drinks on one occasion compared to baclofen-treated patients in this 12-week study.

Ion mobility mass spectrometry uncovers regioselectivity in the carboxylate-assisted C-H activation of palladium N-heterocyclic carbene complexes.

Carboxylate-assisted Pd-catalyzed C-H bond activation constitutes a mild and versatile synthetic tool to efficiently and selectively cleave inert C-H bonds. Herein, we demonstrate a simple method to experimentally evaluate both reactivity and selectivity in such systems using mass spectrometry (MS) methods. The N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) cations [(NHC)PdX]+, bearing as X- ligand bases commonly used to promote the C-H activation (carboxylates and bicarbonate), are generated in the gas-phase by ESI-MS. Their C-H bond activation at the N-bound groups of the NHC is then studied using Collision Induced Dissociation (CID) experiments. Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IM)-MS is exploited to identify a number of regioisomers associated with the distinctive site selective C-H activations. It is demonstrated that such C-H activation concomitant with acetic acid release occurs from a mixture of activated [(NHC-H)Pd(CH3CO2H)]+ and non-activated [(NHC)Pd(CH3CO2)]+ complexes. The identity of the X-type ligands (X = Cl-, carboxylates and bicarbonate) has a significant impact on the regioisomer branching ratio upon CID conditions. IM-MS in conjunction with a DFT mechanistic study is presented for the acetate-assisted C-H activation of the [(NHC)Pd(CH3CO2)]+ cation featuring butyl and aryl as N-donor groups.

Is Enol Always the Culprit? The Curious Case of High Enantioselectivity in a Chiral Rh(II) Complex Catalyzed Carbene Insertion Reaction.

The mechanism of Rh2 (S-NTTL)4 catalyzed carbene insertion into C(3)-H of indole is investigated using DFT methods. Since the commonly accepted enol mechanism cannot account for enantioinduction, a concerted oxocarbenium pathway was proposed in an earlier work using a model catalyst. However, after considering the full catalytic system, this study finds that akin to other reactions, here, too, the enol pathway is of lower energy, which now naturally raises a conundrum regarding the mode of chiral induction. Herein, a new water promoted mechanistic pathway involving a metal-associated enol intermediate hydrogen bonding and stereochemical model are proposed to solve this puzzle. It is shown how the catalyst bowl-shaped structure along with substrate-catalyst binding is crucial for achieving high levels of enantioselectivity. A stereodetermining water-assisted proton transfer is proposed and confirmed through deuterium-labeling experiments. The water molecules are held together by H-bonding interactions with the carboxylate ligands that is reminiscent of enzyme catalysis. Although several previous studies have aimed at understanding the mechanism of metal catalyzed carbene insertion reactions, the origin of high stereoinduction especially with chiral metal complexes remains unclear, and till date there is no transition state model that can explain the high enantioselectivity with such chiral Rh complexes. The metal-associated enol pathway is currently underrepresented in catalytic cycles and may play a crucial role in catalyst design. Since the enol pathway is commonly adopted in other metal-catalyzed X-H insertion reactions involving a diazoester, the presented results are not specific to the current reaction. Therefore, this study could provide the direction for achieving high levels of enantioselectivity which is otherwise difficult to achieve with a single metal catalyst.

Construction of unsymmetrical heterobiaryls via the Cp*Rh(III)-catalysed C-H/C-H coupling of heteroarenes.

Herein, a concise method for the Rh(III)-catalyzed, directing-group-assisted C-H/C-H cross-coupling of N-heterocycles (quinolines, indolines, indoles, pyridines, pyrimidines, pyrazoles) with other heteroarenes (benzoxazoles, benzofurans, and thiophenes) is disclosed for the synthesis of unsymmetrical heterobiaryl compounds in good to excellent yields. A plausible catalytic cycle has been delineated based on experimental and computational mechanistic studies.

Generating Fischer-Type Rh-Carbenes with Rh-Carbynoids.

We describe the first catalytic generation of Fischer-type acyloxy Rh(II)-carbenes from carboxylic acids and Rh(II)-carbynoids. This novel class of transient donor/acceptor Rh(II)-carbenes evolved through a cyclopropanation process providing access to densely functionalized cyclopropyl-fused lactones with excellent diastereoselectivity. DFT calculations allowed the analysis of the properties of Rh(II)-carbynoids and acyloxy Rh(II)-carbenes as well as the characterization of the mechanism.

Cp*Co(III)-Catalyzed Selective C8-Olefination and Oxyarylation of Quinoline N-Oxides with Terminal Alkynes.

Herein we report Cp*Co(III)-catalyzed site-selective (C8)-H olefination and oxyarylation of quinoline N-oxides with terminal alkynes. The selectivity for C8-olefination and oxyarylation is sterically and electronically controlled. In the case of quinoline N-oxides (unsubstituted at the C2 position), only the olefination product was obtained irrespective of the nature of the alkynes. In contrast, oxyarylation was observed exclusively when 2-substituted quinoline N-oxides were reacted with 9-ethynylphenanthrene. However, alkynes with electron-withdrawing groups provided only olefination products with 2-substituted quinoline N-oxides. The developed strategy allowed a facile functionalization of quinoline N-oxides bearing natural molecules and an estrone-derived terminal alkyne to deliver the corresponding olefinated and oxyarylated products. To understand the reaction mechanism, control experiments, deuterium-labeling experiments, and kinetic isotope effect (KIE) studies were performed.

Iron-catalysed enantioselective carbometalation of azabicycloalkenes.

The first enantioselective carbometalation reaction of azabicycloalkenes has been achieved by iron catalysis to in situ form optically active organozinc intermediates, which are amenable to further synthetic elaborations. The observed chiral induction, along with the DFT and XAS analyses, reveals the direct coordination of the chiral phosphine ligand to the iron centre during the carbon-carbon and carbon-metal bond forming step. This new class of iron-catalysed asymmetric reaction will contribute to the synthesis and production of bioactive molecules.

Photochemical conversion of CO2 to CO by a Re complex: theoretical insights into the formation of CO and HCO3 - from an experimentally detected monoalkyl carbonate complex.

Triethanolamine (TEOA) has been used for the photocatalytic reduction of CO2, and the experimental studies have demonstrated that the TEOA increases the catalytic efficiency. In addition, the formation of a carbonate complex has been confirmed in the Re photocatalytic system where DMF and TEOA are used as solvents. In this study, we survey the reaction pathways of the photocatalytic conversions of CO2 to CO + H2O and CO2 to CO + HCO3 - by fac-Re(bpy)(CO)3Br in the presence of TEOA using density functional theory (DFT) and domain-based local pair natural orbital coupled cluster approach, DLPNO-CCSD(T). Under light irradiation, the solvent-coordinated Re complex is first reduced to form a monoalkyl carbonate complex in the doublet pathway. This doublet pathway is kinetically advantageous over the singlet pathway. To reduce carbon dioxide, the Re complex needs to be reduced by two electrons. The second electron reduction occurs after the monoalkyl carbonate complex is protonated. The second reduction involves the dissociation of the monoalkyl carbonate ligand, and the dissociated ligand recombines the Re center via carbon to generate Re-COOH species, which further reacts with CO2 to generate tetracarbonyl complex and HCO3 -. The two-electron reduced ligand-free Re complex converts CO2 to CO and H2O. The pathways leading to H2O formation have lower barriers than the pathways leading to HCO3 - formation, but their portion of formation must depend on proton concentration.

A DFT Study on FeI/FeII/FeIII Mechanism of the Cross-Coupling between Haloalkane and Aryl Grignard Reagent Catalyzed by Iron-SciOPP Complexes.

To explore plausible reaction pathways of the cross-coupling reaction between a haloalkane and an aryl metal reagent catalyzed by an iron-phosphine complex, we examine the reaction of FeBrPh(SciOPP) 1 and bromocycloheptane employing density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Besides the cross-coupling, we also examined the competitive pathways of ß-hydrogen elimination to give the corresponding alkene byproduct. The DFT study on the reaction pathways explains the cross-coupling selectivity over the elimination in terms of FeI/FeII/FeIII mechanism which involves the generation of alkyl radical intermediates and their propagation in a chain reaction manner. The present study gives insight into the detailed molecular mechanic of the cross-coupling reaction and revises the FeII/FeII mechanisms previously proposed by us and others.

Asymmetric Synthesis of ß2 -Aryl Amino Acids through Pd-Catalyzed Enantiospecific and Regioselective Ring-Opening Suzuki-Miyaura Arylation of Aziridine-2-carboxylates.

A Pd-catalyzed enantiospecific and regioselective ring-opening Suzuki-Miyaura arylation of aziridine-2-carboxylates was developed. The cross-coupling allows for the asymmetric preparation of enantioenriched ß2 -aryl amino acids, starting from commercially available enantiopure d- and l-serine esters. The mechanism and selectivity of the reaction was rationalized based on computational models.

DFT and AFIR Study on the Mechanism and the Origin of Enantioselectivity in Iron-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions.

The mechanism of the full catalytic cycle for Fe-chiral-bisphosphine-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction between alkyl halides and Grignard reagents (Nakamura and co-workers, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 7128) was rationalized by using density functional theory (DFT) and multicomponent artificial force-induced reaction (MC-AFIR) methods. The computed mechanism consists of (a) C-Cl activation, (b) transmetalation, (c) C-Fe bond formation, and (d) C-C bond formation through reductive elimination. Our survey on the prereactant complexes suggested that formation of FeII(BenzP*)Ph2 and FeI(BenzP*)Ph complexes are thermodynamically feasible. FeI(BenzP*)Cl complex is the active intermediate for C-Cl activation. FeII(BenzP*)Ph2 complex can be formed if the concentration of Grignard reagent is high. However, it leads to biphenyl (byproduct) instead of the cross-coupling product. This explains why slow addition of Grignard reagent is critical for the cross-coupling reaction. The MC-AFIR method was used for systematic determination of transition states for C-Fe bond formation and C-C bond formation starting from the key intermediate FeII(BenzP*)PhCl. According to our detailed analysis, C-C bond formation is the selectivity-determining step. The computed enantiomeric ratio of 95:5 is in good agreement with the experimental ratio (90:10). Energy decomposition analysis suggested that the origin of the enantioselectivity is the deformation of Ph-ligand in Fe-complex, which is induced by the bulky tert-butyl group of BenzP* ligand. Our study provides important mechanistic insights for the cross-coupling reaction between alkyl halides and Grignard reagents and guides the design of efficient Fe-based catalysts for cross-coupling reactions.

Theoretical Study of Addition Reactions of L4M(M = Rh, Ir) and L2M(M = Pd, Pt) to Li+@C60.

The addition reaction of M(Cl)(CO)(PPh3)2 (M = Rh, Ir) and M(PPh3)2 (M = Pd, Pt) fragments with X@C60 (X = 0, Li+) were characterized by density functional theory (DFT) and the artificial force-induced reaction (AFIR) method. The calculated free energy profiles suggested that the η2[6:6]-addition is the most favorable reaction, which is consistent with the experimental observations. In the presence of Li+ ion, the reaction is highly exothermic, leading to η2[6:6] product of L4IrLi+@C60. In contrast, an endothermic reaction was observed in the absence of a Li+ ion. The encapsulated Li+ ion can enhance the thermodynamic stability of the η2[6:6] product. The energy decomposition analysis showed that the interaction between metal fragment and X@C60 fragment is the key for the thermodynamic stability. Among the group IA and IIA metal cations, Be2+ encapsulation is the best candidate for the development of new fullerene-transition metal complexes, which will be useful for future potential applications such as solar cells, catalysts, and electronic devices.

The mechanism of catalytic methylation of 2-phenylpyridine using di-tert-butyl peroxide.

The mechanism of palladium chloride-catalyzed direct methylation of arenes with peroxides is elucidated by using the energetics computed at the M06 density functional theory. The introduction of a methyl group by tert-butyl peroxides at the ortho-position of a prototypical 2-phenyl pyridine, a commonly used substrate in directed C-H functionalization reactions, is examined in detail by identifying the key intermediates and transition states involved in the reaction sequence. Different possibilities that differ in terms of the site of catalyst coordination with the substrate and the ensuing mechanism are presented. The important mechanistic events involved are (a) an oxidative or a homolytic cleavage of the peroxide O-O bond, (b) C-H bond activation, (c) C-C bond activation, and (d) reductive elimination involving methyl transfer to the aromatic ring. We have examined both radical and non-radical pathways. In the non-radical pathway, the lowest energy pathway involves C-H bond activation prior to the coordination of the peroxide to palladium, which is subsequently followed by the O-O bond cleavage of the peroxide and the C-C bond activation. Reductive elimination in the resulting intermediate leads to the vital C-C bond formation between methyl and aryl carbon atoms. In the non-radical pathway, the C-C bond activation is higher in energy and has been identified as the rate-limiting step of this reaction. In the radical pathway, however, the activation barrier for the C-C bond cleavage is lower than for the peroxide O-O bond cleavage. A combination of a radical pathway up to the formation of a palladium methyl intermediate and a subsequent non-radical pathway has been identified as the most favored pathway for the title reaction. The predicted mechanism is in good agreement with the experimental observations on PdCl2 catalyzed methylation of 2-phenyl pyridine using tert-butyl peroxide.

Synthesis of 3,3-Disubstituted Oxindoles by Palladium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Intramolecular α-Arylation of Amides: Reaction Development and Mechanistic Studies.

Palladium complexes incorporating chiral N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands catalyze the asymmetric intramolecular α-arylation of amides producing 3,3-disubstituted oxindoles. Comprehensive DFT studies have been performed to gain insight into the mechanism of this transformation. Oxidative addition is shown to be rate-determining and reductive elimination to be enantioselectivity-determining. The synthesis of seven new NHC ligands is detailed and their performance is compared. One of them, L8, containing a tBu and a 1-naphthyl group at the stereogenic centre, proved superior and was very efficient in the asymmetric synthesis of fifteen new spiro-oxindoles and three azaspiro-oxindoles often in high yields (up to 99 %) and enantioselectivities (up to 97 % ee; ee=enantiomeric excess). Three palladacycle intermediates resulting from the oxidative addition of [Pd(NHC)] into the aryl halide bond were isolated and structurally characterized (X-ray). Using these intermediates as catalysts showed alkene additives to play an important role in increasing turnover number and frequency.

Refined transition-state models for proline-catalyzed asymmetric Michael reactions under basic and base-free conditions.

The stereocontrolling transition state (TS) models for C-C bond formation relying on hydrogen bonding have generally been successful in proline-catalyzed aldol, Mannich, α-amination, and α-aminoxylation reactions. However, the suitability of the hydrogen-bonding model in protic and aprotic conditions as well as under basic and base-free conditions has not been well established for Michael reactions. Through a comprehensive density functional theory investigation, we herein analyze different TS models for the stereocontrolling C-C bond formation, both in the presence and absence of a base in an aprotic solvent (THF). A refined stereocontrolling TS for the Michael reaction between cyclohexanone and nitrostyrene is proposed. The new TS devoid of hydrogen bonding between the nitro group of nitrostyrene and carboxylic acid of proline, under base-free conditions, is found to be more preferred over the conventional hydrogen-bonding model besides being able to reproduce the experimentally observed stereochemical outcome. A DBU-bound TS is identified as more suitable for rationalizing the origin of asymmetric induction under basic reaction conditions. In both cases, the most preferred approach of nitrostyrene is identified as occurring from the face anti to the carboxylic acid of proline-enamine. The predicted enantio- and diastereoselectivities are in very good agreement with the experimental observations.

Stereocontrol in proline-catalyzed asymmetric amination: a comparative assessment of the role of enamine carboxylic acid and enamine carboxylate.

The transition state models in two mechanistically distinct pathways, involving (i) an enamine carboxylic acid (path-A, 4) and (ii) an enamine carboxylate (path-B, 8), in the proline-catalyzed asymmetric α-amination have been examined using DFT methods. The path-A predicts the correct product stereochemistry under base-free conditions while path-B accounts for reversal of configuration in the presence of a base.

Importance of the nature of α-substituents in pyrrolidine organocatalysts in asymmetric Michael additions.

The fundamental factors contributing toward the stereoselectivity in organocatalyzed asymmetric Michael reaction between aldehydes (propanal and 3-phenyl propanal) and methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) are established by using density functional theory methods. Three of the most commonly employed α-substituted pyrrolidine organocatalysts are examined. Several key stereochemical modes of addition between (i) a model enamine or (ii) pyrrolidine enamines derived from aldehydes and secondary amine to MVK are examined. Among these possibilities, the addition of (E)-enamine to cis-MVK is found to have a lower activation barrier. The stereochemical outcome of the reaction is reported on the basis of the relative energies between pertinent diastereomeric transition states. Moderate selectivity is predicted for the reaction involving pyrrolidine catalysts I and II, which carry relatively less bulky α-substituents dimethylmethoxymethyl and diphenylmethyl, respectively. On the other hand, high selectivity is computed in the case of catalyst III having a sufficiently large α-substituent (diarylmethoxymethyl or diphenylprolinol methyl ether). The enantiomeric excess in the case of 3-phenyl propanal is found to be much higher as compared to that with unsubstituted propanal, suggesting potential for improvement in stereoselectivity by substrate modifications. The computed enantiomeric excess is found to be in reasonable agreement with the reported experimental stereoselectivities. A detailed investigation on the geometries of the crucial transition states reveals that apart from steric interactions between the α-substituent and MVK, various other factors such as orbital interactions and weak stabilizing hydrogen-bonding interactions play a vital role in stereoselectivity. The results serve to establish the importance of cumulative effects of various stabilizing and destabilizing interactions at the transition state as responsible for the stereochemical outcome of the reaction. The limitations of commonly employed qualitative propositions, relying on the steric protection of one of the prochiral faces of enamines offered by the bulky α-substituent, are presented.