Absolute Configuration Determination of Azulenyl Diols Isolated From Asymmetric Pinacol Coupling

High-Throughput Assay for Enantiomeric Excess Determination in 1,2- and 1,3-Diols and Direct Asymmetric Reaction Screening

A simple and efficient method for determination of the yield, enantiomeric/diasteriomeric excess (ee/de), and absolute configuration of crude chiral diols without the need of work-up and product isolation in a high throughput setting is described. This approach utilizes a self-assembled iminoboronate ester formed as a product by dynamic covalent self-assembly of a chiral diol with an enantiopure fluorescent amine such as tryptophan methyl ester or tryptophanol and 2-formylphenylboronic acid. The resulting diastereomeric boronates display different photophysical properties and allow for fluorescence-based ee determination of molecules containing a 1,2- or 1,3-diol moiety. This method has been utilized for the screening of ee in a number of chiral diols including atorvastatin, a statin used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. Noyori asymmetric hydrogenation of benzil was performed in a highly parallel fashion with errors <1 % ee confirming the feasibility of the systematic examination of crude products from the parallel asymmetric synthesis in real time and in a high-throughput screening (HTS) fashion.

Synthesis and properties of fluorescent 4'-azulenyl-functionalized 2,2':6',2″-terpyridines

4′-Azulenyl-substituted terpyridines were efficiently synthesized following the Kröhnke methodology via azulenylchalcone intermediates. These azulenyl-containing terpyridines showed fluorescent emission with a fluorescence quantum yield varying from 0.14, in the case of parent terpyridine, to 0.64 when methyl groups are grafted on the azulenyl seven-membered ring. According to the crystal structures and TDDFT calculations, different twisting of the aromatic constituents is responsible for the observed fluorescent behavior. The electrochemical profile contains one-electron oxidation/reduction steps, which can only be explained on the basis of the redox behavior of the azulene unit. The ability of the 4′-azulenyl 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine to bind poisoning metal cations was studied by UV–vis titrations using aqueous solutions of Hg(II) and Cd(II) chlorides as illustrative examples.