Room temperature, open-flask C–H arylation of electron-deficient heteroarenes with triazenes: rapid synthesis of heterobiaryls

Aryl triazenes were coupled with heteroarenes via C–H functionalization to produce heterobiaryls in moderate to good yields at ambient temperature.

Diels–Alder Reactions of Novel (1′-Arylallylidene)cyclopropanes with Heterodienophiles

Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of various aryl iodides with bicyclopropylidene provided isolable (1'-arylallylidene)cyclopropanes, which reacted with a number of carbonyl compounds in the presence of Eu(fod)3 under high pressure to furnish oxaspiro[2.5]octene derivatives in moderate to good yields (22-69%). The reactions of the allylidenecyclopropanes with two azo compounds as dienophiles afforded diazaspiro[2.5]octenes in high yields (82 and 99%) even at ambient pressure. When treated with nitrosobenzene, two of the allylidenecyclopropanes gave the Diels-Alder adducts in up to 83 and 40% yield. 2,5-Diiodo-p-xylene coupled twice with bicyclopropylidene, and the product underwent a twofold Diels-Alder reaction with nitrosobenzene to produce the bis(spirocyclopropaneoxazine) derivative in 88% yield. This overall transformation can be brought about in a one-pot, two-step operation by addition of the nitrosoarene to the reaction mixture immediately after formation of the allylidenecyclopropanes to furnish various 5-oxa-4-azaspiro[2.5]oct-7-ene derivatives in 22-77% yield. The coupling of methyl bicyclopropylidenecarboxylate with 2,6-dimethylphenyl iodide produced a mixture of very stable regioisomeric allylidenecyclopropane derivatives in 90% yield. The reaction of this mixture with N-phenyltriazolinedione gave a corresponding mixture of the spirocyclopropanated heterobicycles in 61% yield.

Dendronized molecular knots: selective synthesis of various generations, enantiomer separation, circular dichroism

For the first time, knot molecules (of the amide type) are synthesized, which bear one to three dendritic units of various generations at their periphery. They were obtained through two different routes: i) attachment of dendritic wedges to new mono-, di- and trihydroxy functionalized dodecaamide knots that have been obtained by selective debenzylation of oligobenzyloxy substituted knots, or ii) cyclization of already dendron substituted pyridine-2,6-dicarbonyl dichlorides with an "extended diamine" to directly yield the "tri-dendroknots". The derivatization of knot molecules by functional substituents and even large dendritic units is an important advance in the synthesis and property variation of molecular knots. This holds true in particular for substitution of the pyridine units of the knots, whereas the isophthalic acid units seem not to tolerate larger substitutents, as reflected in lower knot yields. These syntheses also demonstrate knots to be accessible indirectly by substitution of the corresponding mono-, di- and tri-functionalized knot skeleton. An advantage of dendritic "decoration" is the control of solubility and chromatographic behaviour of the molecular knots (knotanes). Suggestions are made about the threading mechanism by supramolecular template effects leading to the formation of amide-based molecular knots. The topological chirality of the new "dendroknots" is shown by efficient enantioseparations (separation factor alpha between 1.22 and 1.48). For this purpose (commercially unavailable) chiral column material of the Chiralpak type was used, in which the chiral component is covalently bonded to the silica gel support. The racemate splittings provide additional evidence for the knotted structure, as all other conceivable isomers such as macromonocyclic or catenated dodecaamides would not be chiral. The pure enantiomers obtained exhibit pronounced Cotton effects in their circular dichroism spectra. By comparison with the unsubstituted knot, the absolute configuration (Lambda, Delta) of all new knots is derived.

Tracelessness Unmasked: A General Linker Nomenclature

Nowadays it is rare to find an issue of a major chemistry journal without at least one article on solid-phase synthesis. This is hardly surprising: the technique promises an end to arduous work-up procedures and the ability to facilitate the creation of vast libraries of compounds using combinatorial techniques. No longer is the technique only of interest to those involved in peptide synthesis: an enormous variety of product classes have now been prepared on and isolated from the solid phase. It is the "linker" which is the focus of this article. The linker's ultimate function is to release a product from the support into solution: it does this, without exception, with a chemical change to the product at the former linkage site. Some linkers, apparently, are "traceless". But what, in fact, is "tracelessness"? Twenty years ago, in a climate where cleavage of a linker resulted in formation of a polar carboxylic acid as the vestige of the support, the concept was attractive. Today the chemist is faced with a myriad of novel linkers which have the ability to release products bearing most major functionalities at the former linkage site and we will argue here that the term "traceless", although currently in widespread use, is meaningless. Instead, we propose a new categorization of linkers based on the functionality they release upon cleavage, and suggest a nomenclature to underpin this categorization. We anticipate that the article will also serve to highlight areas of linker technology in need of further research.