Synthesis of β-hydroxyacetamides from unactivated ethyl acetates under base-free conditions and microwave irradiation

Synthesis and characterization of ethyl benzotriazolyl acrylate-based D-π-A fluorophores for live cell-based imaging applications

A series of eight new ethyl (Z)-benzotriazolyl acrylates 6a-d and 7a-d have been synthesized by conventional heating and microwave irradiation from ethyl benzotriazolyl acetates 3 and 4 with the corresponding aromatic aldehydes. This work reports the synthetic approach and spectroscopic characterization (1H, 13C-NMR, HRMS) of all the synthesized compounds. X-ray diffraction analyses were performed for molecules 6a, 7a and 7d. Photophysical properties of compounds were evaluated. Finally, compound 6a was tested in a human cell line and showed low to no cytotoxicity at relevant concentrations. Initial testing demonstrates its potential use as a fluid-phase fluorescent marker for live cell imaging.

Recent Developments in Amide Synthesis Using Nonactivated Starting Materials

Amides are unquestionably one of the most important functional groups in organic chemistry because of their presence in numerous interesting molecules such as peptides, pharmaceutical agents, naturally occurring molecules, proteins and alkaloids, among others. This synopsis surveys the diverse recent approaches to amide synthesis from nonactivated carboxylic acids and derivatives as well as noncarboxylic compounds, highlighting the most innovative methodologies and those that are more eco-friendly compared to traditional methods while focusing on recent developments during the past two years.

High-effective approach from amino acid esters to chiral amino alcohols over Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst and its catalytic reaction mechanism

Developing the high-efficient and green synthetic method for chiral amino alcohols is an intriguing target. We have developed the Mg(2+)-doped Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 catalyst for hydrogenation of L-phenylalanine methyl ester to chiral L-phenylalaninol without racemization. The effect of different L-phenylalanine esters on this title reaction was studied, verifying that Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 is an excellent catalyst for the hydrogenation of amino acid esters to chiral amino alcohols. DFT calculation was used to study the adsorption of substrate on the catalyst, and showed that the substrate adsorbs on the surface active sites mainly by amino group (-NH2) absorbed on Al2O3, and carbonyl (C=O) and alkoxy (RO-) group oxygen absorbed on the boundary of Cu and Al2O3. This catalytic hydrogenation undergoes the formation of a hemiacetal intermediate and the cleavage of the C-O bond (rate-determining step) by reacting with dissociated H to obtain amino aldehyde and methanol ad-species. The former is further hydrogenated to amino alcohols, and the latter desorbs from the catalyst surface.

A rapid microwave-induced synthesis of polyamides–containing amino acid moieties

5-(2-(9,10-Dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene-11,12-dicarboximido)propanoylamino)isophthalic acid as a novel aromatic dicarboxylic acid monomer was prepared in four steps. In the first step, cis-9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene-11,12-dicarboxylic acid anhydride was reacted with l-alanine in acetic acid solution and the resulting imide acid was obtained in high yield. In the second step, treatment of this imide acid with excess thionyl chloride gave acid chloride in good yield. In the last step, this acid chloride was reacted with 5-aminoisophthalic acid to provide novel bulky chiral aromatic dicarboxylic acid. The direct polycondensation reactions of this diacid with several aromatic diamines were carried out under microwave irradiation. In order to compare this technique with classical heating, the polymerization reactions were also performed under solution polycondensation conditions. The polymerization reactions occurred rapidly under microwave conditions and produced a series of novel optically active polyamides (PAs)–containing pendent 9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene-11,12-dicarboximido)propanoylamino group, with good yields and moderate inherent viscosities of 0.27–0.47 dL g−1. The resulting new PAs showed good solubility and are readily soluble in organic solvents. PAs were thermally stable, with 10% weight loss recorded at 411°C and 450°C under nitrogen atmosphere and char yields at 800°C higher than 44% and glass transition temperature above 163°C.