Structural and solvent control over activation parameters for a pair of retro Diels-Alder reactions

Controlling the toxicity of biomass-derived difunctional molecules as potential pharmaceutical ingredients for specific activity toward microorganisms and mammalian cells

A biomass-derived difuran compound, denoted as HAH (HMF-Acetone-HMF), synthesized by aldol-condensation of 5-hydroxyfurfural (HMF) and acetone, can be partially hydrogenated to provide an electron-rich difuran compound (PHAH) for Diels-Alder reactions with maleimide derivatives. The nitrogen (N) site in the maleimide can be substituted by imidation with amine-containing compounds to control the hydrophobicity of the maleimide moiety in adducts of furans and maleimide by Diels-Alder reaction, denoted as norcantharimides (Diels-Alder adducts). The structural effects on the toxicity of various biomass-derived small molecules synthesized in this manner to regulate biological processes, defined as low molecular weight (≤ 1000 g/mol) organic compounds, were investigated against diverse microbial and mammalian cell types. The biological toxicity increased when hydrophobic N-substitutions and C=C bonds were introduced into the molecular structure. Among the synthesized norcantharamide derivatives, some compounds demonstrated pH-dependent toxicities against specific cell types. Reaction kinetics analyses of the norcantharimides in biological conditions suggest that this pH-dependent toxicity of norcantharimides could arise from retro Diels-Alder reactions in the presence of a Brϕnsted acid that catalyzes the release of an N-substituted maleimide, which has higher toxicity against fungal cells than the toxicity of the Diels-Alder adduct. These synthetic approaches can be used to design biologically-active small molecules that exhibit selective toxicity against various cell types (e.g., fungal, cancer cells) and provide a sustainable platform for production of prodrugs that could actively or passively affect the viability of infectious cells.

A Brief Introduction to Chemical Reaction Optimization

From the start of a synthetic chemist's training, experiments are conducted based on recipes from textbooks and manuscripts that achieve clean reaction outcomes, allowing the scientist to develop practical skills and some chemical intuition. This procedure is often kept long into a researcher's career, as new recipes are developed based on similar reaction protocols, and intuition-guided deviations are conducted through learning from failed experiments. However, when attempting to understand chemical systems of interest, it has been shown that model-based, algorithm-based, and miniaturized high-throughput techniques outperform human chemical intuition and achieve reaction optimization in a much more time- and material-efficient manner; this is covered in detail in this paper. As many synthetic chemists are not exposed to these techniques in undergraduate teaching, this leads to a disproportionate number of scientists that wish to optimize their reactions but are unable to use these methodologies or are simply unaware of their existence. This review highlights the basics, and the cutting-edge, of modern chemical reaction optimization as well as its relation to process scale-up and can thereby serve as a reference for inspired scientists for each of these techniques, detailing several of their respective applications.

In situ observation of heterogeneous catalytic organic reactions via aggregation-induced emission luminogens

Herein, we demonstrated for the first time that customized aggregation-induced emission luminogens can be utilized to directly visualize heterogeneous catalytic organic reactions, which further enables catalyst screening. We used the retro-Diels-Alder reaction as a model reaction for illustration, and identified montmorillonite K10 as the best catalyst in our catalyst screening.

Computational investigation of cycloadditions between cyclopentadiene and tropone-3,4-dimethylester

Thermally promoted cycloaddition reactions of tropone-3,4-dimethylester and cyclopentadiene have been investigated using density functional theory calculations at the M06-2X level and the CBS-QB3 method.

NIR and glutathione trigger the surface release of methotrexate linked by Diels-Alder adducts to anisotropic gold nanoparticles

The administration and controlled release of drugs over time remains one of the greatest challenges of science today. In the nanomaterials field, anisotropic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) with plasmon bands centered at the near-infrared region (NIR), such as gold nanorods (AuNRs) and gold nanoprisms (AuNPrs), under laser irradiation, locally increase the temperature, allowing the release of drugs. In this sense, temporally controlled drug delivery could be promoted by external stimuli using thermo-reversible chemical reactions, such as Diels-Alder cycloadditions from a diene and a dienophile fragment (compound a). In this study, an antitumor drug (methotrexate, MTX) was linked to plasmonic AuNPs by a Diels-Alder adduct (compound c), which after NIR suffers a retro-Diels-Alder reaction, producing release of the drug (compound b). We obtained two nanosystems based on AuNRs and AuNPrs. Both nanoconstructs were coated with BSA-r₈ (Bovine Serum Albumin functionalized with Arg₈, all-D octa arginine) in order to increase the colloidal stability and promote internalization of the nanosystems on HeLa and SK-BR-3 cells. In addition, the presence of BSA allows protecting the cargo from being released on the extracellular environment and promotes the photothermal release of the drug in the presence of glutathione (GSH). The nanosystems' drug release profile was evaluated after NIR irradiation in the presence and absence of glutathione (GSH), showing a considerable increase of drug release when NIR light and glutathione were combined. This work broadens the range of possibilities of using two complementary strategies for the controlled release of an antitumor drug from AuNRs and AuNPrs: the photothermal cleavage of a thermolabile adduct controlled by an external stimulus (laser irradiation), complemented with the use of the intracellular metabolite GSH.

Dynamics and Entropy of Cyclohexane Rings Control pH-Responsive Reactivity

Activation entropy (ΔS ^‡) is not normally considered the main factor in determining the reactivity of unimolecular reactions. Here, we report that the intramolecular degradation of six-membered ring compounds is mainly determined by the ΔS ^‡, which is strongly influenced by the ring-flipping motion and substituent geometry. Starting from the unique difference between the pH-dependent degradation kinetics of geometric isomers of 1,2-cyclohexanecarboxylic acid amide (1,2-CHCAA), where only the cis isomer can readily degrade under weakly acidic conditions (pH < 5.5), we found that the difference originated from the large difference in ΔS ^‡ of 16.02 cal·mol^-1·K^-1. While cis-1,2-CHCAA maintains a preference for the classical chair cyclohexane conformation, trans-1,2-CHCAA shows dynamic interconversion between the chair and twisted boat conformations, which was supported by both MD simulations and VT-NMR analysis. Steric repulsion between the bulky 1,2-substituents of the trans isomer is one of the main reasons for the reduced energy barrier between ring conformations that facilitates dynamic ring inversion motions. Consequently, the more dynamic trans isomer exhibits much a larger loss in entropy during the activation process due to the prepositioning of the reactant than the cis isomer, and the pH-dependent degradation of the trans isomer is effectively suppressed. When the ring inversion motion is inhibited by an additional methyl substituent on the cyclohexane ring, the pH degradability can be dramatically enhanced for even the trans isomer. This study shows a unique example in which spatial arrangement and dynamic properties can strongly influence molecular reactivity in unimolecular reactions, and it will be helpful for the future design of a reactive structure depending on dynamic conformational changes.

Closer Look at Inverse Electron Demand Diels–Alder and Nucleophilic Addition Reactions on s-Tetrazines Using Enhanced Sampling Methods

Inverse electron demand [4+2] Diels–Alder (iEDDA) reactions as well as unprecedented nucleophilic (azaphilic) additions of R-substituted silyl-enol ethers (where R is Phenyl, Methyl, and Hydrogen) to 1,2,4,5-tetrazine (s-tetrazine) catalyzed by \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\hbox {BF}_{3}$$\end{document}BF3 have recently been discovered (Simon et al. in Org Lett 23(7):2426–2430, 2021), where static calculations were employed for calculation of activation energies. In order to have a more realistic dynamic description of these reactions in explicit solution at ambient conditions, in this work we use a semiempirical tight-binding method combined with enhanced sampling techniques to calculate free energy surfaces (FESs) of the iEDDA and azaphilic addition reactions. Relevant products of not only s-tetrazine but also its derivatives such as \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\hbox {BF}_{3}$$\end{document}BF3-mediated s-tetrazine adducts are investigated. We reconstruct the FESs of the iEDDA and azaphilic addition reactions using metadynamics and blue moon ensemble, and compare the ability of different collective variables (CVs) including bond distances, Social PeRmutation INvarianT (SPRINT) coordinates, and path-CV to describe the reaction pathway. We find that when a bulky Phenyl is used as a substituent at the dienophile the azaphilic addition is preferred over the iEDDA reaction. In addition, we also investigate the effect of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$$\hbox {BF}_{3}$$\end{document}BF3 in the diene and steric hindrance in the dienophile on the competition between the iEDDA and azaphilic addition reactions, providing chemical insight for reaction design.

Production of a PET//LDPE Laminate Using a Reversibly Crosslinking Packaging Adhesive and Recycling in a Small-Scale Technical Plant

Multilayer packaging is an important part of the packaging market, but it is not recyclable with conventional methods since it is made of different thermodynamically immiscible materials. In this work, it was shown that it is possible to produce a PET//LDPE laminate in a pilot plant for lamination by using an adhesive consisting of maleimide- and furan-functionalized polyurethane prepolymers that cure through the Diels–Alder reaction. The material could then be delaminated in a small-scale recycling plant using a solvent-based recycling process by partially opening the Diels–Alder adducts through the influence of temperature. The PET and LDPE could be recovered without any adhesive residues before each material was regranulated, and in the case of the PE, a film was produced via cast film extrusion. The obtained PET granulate exhibited a slight, approximately 10%, decrease in molecular weight. However, since small amounts of LDPE could not be separated, compatibilization would still be required here for further use of the material. The obtained LDPE film was characterized by means of infrared spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry, tensile testing, determination of the melt index, and molecular weight. The film showed lower crosslinking than usual for LDPE recycling and exhibited good mechanical properties. In this work, it was thus shown that upscaling of the laminate production with the modified adhesive and also its recycling at the pilot plant scale is possible and thus could be an actual option for recycling multilayer packaging.

Using TOF-SIMS Spectrometry to Study the Kinetics of the Interfacial Retro Diels-Alder Reaction

In this work, the use of Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) was explored as a technique for monitoring the interfacial retro Diels–Alder (retro DA) reaction occurring on well-controlled self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). A molecule containing a Diels–Alder (DA) adduct was grafted on to the monolayers, then the surface was heated at different temperatures to follow the reaction conversion. A TOF-SIMS analysis of the surface allowed the detection of a fragment from the molecule, which is released from the surface when retro DA reaction occurs. Hence, by monitoring the decay of this fragment’s peak integral, the reaction conversion could be determined in function of the time and for different temperatures. The viability of this method was then discussed in comparison with the results obtained by ¹H NMR spectroscopy.

Application of New Efficient Hoveyda-Grubbs Catalysts Comprising an N→Ru Coordinate Bond in a Six-Membered Ring for the Synthesis of Natural Product-Like Cyclopenta[b]furo[2,3-c]pyrroles

The ring rearrangement metathesis (RRM) of a trans-cis diastereomer mixture of methyl 3-allyl-3a,6-epoxyisoindole-7-carboxylates derived from cheap, accessible and renewable furan-based precursors in the presence of a new class of Hoveyda-Grubbs-type catalysts, comprising an N→Ru coordinate bond in a six-membered ring, results in the difficult-to-obtain natural product-like cyclopenta[b]furo[2,3-c]pyrroles. In this process, only one diastereomer with a trans-arrangement of the 3-allyl fragment relative to the 3a,6-epoxy bridge enters into the rearrangement, while the cis-isomers polymerize almost completely under the same conditions. The tested catalysts are active in the temperature range from 60 to 120 °C at a concentration of 0.5 mol % and provide better yields of the target tricycles compared to the most popular commercially available second-generation Hoveyda-Grubbs catalyst. The diastereoselectivity of the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction furan (IMDAF) reaction between starting 1-(furan-2-yl)but-3-en-1-amines and maleic anhydride, leading to 3a,6-epoxyisoindole-7-carboxylates, was studied as well.