Absolute Configuration ofC2-Symmetric Spiroselenurane: 3,3,3′,3′-Tetramethyl-1,1′-spirobi[3H,2,1]Benzoxaselenole

Tetravalent Spiroselenurane Catalysts: Intramolecular Se···N Chalcogen Bond-Driven Catalytic Disproportionation of H2O2 to H2O and O2 and Activation of I2 and NBS

Chalcogen-bonding interactions have recently gained considerable attention in the field of synthetic chemistry, structure, and bonding. Here, three organo-spiroselenuranes, having a Se(IV) center with a strong intramolecular Se···N chalcogen-bonded interaction, have been isolated by the oxidation of the respective bis(2-benzamide) selenides derived from an 8-aminoquinoline ligand. Further, the synthesized spiroselenuranes, when assayed for their antioxidant activity, show disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide into H₂O and O₂ with first-order kinetics with respect to H₂O₂ for the first time by any organoselenium molecules as monitored by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Electron-donating 5-methylthio-benzamide ring-substituted spiroselenurane disproportionates hydrogen peroxide at a high rate of 15.6 ± 0.4 × 10³ μM min^-1 with a rate constant of 8.57 ± 0.50 × 10^-3 s^-1, whereas 5-methoxy and unsubstituted-benzamide spiroselenuranes catalyzed the disproportionation of H₂O₂ at rates of 7.9 ± 0.3 × 10³ and 2.9 ± 0.3 × 10³ μM min^-1 with rate constants of 1.16 ± 0.02 × 10^-3 and 0.325 ± 0.025 × 10^-3 s^-1, respectively. The evolved oxygen gas from the spiroselenurane-catalyzed disproportion of H₂O₂ has also been confirmed by a gas chromatograph-thermal conductivity detector (GCTCD) and a portable digital polarographic dissolved O₂ probe. Additionally, the synthesized spiroselenuranes exhibit thiol peroxidase antioxidant activities for the reduction of H₂O₂ by a benzenethiol co-reductant monitored by UV-visible spectroscopy. Next, the Se···N bonded spiroselenuranes have been explored as catalysts in synthetic oxidation iodolactonization and bromination of arenes. The synthesized spiroselenurane has activated I₂ toward the iodolactonization of alkenoic acids under base-free conditions. Similarly, efficient chemo- and regioselective monobromination of various arenes with NBS catalyzed by chalcogen-bonded synthesized spiroselenuranes has been achieved. Mechanistic insight into the spiroselenuranes in oxidation reactions has been gained by ⁷⁷Se NMR, mass spectrometry, UV-visible spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray structure, and theoretical (DFT, NBO, and AIM) studies. It seems that the highly electrophilic nature of the selenium center is attributed to the presence of an intramolecular Se···N interaction and a vacant coordination site in spiroselenuranes is crucial for the activation of H₂O₂, I₂, and NBS. The reaction of H₂O₂, I₂, and NBS with tetravalent spiroselenurane would lead to an octahedral-Se(VI) intermediate, which is reduced back to Se(IV) due to thermodynamic instability of selenium in its highest oxidation state and the presence of a strong intramolecular N-donor atom.

Adducts of nitrogenous ligands with rhodium(II) tetracarboxylates and tetraformamidinate: NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations

Complexation of tetrakis(μ2-N,N'-diphenylformamidinato-N,N')-di-rhodium(II) with ligands containing nitrile, isonitrile, amine, hydroxyl, sulfhydryl, isocyanate, and isothiocyanate functional groups has been studied in liquid and solid phases using (1)H, (13)C and (15)N NMR, (13)C and (15)N cross polarisation-magic angle spinning NMR, and absorption spectroscopy in the visible range. The complexation was monitored using various NMR physicochemical parameters, such as chemical shifts, longitudinal relaxation times T1 , and NOE enhancements. Rhodium(II) tetraformamidinate selectively bonded only unbranched amine (propan-1-amine), pentanenitrile, and (1-isocyanoethyl)benzene. No complexation occurred in the case of ligands having hydroxyl, sulfhydryl, isocyanate, and isothiocyanate functional groups, and more expanded amine molecules such as butan-2-amine and 1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane. Such features were opposite to those observed in rhodium(II) tetracarboxylates, forming adducts with all kind of ligands. Special attention was focused on the analysis of Δδ parameters, defined as a chemical shift difference between signal in adduct and corresponding signal in free ligand. In the case of (1)H NMR, Δδ values were either negative in adducts of rhodium(II) tetraformamidinate or positive in adducts of rhodium(II) tetracarboxylates. Experimental findings were supported by density functional theory molecular modelling and gauge independent atomic orbitals chemical shift calculations. The calculation of chemical shifts combined with scaling procedure allowed to reproduce qualitatively Δδ parameters.

Complexation of rhodium(II) tetracarboxylates with aliphatic diamines in solution: 1H and 13C NMR and DFT investigations

The complexation of rhodium(II) tetraacetate, tetrakistrifluoroaceate and tetrakisoctanoate with a set of diamines (ethane-1,diamine, propane-1,3-diamine and nonane-1,9-diamine) and their N,N'-dimethyl and N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl derivatives in chloroform solution has been investigated by (1) H and (13) C NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) modelling. A combination of two bifunctional reagents, diamines and rhodium(II) tetracarboxylates, yielded insoluble coordination polymers as main products of complexation and various adducts in the solution, being in equilibrium with insoluble material. All diamines initially formed the 2 : 1 (blue), (1 : 1)n oligomeric (red) and 1 : 2 (red) axial adducts in solution, depending on the reagents' molar ratio. Adducts of primary and secondary diamines decomposed in the presence of ligand excess, the former via unstable equatorial complexes. The complexation of secondary diamines slowed down the inversion at nitrogen atoms in NH(CH3 ) functional groups and resulted in the formation of nitrogenous stereogenic centres, detectable by NMR. Axial adducts of tertiary diamines appeared to be relatively stable. The presence of long aliphatic chains in molecules (adducts of nonane-1,9-diamines or rhodium(II) tetrakisoctanoate) increased adduct solubility. Hypothetical structures of the equatorial adduct of rhodium(II) tetraacetate with ethane-1,2-diamine and their NMR parameters were explored by means of DFT calculations.

Adamantanes as spherical nanosondes in adducts with a chiral dirhodium complex-discriminating enantiomers and probing spatial proximities

Three different kinds of substituted chiral adamantane molecules-adamantanones, dioxolanoadamantanes and dithiolano-adamantanes-were studied in the dirhodium experiment (NMR measurement with 1:1 molar mixtures with Rh((II))(2)[(R)-(+)-MTPA](4) in CDCl(3)). Their different behavior in adduct formation is described, and the possibility of determining enantiomeric purities and absolute configurations is explored. Detailed inspection of one- and two-dimensional NMR experiments allowed for an interpretation of steric and electronic intra-adduct interaction showing that the phenyl groups of Rh* tend to enwrap the bound adamantane ligand so that through-space effects over a range of 6-7 Å away from the binding rhodium atom can be observed. Even slight differences in the relative orientation of phenyl groups can be monitored when comparing diastereomeric adducts via NMR signal dispersion.

Time-dependent density functional response theory for electronic chiroptical properties of chiral molecules

Methodology to calculate electronic chiroptical properties from time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) is outlined. Applications of TDDFT to computations of electronic circular dichroism, optical rotation, and optical rotatory dispersion are reviewed. Emphasis is put on publications from 2005 to 2010, but much of the older literature is also cited and discussed. The determination of the absolute configuration of chiral molecules by combined measurements and computations is an important application of TDDFT chiroptical methods and discussed in some detail. Raman optical activity (ROA) spectra are obtained from normal-mode derivatives of the optical rotation tensor and other linear response tensors. A few selected (ROA) benchmarks are reviewed.

A new method proposed for the determination of absolute configurations of alpha-amino acids

Enantiopure alpha-amino acids were converted to 4-substituted 2-aryl- and 2-alkyl-5(4H)-oxazolones under partial racemization. These nonracemic mixtures were dissolved in CDCl(3), an equimolar amount of the chiral dirhodium complex Rh(II)(2)[(R)-(+)-MTPA](4) (MTPA-H = Mosher's acid) was added, and the (1)H NMR spectra of the resulting samples were recorded (dirhodium method). The relative intensities of (1)H signals dispersed by the formation of diastereomeric adducts allow to determine the absolute configuration (AC) of the starting alpha-amino acids. Binding atoms in the adducts were identified by comparing the (1)H and (13)C chemical shifts of the oxazolones in the absence and presence of Rh(II)(2)[(R)-(+)-MTPA](4). Thereby, information about the scope and limits of this method can be extracted. A protocol how to use this method is presented.

Atropisomeric 3-aryl-2-oxo-4-oxazolidinones and some thione analogues—Enantiodifferentiation and ligand competition in applying the dirhodium method

The atropisomeric 2-oxo-4-oxazolidinones 1Z bind weakly to the rhodium atoms in the complex Rh(II)2 [(R)-(+)-MTPA]4 (Rh*, MTPA-H = methoxytrifluoromethylphenylacetic acid identical with Mosher's acid), presumably via the C-2 carbonyl oxygen atom. There are some 1H and 13C NMR signals in these compounds which show small dispersion effects suitable for enantiodifferentiation. In contrast, the thiocarbonyl sulfur atoms in 2Z and 3Z bind strongly so that significant complexation shifts (Delta delta) and diastereomeric dispersion effects (Delta nu) can be observed, and chiral discrimination and the determination of enantiomeric ratios of these thiocarbonyl compounds is easy. So, it is shown that--as expected--C=S is a much better binding site when competing with C=O. In compounds of Series 2 a "syn-methyl effect" was discovered which describes the dependence of dispersion effects of syn-oriented methyl groups 6 on the nature of the substituents Z. A mechanism of combined steric and electronic interaction influencing the conformational equilibria inside the adducts is proposed. Determination of absolute configurations by correlation fails, at least on the basis of the data available.

Determination of the absolute configurations of flexible molecules: synthesis and theoretical simulation of electronic circular dichroism/optical rotation of some pyrrolo[2,3-b]indoline alkaloids--a case study

The paper describes the synthesis and chiroptical properties of (-)-1,2,3,3a,8,8a,-hexahydro-1,3a-dimethyl-pyrrolo[2,3-b]indole, (-)-1, one of the monomeric units of many flexible polypyrroloindoline alkaloids and (-)-chimonanthine, (-)-2. The aim of this investigation is to show that, under certain circumstances, namely, with molecules for which the sign and order of magnitude of [alpha](D) are determined by the lowest-energy valence-shell transitions (referred to as class (a) molecules), a small basis set calculation of chiroptical properties provides reliable results, and that such a treatment can be employed for absolute configurational assignment of larger oligomers, for which the increased flexibility renders the analysis as formidable task. Actually, as the aforementioned two molecules belong to class (a) systems, a TDDFT/B3LYP/6-31G* calculation of the ECD and ORD spectra gives rise to a more than satisfactory simulation of these data, assuming the reported absolute configurations. In other words, the use of the TDDFT/B3LYP method with the small 6-31G* basis set enables one to treat large and flexible molecules such as (-)-2 (52 atoms and 6 conformers) by usage of a simple PC in about 2 weeks. This protocol demonstrates that an ab initio prediction of ECD/ORD spectra results in reliable assignments of absolute configuration of even relatively large natural products, thus economizing computation time.

Electronic circular dichroism spectra from the complex polarization propagator

The complex linear polarization propagator approach has been applied to the calculation of electronic circular dichroism spectra of 3R-chloro-1-butyne, 3R-methylcyclopentanone, 3S-methylcyclohexanone, 4R-1,1-dimethyl-[3]-(1,2)ferrocenophan-2-on, S-3,3,3',3'-tetramethyl-1,1'-spirobi[3H,2,1]-benzoxaselenole, and the fullerene C84. Using time-dependent Kohn-Sham density functional theory, it is shown that a direct and efficient evaluation of the circular dichroism spectrum can be achieved. The approach allows for the determination of the circular dichroism at an arbitrary wavelength thereby, in a common formulation and implementation, covering the visible, ultraviolet, and x-ray regions of the spectrum. In contrast to traditional methods, the entire manifold of excited states is taken into account in the calculation of the circular dichroism at a given wavelength.

Application of chiral technology in a pharmaceutical company. Enantiomeric separation and spectroscopic studies of key asymmetric intermediates using a combination of techniques. Phenylglycidols

Phenylglycidols substituted in the 2-, 3-, and 4- positions with fluorine, chlorine, and trifluoromethyl, and with methoxy in the 3- position, were synthesized from the corresponding E-cinnamic acids and separated into their (R,R)- and (S,S)- enantiomers using subcritical fluid chromatography with mixtures of MeOH in CO(2), on either a Chiralpak AD or AS chiral stationary phase. These compounds and commercially-available (R,R)- and (S,S)-phenylglycidol were analyzed for their vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and optical rotation (OR) properties to exemplify a strategy whereby the absolute stereochemistry of common and key chiral intermediates is established early in the structure-activity and structure-property relationship phase of a drug discovery program in a pharmaceutical company. From this study, substituents in the phenyl group of the synthesized molecules were found not to grossly alter spectroscopic features, and therefore, diagnostic absorption bands in the respective VCD spectra, and the sign and shape of the measured ECD curves could be used to determine and track the absolute stereochemistry of analogs without necessarily requiring time-consuming ab initio calculations of all low energy conformers for all compounds. VCD, OR, and ECD calculations for the determination of absolute configuration carried out at the DFT level with the hybrid B3PW91 functional and the TZVP basis set were found to be especially useful in this study.

Renaissance in chiroptical spectroscopic methods for molecular structure determination

Two of the chiroptical spectroscopic methods, namely optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD), have been around for several decades. But their use in determining the absolute configuration and predominant conformation is gaining renewed interest with the availability of quantum mechanical methods for predicting ORD and ECD. Two other methods, namely vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and vibrational Raman optical activity (VROA), are relatively new and offer convenient approaches for deducing the structural information in chiral molecules. With the availability of quantum mechanical programs for predicting VCD and VROA, these methods have attracted numerous new researchers to this area. This review summarizes the latest developments in these four areas and provides examples where more than one method has been used to confirm the information obtained from individual methods.

Enantiomeric separation and determination of absolute stereochemistry of asymmetric molecules in drug discovery—Building chiral technology toolboxes

The application of Chiral Technology, or the (extensive) use of techniques or tools for the determination of absolute stereochemistry and the enantiomeric or chiral separation of racemic small molecule potential lead compounds, has been critical to successfully discovering and developing chiral drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. This has been due to the rapid increase over the past 10-15 years in potential drug candidates containing one or more asymmetric centers. Based on the experiences of one pharmaceutical company, a summary of the establishment of a Chiral Technology toolbox, including the implementation of known tools as well as the design, development, and implementation of new Chiral Technology tools, is provided.

Formation of a spirodiazaselenurane and its corresponding azaselenonium derivatives from the oxidation of 2,2′-selenobis(benzamide). Structure, properties and glutathione peroxidase activity

The oxidation of 2,2'-selenobis(benzamide) with N-chlorosuccinimide or hydrogen peroxide afforded the corresponding stable azaselenonium chloride and hydroxide, respectively. Both structures were characterized by spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic methods. Each contains a covalent N-Se bond, as well as a noncovalent interaction between the selenium atom and the carbonyl oxygen atom of the other amide moiety. The treatment of the azaselenonium chloride with an excess of potassium hydride in DMSO-d(6) afforded the corresponding spirodiazaselenurane species, which proved hydrolytically unstable, but was characterized by NMR spectroscopy. The azaselenonium chloride displayed significant glutathione peroxidase-like catalytic activity in an assay with benzyl thiol and either hydrogen peroxide or tert-butyl hydroperoxide.

Protocols for the analysis of theoretical optical rotations

The availability of sophisticated quantum mechanical methods for predicting molecular optical rotations has revolutionized the determination of molecular stereochemistry. However, the objectives and approaches used for the applications of optical rotation vary from one laboratory to the other. With the number of applications of optical rotation increasing at an unprecedented rate, it is considered necessary to discuss the protocols for the general use of optical rotations predicted with quantum mechanical methods. A summary of the quantum mechanical methods for predicting optical rotations and protocols for the use of predicted optical rotations are presented in this article.