Ritter-type reaction of C-(1-bromo-1-deoxy-D-glycopyranosyl)formamides and its application for the synthesis of oligopeptides incorporating anomeric α-amino acids.

O-Peracetylated or -perbenzoylated C-(1-bromo-1-deoxy-D-glycopyranosyl)formamides of D-gluco, D-galacto, and D-arabino configuration were reacted with Ag(I)-salts or HgO in nitrile solvents to give N-acyl-1-cyano-D-glycopyranosylamines with an axial C-N bond at the anomeric centre. In the presence of HgBr(2), Hg(CN)(2), or InCl(3) the anomer of the above glycosylamine with an equatorial C-N bond was also isolated or detected. In CH(3)NO(2) solutions as few as 5-10 equiv of the nitrile were sufficient to get acceptable yields for the products. Under similar conditions N-substituted C-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-1-bromo-1-deoxy-ß-D-galactopyranosyl)formamides gave anomeric spiro-oxazoline derivatives which, upon mild acidic hydrolysis, opened up to di- and tripeptides of anomeric α-amino acids.

Stepwise aromatic nucleophilic substitution in continuous flow. Synthesis of an unsymmetrically substituted 3,5-diamino-benzonitrile library.

Aromatic or heteroaromatic ring precursors with 2-3 identical functionalities are often used in sequential derivatization depending on the reactivity difference or the selective execution of the reaction such as nucleophilic aromatic substitution. Continuous flow chemistry offers an enhanced parameter space (pressure and temperature) with rapid parameter optimization that ensures selectivity in many cases. We developed a flow chemistry procedure to carry out a stepwise aromatic nucleophilic substitution of difluoro-benzenes having an activating group in meta position to the fluorines. The mono-aminated products were obtained in high yield and selectivity in an extremely short reaction time, while applying higher temperature, longer reaction zone (or time), and employing higher excess of another amine reactant, the subsequent introduction of the second amino group was also successfully achieved leading to an unsymmetrically substituted 3,5-diamino-benzonitrile library.

A new dinuclear ruthenium complex as an efficient water oxidation catalyst.

A dinuclear ruthenium complex, which acts as a molecular catalyst for water oxidation, has been synthesized and characterized. The electronic and electrochemical properties were studied by UV-vis spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The oxidation potentials of the complex are significantly lowered by introducing a negatively charged carboxylate ligand, in comparison with those of the reported complexes that have neutral ligands. The catalytic activity of the complex toward water oxidation using Ce(NH(4))(2)(NO(3))(6) as a chemical oxidant was investigated by means of an oxygen electrode and mass spectrometry. The turnover number of this catalyst with Ce(IV) as the chemical oxidant was found to be ca. 1700. The mass spectroscopic analysis of the isotopomer distribution in oxygen evolved from (18)O-labeled water indicates that O atoms in the evolved oxygen originate from water.

Remarkable oxidation stability of glycals: excellent substrates for cerium(IV)-mediated radical reactions.

The remarkable stability of glycals under oxidative conditions becomes apparent by their redox data in solution, computed HOMO energies, and behavior on the addition of electrophilic radicals generated in the presence of cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate. Oxidation potentials up to 2.03 V vs ferrocene were obtained, which are exceptionally high for cyclic enol ethers but correlate nicely with the reaction times of the radical reactions. Protecting groups have a strong influence on the oxidation stability and HOMO energies of glycals as E(ox) is shifted from O-silyl over O-benzyl to O-acetyl by more than 500 mV. Interestingly, this effect must be transmitted through sigma-bonds, even up to the para-position of a benzoate group, as verified by a wide variation of remote substituents in the carbohydrate. Favorable interactions of the sigma*-orbital of the adjacent C-O bond with the HOMO of the double bond are proposed as a mechanistic rationale, which might be important for the redox behavior of other allylic systems. Finally, donors and acceptors in the 1-position exert the strongest influence on the oxidation stability, shifting the potentials by almost 1 V and resulting in different follow-up reactions of the cerium(IV)-mediated additions of malonates. It is the remarkable oxidation stability of glycals that makes them valuable building blocks in carbohydrate chemistry.

Addition of malonyl radicals to glycals with C-1 acceptor groups: remarkable influence of the substituents on the product distribution.

The ceric(IV) ammonium nitrate (CAN)-mediated radical addition of dimethyl malonate to glycals 1 affords methyl glycosides 2 and ortho esters 3 as main products; the product distribution strongly depends on the substitution pattern at the 1-position, which can be rationalized in terms of the oxidation potentials of the intermediary anomeric radicals.