Untersuchungen über ätherartige Verbindungen, I. Mitteil.: Zur Darstellung der Acetale und Ketale

Electrooxidative Conversion of Dibenzoylbenzene Dihydrazones into the Corresponding Bis-diazo Compounds and Bis-dimethyl Acetals

Several dibenzoylbenzene dihydrazones were electrochemically oxidized into the corresponding bis-dimethyl acetals in a methanolic solution containing sodium methoxide and a catalytic amount of KI. During electrolysis, the anolyte exhibited a characteristic deep purple colour, which strongly suggests the formation of a diazo compound as an intermediate. Such intermediates have been isolated in the electrooxidation of two dihydrazones.

Biosynthesis of R-(+)-octane-1,3-diol. Crucial role of beta-oxidation in the enantioselective generation of 1,3-diols in stored apples

The biosynthesis of R-octane-1,3-diol and R-5(Z)-octene-1,3-diol, two natural antimicrobial agents in apples and pears, was investigated in stored apples after application of [9,10,12,13-3H]linoleic acid, [9,10,12,13,15,16-3H]linolenic acid, [1-14C]linoleic acid, [U-14C]oleic acid, lipoxygenase-derived metabolites of [9,10,12,13-3H]linoleic acid, 13C18-labeled linoleic acid hydroperoxides, and 2H-labeled octanol derivatives. Analysis of the products and quantification of incorporation and labeling pattern were achieved by high-performance liquid chromatography-radiodetection, capillary gas chromatography (GC)-isotope ratio mass spectrometry, and GC-mass spectrometry analysis. Almost all the applied precursors were partly transformed into R-octane-1,3-diol. Linoleic acid derivatives, still containing the 12,13 cis double bond, and octanol derivatives oxy-functionalized at carbon 3 were the most efficient precursors of the 1,3-diol. The data imply that R-octane-1,3-diol is generated in stored apples in the course of the beta-oxidation from R-3-hydroxy-octanoyl-SCoA originating from 2-cis-octenoyl-SCoA by enoyl-CoA hydratase. In an analogous fashion, R-5(Z)-octene-1,3-diol is formed from the unsaturated intermediate.

Structural identification of autoinducer of Photobacterium fischeri luciferase

Synthesis of bacterial luciferase in some strains of luminous bacteria requires a threshold concentration of an autoinducer synthesized by the bacteria and excreted into the medium. Autoinducer excreted by Photobacterium fischeri strain MJ-1 was isolated from the cell-free medium by extraction with ethyl acetate, evaporation of solvent, workup with ethanol-water mixtures, and silica gel chromatography, followed by normal-phase and then reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The final product was greater than 99% pure. The structure of the autoinducer as determined by high-resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and high-resolution mass spectrometry was N-(3-oxohexanoly)-3-aminodihydro-2(3H)-furanone [or N-(beta-ketocaproyl)homoserine lactone]. The formation of homoserine by hydrolysis of the autoinducer was consistent with this structure. Synthetic autoinducer, obtained as a racemate, was prepared by coupling homoserine lactone to the ethylene glycol ketal of sodium 3-oxohexanoate, followed by mildly acidic removal of the protecting group; this synthetic material showed the appropriate biological activity.