Geminal bis-ureas as gelators for organic solvents: gelation properties and structural studies in solution and in the gel state

Several geminal bis-urea compounds were synthesised by means of an acid-catalysed condensation of various benzaldehydes with different monoalkylureas. Many of these compounds form thermoreversible gels with a number of organic solvents at very low concentrations (<3mM) and which are stable to temperatures higher than 100 degrees C. Electron microscopy revealed a three-dimensional (3D) network of intertwined fibres, which are several tens of micrometers long and have a width ranging from approximately 30 to 300 nm. The possible aggregate forms and aggregate symmetries were evaluated by means of molecular mechanics calculations. 1H NMR, 2D NMR, 13C NMR and 13C-CP/MAS NMR techniques were used to obtain information about the aggregation and possible aggregate symmetry of geminal bis-ureas in solution, in the gel state, and in the solid state.

Catalytic oxidation with a non-heme iron complex that generates a low-spin Fe(III)OOH intermediate

The antitumor drug bleomycin (BLM) is proposed to act via a low-spin iron(III) hydroperoxide intermediate called "activated bleomycin". To gain more insight into the mechanistic aspects of catalytic oxidation by these intermediates we have studied the reactivity of [(N4Py)Fe(CH3CN)](ClO4)2 (1) (N4Py = N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-N-bis(2-pyridyl)methylamine) with excess H2O2. Under these conditions a transient purple species is generated, [(N4Py)FeOOH]2- (2), which has spectroscopic features and reactivity strongly reminiscent of activated bleomycin. The catalytic oxidation of alkanes such as cyclohexane, cyclooctane, and adamantane by 1 with H2O2 gave the corresponding alcohols and ketones in up to 31% yield. It was concluded, from the O2 sensitivity of the oxidation reactions, the formation of brominated products in the presence of methylene bromide, and the nonstereospecificity of the oxidation of cis- or trans-dimethylcyclohexane, that long-lived alkyl radicals were formed during the oxidations. Oxidation of alkenes did not afford the corresponding epoxides in good yields but resulted instead in allylic oxidation products in the case of cyclohexene, and cleavage of the double bond in the case of styrene. Addition of hydroxyl radical traps, such as benzene and acetone, led to only partial quenching of the reactivity. The kinetic isotope effects for cyclohexanol formation, ranging from 1.5 in acetonitrile to 2.7 in acetone with slow addition of H2O2, suggested the involvement of a more selective oxidizing species in addition to hydroxyl radicals. Monitoring the UV/Vis absorption of 2 during the catalytic reaction showed that 2 was the precursor for the active species. On the basis of these results it is proposed that 2 reacts through homolysis of the O-O bond to afford two reactive radical species: [(N4Py)Fe(IV)O]2+ and *OH. The comparable reactivity of 1 and Fe-BLM raises the possibility that they react through similar mechanistic pathways.

Remarkable O(2)-effect in 1,4-additions of diethylzinc to 6-acyloxy-2H-pyran-3(6H)-ones and 6-alkoxy-2H-pyran-3(6H)-ones

Under the influence of air, a facile 1,4-addition of diethylzinc to acyloxypyranones and alkoxypyranones 1 takes place. Reaction of diethylzinc with molecular oxygen provides EtOOZnEt, which catalyzes the addition of diethylzinc.

A new catalytic and enantioselective desymmetrization of symmetrical methylidene cycloalkene oxides

Chiral copper complexes of C2-symmetrical phosphoroamidites were found to be highly effective catalysts for both kinetic resolution and novel desymmetrization reactions of new methylidene epoxycycloalkanes.

Absolute Asymmetric Synthesis: The Origin, Control, and Amplification of Chirality.

Biomolecular homochirality, the origin of which is still a puzzle, has challenged scientists to design chemical systems that provide chiral molecules through absolute asymmetric synthesis and to amplify a small stereochemical bias in such systems. The photoresolution of the enantiomers of helical-shaped, sterically overcrowded alkene 1 with circularly polarized light and the transduction of the stereochemical information by triggering the helical arrangement of a large collection of achiral molecules in a twisted nematic liquid crystalline phase (2) are examples of control and amplification of chirality.

Asymmetric Synthesis of Overcrowded Alkenes by Transfer of Axial Single Bond Chirality to Axial Double Bond Chirality.

Optically active overcrowded alkenes were synthesized by employing bis-beta-naphthol as a chiral template during an intramolecular coupling reaction. The major isomer 2 has a unique helical structure with twisted and folded structural moieties. Removal of the chiral template afforded overcrowded thioxanthylidene 3 with 96 % ee, which indicates that no racemization or isomerization of the enantiomers took place.