Acyloxonium ions in the high-yielding synthesis of oxolanes from alditols, hexoses, and hexonolactones catalysed by car☐ylic acids in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride

5-Membered cyclic ethers via phenonium ion mediated cyclization through carbonate chemistry

Cyclization of 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)phenol via DMC chemistry in acidic conditions is herein discussed for the first time. Reaction conditions have been investigated and optimized. This substrate is quite appealing as it incorporates a 2-hydroxyethyl moiety in ortho to the aromatic hydroxyl group capable of stabilizing the related phenonium ion. When the reaction mechanism was investigated via theoretical calculations, the results suggest that the most favorable pathway encompasses a DMC-mediated formation of the phenonium ion that is converted into the 2-(2-methoxyethyl)phenol. The related cyclic ether is then formed via intramolecular cyclization of this intermediate. This peculiar cyclization reaction is another example of the versatility of DMC herein used as solvent, methoxycarbonylation agent and leaving group in the intramolecular cyclization leading to the phenonium ion.

Selective dehydration of sorbitol to 1,4-anhydro-d-sorbitol catalyzed by a polymer-supported acid catalyst

Novel polymer-supported Brønsted acid polymer catalysts have been employed for highly selective dehydration of sorbitol to 1,4-anhydro-D-sorbitol.

Intramolecular dehydration of mannitol in high-temperature liquid water without acid catalysts

Dehydration reactions in high-temperature liquid water.

Synthesis of five-membered cyclic ethers by reaction of 1,4-diols with dimethyl carbonate

The reaction of 1,4-diols with dimethyl carbonate in the presence of a base led to selective and high-yielding syntheses of related five-membered cyclic ethers. This synthetic pathway has the potential for a wide range of applications. Distinctive cyclic ethers and industrially relevant compounds were synthesized in quantitative yield. The reaction mechanism for the cyclization was investigated. Notably, the chirality of the starting material was maintained. DFT calculations indicated that the formation of five-membered cyclic ethers was energetically the most favorable pathway. Typically, the selectivity exhibited by these systems could be rationalized on the basis of hard-soft acid-base theory. Such principles were applicable as far as computed energy barriers were concerned, but in practice cyclization reactions were shown to be entropically driven.

Separation and characterization of adjuvant oligosaccharide oleate ester derived from product mixture of mannitol-oleic acid esterification

Nearly 30 years after intense investigations of mannide monooleates for use as vaccine adjuvants, a novel adjuvant-active saccharide oleate ester was isolated and identified from the product mixture synthesized from mannitol and oleic acid. The mixture, which contained many kinds of mannide mono- and dioleates and their derivatives, was fractionated by liquid chromatography (LC), and the fraction with the highest adjuvanticity was obtained. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showed that it consisted of one major compound with an average molecular weight (MW) 2850. Infrared (IR) absorption and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra suggested it had oligosaccharide moieties and oleate domains. These findings suggested that it was an oligosaccharide oleate ester of the average MW 2850. The molecular ratio of oleate chains per monosaccharide unit was approximately 0.8. The ester induced both IgG1 and IgG2a antibody responses in mice in a dispersed form without base oil. This ester thus appears to be one of the adjuvant-active compounds largely contributing to the excellent adjuvanticity of mannide oleate mixture broadly used as vaccine emulsifier. These results and previous findings suggest that the fundamental adjuvanticity of this 'oligo' saccharide acylate ester was in accord with the hydrophil-lipophil balance (HLB) theory, similarly to other saccharide acylate esters. It is now expected that this compound will be useful as novel vaccine adjuvant which may induce both Th1 and Th2 type immune responses with low or no toxicity, not only as an vaccine emulsifier but in an aqueous suspension form.

The solvent-free thermal dehydration of hexitols on zeolites

Dehydration of galactitol, D-glucitol and D-mannitol at high temperature in the presence of molecular sieves without solvent under an argon atmosphere is described. Cyclodehydration products with retention or inversion of the configuration at asymmetric carbon atoms, were observed. Reaction of galactitol yielded racemic 1,4-anhydrogalactitol in a first step and then racemic 1,4:3,6-dianhydroiditol. Complete analytical separations of exhaustively O-acetylated reaction products were achieved by GC and structures were assigned using co-injection with standards.

Stereoselective and regioselective reaction of cyclic ortho esters with phenols

Cyclic ortho esters undergo stereoselective and regioselective reaction with phenols when treated with BF(3) x OEt(2) at low temperatures. Attack of the phenol on the ortho ester occurs at an open carbon para to electron-donating groups on the phenol ("C-addition") or at the phenolic hydroxyl group ("O-addition") depending on the nature of the cation formed from reaction of the ortho ester and BF(3) x OEt(2). Products resulting from O-addition undergo reversion to a mixture of starting phenol, C-addition product, and O-addition product if treated with BF(3) x OEt(2) at room temperature, but C-addition products are stable under the same conditions. X-ray structural analysis of the C-addition compound indicates that its stereochemistry is opposite to that observed in reaction of similar ortho esters with chloride from TMSCl. However, the stereochemistry of the reaction can be rationalized by the ability of the ortho ester to isomerize via an intermediate benzylic cation and examination of the preferred trajectory of attack of the nucleophile on the intermediate oxonium ion.

The solvent-free thermal dehydration of tetritols on zeolites

A new alditol dehydration method at high temperatures, in the presence of molecular sieves without solvent in an argon atmosphere, is described. Investigations on tetritols have been carried out. Products arising after the intramolecular and intermolecular elimination of water, with retention or inversion of the configuration of asymmetric carbon atoms, were observed. Complete analytical separation of reaction products was achieved by means of GLC. The chemical structures of the compounds obtained were assigned using co-injection with standards, GLC-CIMS and GLC-EIMS analyses. Two intermolecular dehydration products of tetritols were isolated by HPLC and identified by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy.

Hydrogen fluoride-mediated synthesis of 1-thiotrehaloses involving reaction of D-glucose with hydrogen sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide reacted with D-glucose in hydrogen fluoride solution to yield preponderantly alpha,alpha-1-thiotrehalose, beta,beta-1-thiotrehalose, and the alpha,beta anomer. Conditions were found under which the thiotrehaloses were obtained in the respective proportions of 8:5:5.