Synthesis of novel tri- and tetrasubstituted C18 furan fatty esters.

A methylene-interrupted C18 keto-acetylenic fatty ester (methyl 12-oxo-9-octadecynoate) was obtained from methyl ricinoleate by bromination-dehydrobromination followed by oxidation. Reaction of methyl 12-oxo-9-octadecynoate with bis(benzonitrile) palladium(II) chloride, allyl bromide, or methyl-allyl bromide furnished methyl 8-[5-hexyl-3-allyl-furan-2-yl]-octanoate (1, 56%) or methyl 8-15-hexyl-3-(2-methyl-allyl)-furan-2-yl]-octanoate (2, 55%). Reaction of methyl 12-oxo-11-chloro- or 11-fluoro-9-octadecynoate (prepared from methyl santalbate--methyl 11-E-9-octadecynoate, found in sandalwood, Santalum album, seed oil) with bis(benzonitrile) palladium(II) chloride gave methyl 8-(4-chloro-5-hexyl-furan-2-yl)-octanoate (3, 59%) or methyl 8-(4-fluoro-5-hexyl-furan-2-yl)-octanoate (4, 50%), respectively. And when methyl 12-oxo-11-chloro- or 11-fluoro-9-octadecynoate was treated with a mixture of bis(benzonitrile) palladium(II) chloride, allyl bromide, or methyl-allyl bromide, the reaction yielded tetrasubstituted C18 furan derivatives, viz., methyl 8-(3-allyl-4-chloro-5-hexyl-furan-2-yl)-octanoate (5, 54%), methyl 8-[4-chloro-5-hexyl-3-(2-methyl-allyl)-furan-2-yl]-octanoate (6, 54%), methyl 8-(3-allyl-4-fluoro-5-hexyl-furan-2-yl)-octanoate (7, 10%), and methyl 8-14-fluoro-5-hexyl-3-(2-methyl-allyl)-furan-2-yl]-octanoate (8, 10%). The presence of a fluorine atom in the furan derivatives 4, 7, and 8 was readily characterized by the appearance of doublets for carbon nuclei, which were coupled to the fluorine atom in the 13C NMR spectra. All furan fatty derivatives from this work were characterized by NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses. The yields of compounds 7 and 8 were very low (10%) despite attempts to improve the procedure by increasing the amounts of the reactants and catalyst.

Lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of TG containing acetylenic FA.

Hydrolysis of symmetrical acetylenic TG of type AAA [viz., glycerol tri-(4-decynoate), glycerol tri-(6-octadecynoate), glycerol tri-(9-octadecynoate), glycerol tri-(10-undecynoate), and glycerol tri-(13-docosynoate)] in the presence of eight microbial lipases was studied. Novozyme 435 (Candida antarctica), an efficient enzyme for esterification, showed a significant resistance in the hydrolysis of glycerol tri-(9-octadecynoate) and glycerol tri-(13-docosynoate). Hydrolysis of acetylenic TG with Lipolase 100T (Humicola lanuginosa) was rapidly accomplished. Lipase PS-D (Pseudomonas cepacia) showed a fair resistance toward the hydrolysis of glycerol tri-(6-octadecynoate) only, which reflected its ability to recognize the delta6 positional isomer of 18:1. Lipase CCL (Candida cylindracea, syn. C. rugosa) and AY-30 (C. rugosa) were able to catalyze the release of 10-undecynoic acid and 9-octadecynoic acid from the corresponding TG, but less readily the 13-docosynoic acid in the case of glycerol tri-(13-docosynoate). The two lipases CCL and AY-30 were able to distinguish the small difference in structure of fatty acyl moieties in the TG substrate. To confirm this trend, three regioisomers of mixed acetylenic TG of type ABC (containing one each of delta6, delta9, and delta13 acetylenic FA in various positions) were prepared and hydrolyzed with CCL and AY-40. The results reconfirmed the observation that AY-30 and CCL were able to distinguish the slight differences in the molecular structure (position of the acetylenic bond and chain length) of the acyl groups in the TG during the hydrolysis of such TG substrates.