Synthesis and characterization of 2-substituted bornane pharmacophores for novel cannabinergic ligands

Electrochemical Activation of Diverse Conventional Photoredox Catalysts Induces Potent Photoreductant Activity*

Herein, we disclose that electrochemical stimulation induces new photocatalytic activity from a range of structurally diverse conventional photocatalysts. These studies uncover a new electron-primed photoredox catalyst capable of promoting the reductive cleavage of strong C(sp2 )-N and C(sp2 )-O bonds. We illustrate several examples of the synthetic utility of these deeply reducing but otherwise safe and mild catalytic conditions. Finally, we employ electrochemical current measurements to perform a reaction progress kinetic analysis. This technique reveals that the improved activity of this new system is a consequence of an enhanced catalyst stability profile.

Reactions of Allylmagnesium Reagents with Carbonyl Compounds and Compounds with C═N Double Bonds: Their Diastereoselectivities Generally Cannot Be Analyzed Using the Felkin-Anh and Chelation-Control Models

This review describes the additions of allylmagnesium reagents to carbonyl compounds and to imines, focusing on the differences in reactivity between allylmagnesium halides and other Grignard reagents. In many cases, allylmagnesium reagents either react with low stereoselectivity when other Grignard reagents react with high selectivity, or allylmagnesium reagents react with the opposite stereoselectivity. This review collects hundreds of examples, discusses the origins of stereoselectivities or the lack of stereoselectivity, and evaluates why selectivity may not occur and when it will likely occur.

Crystal structures of two (±)-exo-N-isobornyl-acetamides

The title compounds consist of a 1,7,7-tri­methylbi­cyclo­[2.2.1]heptane (bornane or camphane) skeleton which is decorated with acetamide for (±)-(1) and chloro­acetamide for (±)-(2), functionalities. In the crystals of both compounds, mol­ecules are linked via N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, reinforced by C—H⋯O contacts, forming chains propagating along the a axis.

The title compounds consist of a bornane skeleton with attached acetamide, C₁₂H₂₁NO (±)-(1) {systematic name: (±)-N-[(1RS,2RS,4RS)-1,7,7-tri­methylbi­cyclo­[2.2.1]heptan-2-yl]acetamide}, and chloro­acetamide, C₁₂H₂₀ClNO (±)-(2) {systematic name: (±)-2-chloro-N-[(1RS,2RS,4RS)-1,7,7-tri­methylbi­cyclo­[2.2.1]heptan-2-yl]­acetamide}, functionalities to the 2-exo-position. The crystal structure of the first monoclinic polymorph of (±)-(1) has been reported previously [Ung et al. (2014 ▸). Monatsh. Chem.145, 983–992]. Compound (±)-(1) crystallizes in the space group P2₁/n with two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, in contrast to the above-mentioned polymorph which crystallized in the space group C2/c with one mol­ecule in the asymmetric unit. In the title compounds, the bicyclic bornane moieties have normal geometries. In the crystals of both compounds, mol­ecules are linked by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, reinforced by C—H⋯O contacts, forming trans-amide chains propagating along the a-axis direction. In the case of compound (±)-(1), neighbouring chains are linked by further C—H⋯O contacts, forming double-chain ribbons along [100].

Atherton-Todd reaction: mechanism, scope and applications

Initially, the Atherton-Todd (AT) reaction was applied for the synthesis of phosphoramidates by reacting dialkyl phosphite with a primary amine in the presence of carbon tetrachloride. These reaction conditions were subsequently modified with the aim to optimize them and the reaction was extended to different nucleophiles. The mechanism of this reaction led to controversial reports over the past years and is adequately discussed. We also present the scope of the AT reaction. Finally, we investigate the AT reaction by means of exemplary applications, which mainly concern three topics. First, we discuss the activation of a phenol group as a phosphate which allows for subsequent transformations such as cross coupling and reduction. Next, we examine the AT reaction applied to produce fire retardant compounds. In the last section, we investigate the use of the AT reaction for the production of compounds employed for biological applications. The selected examples to illustrate the applications of the Atherton-Todd reaction mainly cover the past 15 years.

Synthesis and characterization of a compact tricyclic resorcinol from (+)- and (-)-3-pinanol

Resorcinol derivatives are important building blocks in the synthesis of natural products and pharmaceutical compounds including cannabinoids. Here we describe the synthesis and the structural characterization of a key resorcinol which carries a fully restricted bridged bicyclic group. We also report a potential mechanism for the acid catalyzed condensation of (+)- or (-)-3-pinanol with 2,6-dimethoxyphenol. The synthesized resorcinol facilitates the development of novel conformationally restricted cannabinoid analogs.

Cytotoxic activities of selected medicinal plants from Iran and phytochemical evaluation of the most potent extract

Methanolic extract of 15 Iranian medicinal plants were prepared and tested for their cytotoxic activities against three cancer cell lines (MCF7, HepG2, WEHI164) and one normal cell line (MDBK). Some plants showed cytotoxic activities. The extract of Ferula szowitsiana root, which proved to be the most active, was chosen for further phytochemical studies. The major compounds of the most potent acetone extract were isolated. They were identified as chimgin and chimganin, two known monoterpenoids, by spectroscopic means. Their cytotoxic activity was evaluated in three cell lines. The results show that these compounds are responsible, at least in part, for the cytotoxic activity of this plant.

Bornyl- and isobornyl-Delta8-tetrahydrocannabinols: a novel class of cannabinergic ligands

Structure-activity relationship studies of classical cannabinoid analogues have established that the C3 aliphatic side chain plays a pivotal role in determining cannabinergic potency. In earlier work, we provided evidence for the presence of subsites within the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptor binding domains that can accommodate bulky conformationally defined substituents at the C3 alkyl side chain pharmacophore of classical cannabinoids. We have now extended this work with the synthesis of a series of Delta (8)-THC analogues in which bornyl substituents are introduced at the C3 position. Our results indicate that, for optimal interactions with both CB1 and CB2 receptors, the bornyl substituents need to be within close proximity of the tricyclic core of Delta (8)-THC and that the conformational space occupied by the C3 substituents influences CB1/CB2 receptor subtype selectivity.