Novel Amine Chemistry Based on DMAP-Catalyzed Acylation

Synthesis and evaluation of sulfonamide derivatives of quinoxaline 1,4-dioxides as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors

A series of sulfonamide-derived quinoxaline 1,4-dioxides were synthesized and evaluated as inhibitors of carbonic anhydrases (CA) with antiproliferative potency. Overall, the synthesized compounds demonstrated good inhibitory activity against four CA isoforms. Compound 7g exhibited favorable potency in inhibiting a CA IX isozyme with a K i value of 42.2 nM compared to the reference AAZ (K i = 25.7 nM). Nevertheless, most of the synthesized compounds have their highest activity against CA I and CA II isoforms over CA IX and CA XII. A molecular modeling study was used for an estimation of the binding mode of the selected ligand 7g in the active site of CA IX. The most active compounds (7b, 7f, 7h, and 18) exhibited significant antiproliferative activity against MCF-7, Capan-1, DND-41, HL60, and Z138 cell lines, with IC50 values in low micromolar concentrations. Moreover, derivatives 7a, 7e, and 8g showed similar hypoxic cytotoxic activity and selectivity compared to tirapazamine (TPZ) against adenocarcinoma cells MCF-7. The structure-activity relationships analysis revealed that the presence of a halogen atom or a sulfonamide group as substituents in the phenyl ring of quinoxaline-2-carbonitrile 1,4-dioxides was favorable for overall cytotoxicity against most of the tested cancer cell lines. Additionally, the presence of a carbonitrile fragment in position 2 of the heterocycle also had a positive effect on the antitumor properties of such derivatives against the majority of cell lines. The most potent derivative, 3-trifluoromethylquinoxaline 1,4-dioxide 7h, demonstrated higher or close antiproliferative activity compared to the reference agents, such as doxorubicin, and etoposide, with an IC50 range of 1.3-2.1 μM. Analysis of the obtained results revealed important patterns in the structure-activity relationship. Moreover, these findings highlight the potential of selected lead sulfonamides on the quinoxaline 1,4-dioxide scaffold for further in-depth evaluation and development of chemotherapeutic agents targeting carbonic anhydrases.

Electron-rich pyridines with para-N-heterocyclic imine substituents: ligand properties and coordination to CO2, SO2, BCl3 and PdII complexes

Electron-rich pyridines with π donor groups at the para position play an important role as nucleophiles in organocatalysis, but their ligand properties and utilization in coordination chemistry have received little attention. Herein, we report the synthesis of two electron-rich pyridines 1 and 2 bearing N-heterocyclic imine groups at the para position and explore their coordination chemistry. Experimental and computational methods were used to assess the donor ability of the new pyridines showing that they are stronger donors than aminopyridines and guanidinyl pyridines, and that the nature of the N-heterocyclic backbone has a strong influence on the pyridine donor strength. Coordination compounds with Lewis acids including the CO2, SO2, BCl3 and PdII ions were synthesized and characterized. Despite the ambident character of the new pyridines, coordination preferentially occurs at the pyridine-N atom. Methyl transfer experiments reveal that 1 and 2 can act as demethylation reagents.

Triflylpyridinium as Coupling Reagent for Rapid Amide and Ester Synthesis

An effective method has been developed to facilitate the synthesis of amides and esters at ambient temperature within 5 min, in which a stable and easily accessible triflylpyridinium reagent is used. Remarkably, this method not only has a wide range of substrate compatibility but also could realize the scalable synthesis of peptide and ester via a continuous flow process. Moreover, excellent chirality retentions are presented during activation of carboxylic acid.

An N-Trifluoromethylation/Cyclization Strategy for Accessing Diverse N-Trifluoromethyl Azoles from Nitriles and 1,3-Dipoles

N-Trifluoromethyl azoles are valuable targets in medicinal chemistry, but their synthesis is challenging. Classical preparation of N-CF₃ azoles relies on the functional group interconversions but suffers from tedious N-pre-functionalization and unfriendly agents. Introduction of the CF₃ onto the nitrogen of heterocycles provides a direct route to such motifs, but the N-trifluoromethylation remains underdeveloped. Reported here is an alternative and scalable cyclization strategy based on NCF₃ -containing synthons for constructing N-CF₃ azoles. The approach involves the N-trifluoromethylation of nitriles followed by a [3+2] cyclization between resulting N-CF₃ nitrilium derivatives and 1,3-dipoles. PhICF₃ Cl was an effective CF₃ source for the transformation. As a result, a generic platform is established to divergently synthesize N-trifluoromethylated tetrazoles, imidazoles, and 1,2,3-triazoles by using sodium azide, activated methylene isocyanides, and diazo compounds as dipoles.

Enhancing catalytic activity of pyridines via para-iminophosphorano substituents

Four pyridines decorated with π-donating iminophosphorano substituents (R₃PN-) in the 4-position were assessed as acylation catalysts. These catalysts display high sensitivity to the groups at phosphorus, with activities that are well correlated to the corresponding Hammett-type substituent constants (σ_p⁺), and can achieve superior activity over the most active dialkylamino-substituted pyridines. Iminophosphorano-substituted pyridines represent an easily accessible, tunable, and highly active class of nucleophilic organocatalysts.

Selective Synthesis of N-Acylnortropane Derivatives in Palladium-Catalysed Aminocarbonylation

The aminocarbonylation of various alkenyl and (hetero)aryl iodides was carried out using tropane-based amines of biological importance, such as 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-one (nortropinone) and 3α-hydroxy-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane (nortropine) as N-nucleophile. Using iodoalkenes, the two nucleophiles were selectively converted to the corresponding amide in the presence of Pd(OAc)₂/2 PPh₃ catalysts. In the presence of several iodo(hetero)arenes, the application of the bidentate Xantphos was necessary to produce the target compounds selectively. The new carboxamides of varied structure, formed in palladium-catalyzed aminocarbonylation reactions, were isolated and fully characterized. In this way, a novel synthetic method has been developed for the producing of N-acylnortropane derivatives of biological importance.

Copper(II)-Dioxygen Facilitated Activation of Nitromethane: Nitrogen Donors for the Synthesis of Substituted 2-Hydroxyimino-2-phenylacetonitriles and Phthalimides

A simple and efficient method is explored for the synthesis of 2-hydroxyimino-2-phenylacetonitriles (2) and phthalimides (4), by using nitromethane as nitrogen donors. Both reactions are promoted by Cu(II) system with the participation of dioxygen as an oxidant. The scope of the method has been successfully demonstrated with a total of 51 examples. The flexible and diversified characteristics of reactions are introduced in terms of electronic effect, steric effect, position of substituted groups, and intramolecular charge transfer. Experimental studies suggest that the methyl nitrite could be a precursor in the path to the final products. A possible reaction mechanism is proposed, including the Cu(II)/O2-facilitated transformation of nitromethane to methyl nitrite, the base-induced formation of 2-hydroxyimino-2-phenylacetonitriles, and the base-dioxygen-promoted formation of phthalimides.

Unusual temperature-sensitive protonation behaviour of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine

An unusually strong impact of temperature on the protonation degree of DMAP in strong acid solutions has been found.

Aromatic Helical Foldamers as Nucleophilic Catalysts for the Regioselective Acetylation of Octyl β-d-Glucopyranoside

Two indolocarbazole-naphthyridine foldamers 2 and 3 that fold into helical conformations were prepared. The 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) moiety was introduced at one end of the foldamer strands to develop foldamer-based catalysts for the site-selective acylation of polyols. These foldamers adopt helical conformations containing internal cavities capable of binding octyl β-d-glucopyranoside. The association constants were determined to be 1.9 (±0.1)×10⁵  M^-1 for 2 and 2.1 (±0.1)×10⁵  M^-1 for 3 in CH₂ Cl₂ at 25 °C. In the presence of DMAP, 2 or 3 as the catalysts, octyl β-d-glucopyranoside was subjected to acetylation under identical reaction conditions. The DMAP-catalysed reaction afforded the random distribution of the monoacetylates (6-OAc : 4-OAc : 3-OAc : 2-OAc=33 : 24 : 41 : 2). In contrast, foldamers 2 and 3 led to the predominant formation of 6-OAc. The relative distributions were estimated to be 6-OAc : 4-OAc : 3-OAc=88 : 4 : 6 : ∼0 with 2 and 6-OAc : 4-OAc : 3-OAc : 2-OAc=90 : 3 : 6 : 1 with 3.

Constructing Positively Charged Thin-Film Nanocomposite Nanofiltration Membranes with Enhanced Performance

Using polyethylenimine (PEI) as the aqueous reactive monomers, a positively charged thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) nanofiltration (NF) membrane with enhanced performance was developed by successfully incorporating graphene oxide (GO) into the active layer. The effects of GO concentrations on the surface roughness, water contact angle, water flux, salt rejection, heavy metal removals, antifouling property, and chlorine resistance of the TFN membranes were evaluated in depth. The addition of 20 ppm GO facilitated the formation of thin, smooth, and hydrophilic nanocomposite active layers. Thus, the TFN-PEI-GO-20 membrane showed the optimal water flux of 70.3 L·m-2·h-1 without a loss of salt rejection, which was 36.8% higher than the thin-film composite (TFC) blank membrane. More importantly, owing to the positively charged surfaces, both the TFC-PEI-blank and TFN-PEI-GO membranes exhibited excellent rejections toward various heavy metal ions including Zn2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, and Pb2+. Additionally, compared with the negatively charged polypiperazine amide NF membrane, both the TFC-PEI-blank and TFN-PEI-GO-20 membranes demonstrated superior antifouling performance toward the cationic surfactants and basic protein due to their hydrophilic, smooth, and positively charged surface. Moreover, the TFN-PEI-GO membranes presented the improved chlorine resistances with the increasing GO concentration.

Minimizing solvent waste in catalytic reactions in highly recyclable hydrocarbon solvents

This paper describes chemistry using organocatalysts in hydrocarbon solvents that minimizes solvent waste by using inexpensive, non-volatile, relatively inflammable, and easily recyclable poly(α-olefin)s (PAOs) as hydrocarbon solvents. These studies show that when substrates have limited solubility in PAO solvents, this issue can be addressed by adding a small amount of a cosolvent. Kinetic studies were also carried out and show that reactions carried out in PAOs are kinetically comparable to reactions in conventional non-recyclable hydrocarbon solvents. A range of strategies that separate and isolate products from reactions in PAOs using a polyisobutylene (PIB)-supported DMAP catalyst have been studied using four different catalytic reactions. In the most general procedure, the PAO phase containing a PIB-bound catalyst is separated from products by low energy liquid/liquid gravity separation. This can be accomplished using a minimal amount of a polar solvent. In another example, the product's low solubility leads to it precipitating during the reaction. In this case, a simple filtration recycles the PAO and a PIB-bound DMAP catalyst. We have demonstrated that the PAO phase containing a PIB bound DMAP catalyst can be recycled for at least 10 cycles without loss of activity. Our studies further showed that leaching of the PAO phase into polar solvents was orders of magnitude less than conventional hydrocarbon solvents such as heptane. The result is that the overall solvent waste generation is lower than for the same reaction carried out in conventional solvents.

Hydrogen-Bonded (H2O·X)2 [X=Cl–, Br–] Clusters in 1-Phenacyl-4-(Dimethylamino)Pyridinium Halide Monohydrates

The synthesis, and X-ray crystal and molecular structures, of 1-phenacyl-4-(dimethylamino)pyridinium chloride and bromide monohydrates are described.

Synthetic nanoparticles for selective hydrolysis of bacterial autoinducers in quorum sensing

N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) are signal molecules used by a large number of gram-negative bacteria in quorum sensing and their hydrolysis is known to inhibit biofilm formation. Micellar imprinting of AHL-like templates with catalytic functional monomers yielded water-soluble nanoparticles with AHL-shaped active site and nearby catalytic groups. Either Lewis acidic zinc ions or nucleophilic pyridyl ligands could be introduced through this strategy, yielding artificial enzymes for the hydrolysis of AHLs in a substrate-selective fashion.

Condensation of Carboxylic Acids with Non-Nucleophilic N-Heterocycles and Anilides Using Boc2O

A novel condensation reaction of carboxylic acids with various non-nucleophilic N-heterocycles and anilides was developed. The reaction proceeds in the presence of di-tert-butyl dicarbonate (Boc₂O), catalytic 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP), and 2,6-lutidine and is applicable to the acylation of a wide range of non-nucleophilic nitrogen compounds, including indoles, pyrroles, pyrazole, carbazole, lactams, oxazolidinones, and anilides with high functional group compatibility. The scope of indoles, carboxylic acids, and anilides was also studied.

An epoxy thiolactone on stage: four component reactions, synthesis of poly(thioether urethane)s and the respective hydrogels

An epoxy thiolactone was developed as a versatile platform for multicomponent reactions, the synthesis of poly(thioether urethane)s or hydrogels containing epoxy groups.

A flexible approach to Pd-catalyzed carbonylations via aroyl dimethylaminopyridinium salts

The palladium catalyzed carbonylation of aryl halides in the presence of DMAP can allow the generation of highly electrophilic aroylating agents: aroyl–DMAP salts.

4-Dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) is shown to undergo Pd/P^tBu₃ catalyzed coupling with aryl halides and carbon monoxide to form electrophilic aroyl–DMAP salts. The reaction is easily scalable to prepare multigram quantities with low catalyst loadings, while the precipitation of these salts as they form leads to products with low impurities. These reagents rapidly react with a variety of nucleophiles, including those that contain potentially incompatible functional groups under standard carbonylative conditions.

Oxidative activation of dihydropyridine amides to reactive acyl donors

Amides of 1,4-dihydropyridine (DHP) are activated by oxidation for acyl transfer to amines, alcohols and thiols. In the reduced form the DHP amide is stable towards reaction with amines at room temperature. However, upon oxidation with DDQ the acyl donor is activated via a proposed pyridinium intermediate. The activated intermediate reacts with various nucleophiles to give amides, esters, and thio-esters in moderate to high yields.

Dimethylaminopyridine-supported graft polymer catalyst and its flow system

A new heterogeneous organocatalyst, graft polymer supported dimethylaminopyridine (g-DMAP), is developed. This catalyst has a flexible structure and comprises DMAP anchored to the polyethylene-graft-polyacrylic acid (PE-g-PAA). It exhibits higher activity than DMAP supported on polystyrene cross-linked with divinylbenzene and can be recovered in batch mode acetylation. The activity and stability of this catalyst allow its application in continuous flow systems. Continuous acetylation proceeds with excellent conversion, and a turnover number of 560 can be achieved using g-DMAP. Parallel fixed bed reactors were used to scale up the synthesis of this continuous flow system. Eight parallel fixed bed reactors displayed excellent conversion.

Serendipitous discovery of an efficient method for the synthesis of dimeric-RGD analogues using DMAP-photoirradiation

We describe a novel disulfide reaction via UV/DMAP methodology for efficient construction of simple disulfides and structurally complex peptides.

A near infrared colorimetric and fluorometric probe for organophosphorus nerve agent mimics by intramolecular amidation

A carboxylic acid group was activated by nerve agent mimics to conduct intramolecular amidation in heptamethine chromophore, leading to large red-shifts of both absorption and excitation wavelengths in the near infrared region.

DMAP-promoted domino annulation of β-ketothioamides with internal alkynes: a highly regioselective access to functionalized 1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones at room temperature

One-pot DMAP-mediated regioselective access to functionalized 1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones has been achieved via annulation of β-ketothioamides with internal alkynes.

Access to pyridines via DMAP-catalyzed activation of α-chloro acetic ester to react with unsaturated imines

Facile access to trisubstituted pyridines from α-chloro acetic ester and unsaturated imines is achieved.

The 3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane scaffold for subtype selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) ligands. Part 1: the influence of different hydrogen bond acceptor systems on alkyl and (hetero)aryl substituents

3,7-Diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane is a naturally occurring scaffold interacting with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). When one nitrogen of the 3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane scaffold was implemented in a carboxamide motif displaying a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) functionality, compounds with higher affinities and subtype selectivity for α4β2(∗) were obtained. The nature of the HBA system (carboxamide, sulfonamide, urea) had a strong impact on nAChR interaction. High affinity ligands for α4β2(∗) possessed small alkyl chains, small un-substituted hetero-aryl groups or para-substituted phenyl ring systems along with a carboxamide group. Electrophysiological responses of selected 3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane derivatives to Xenopus oocytes expressing various nAChR subtypes showed diverse activation profiles. Compounds with strongest agonistic profiles were obtained with small alkyl groups whereas a shift to partial agonism/antagonism was observed for aryl substituents.

4-Dimethylaminopyridine promoted interfacial polymerization between hyperbranched polyesteramide and trimesoyl chloride for preparing ultralow-pressure reverse osmosis composite membrane

We have presented a concept of ultralow-pressure reverse osmosis membrane based on hyperbranched polyesteramide through interfacial reaction promoted by pyridine derivate. In this strategy, a key catalyst of 4-dimethylaminopyridine, which can both eliminate the steric hindrance of acyl transfer reaction and facilitate the phase transfer in interfacial polymerization, is adopted to drive the formation of a thin film composite membrane from the hyperbranched polyesteramide and trimesoyl chloride. The results of the characterization demonstrate that a dense, rough, and hydrophilic active layer with a thickness of about 100 nm is formed when the 4-dimethylaminopyridine catalyst is used. The salt rejections for Na2SO4, NaCl, and MgSO4 of the as-prepared composite membrane are higher than 92%, especially for Na2SO4 with 98% rejection. The water fluxes reach about 30-40 L·m(-2)·h(-1) even at an operation pressure of 0.6 MPa. The membrane exhibits good chlorine-resistance ability but poor resistance abilities to acidic and alkaline solutions in the physical-chemical stability experiment. It is also found that the resultant membrane possesses excellent separation performance for PEG-200, showing a promising way to separate small organic molecules from water.

Alkylaminopyridine-modified aluminum aminoterephthalate metal-organic frameworks as components of reactive self-detoxifying materials

Aluminum aminoterephthalate MOF particulate materials (NH(2)-MIL-101(Al) and NH(2)-MIL-53(Al)), studied here as components of self-detoxifying surfaces, retained their reactivity following their covalent attachment to protective surfaces utilizing a newly developed strategy in which the MOF particles were deposited on a reactive adhesive composed of polyisobutylene/toluene diisocyanate (PIB/TDI) blends. Following MOF attachment and curing, the MOF primary amino groups were functionalized with highly nucleophilic 4-methylaminopyridine (4-MAP) by disuccinimidyl suberate-activated conjugation. The resulting MOF-4-MAP modified PIB/TDI elastomeric films were mechanically flexible and capable of degrading diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP), a chemical threat simulant.