Solid acid catalyzed carboxymethylation of bio-derived alcohols: an efficient process for the synthesis of alkyl methyl carbonates

Sustainable methods for the carboxymethylation and methylation of ursolic acid with dimethyl carbonate under mild and acidic conditions

Ursolic acid is a triterpene plant extract that exhibits significant potential as an anti-cancer, anti-tumour, and anti-inflammatory agent. Its direct use in the pharmaceutical industry is hampered by poor uptake of ursolic acid in the human body coupled with rapid metabolism causing a decrease in bioactivity. Modification of ursolic acid can overcome such issues, however, use of toxic reagents, unsustainable synthetic routes and poor reaction metrics have limited its potential. Herein, we demonstrate the first reported carboxymethylation and/or methylation of ursolic acid with dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as a green solvent and sustainable reagent under acidic conditions. The reaction of DMC with ursolic acid, in the presence of PTSA, ZnCl2, or H2SO4-SiO2 yielded the carboxymethylation product 3β-[[methoxy]carbonyl]oxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid, the methylation product 3β-methoxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid and the dehydration product urs-2,12-dien-28-oic acid. PTSA demonstrated high conversion and selectivity towards the previously unreported carboxymethylation of ursolic acid, while the application of formic acid in the system led to formylation of ursolic acid (3β-formylurs-12-en-28-oic acid) in quantitative yields via esterification, with DMC acting solely as a solvent. Meanwhile, the methylation product of ursolic acid, 3β-methoxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid, was successfully synthesised with FeCl3, demonstrating exceptional conversion and selectivity, >99% and 99%, respectively. Confirmed with the use of qualitative and quantitative green metrics, this result represents a significant improvement in conversion, selectivity, safety, and sustainability over previously reported methods of ursolic acid modification. It was demonstrated that these methods could be applied to other triterpenoids, including corosolic acid. The study also explored the potential pharmaceutical applications of ursolic acid, corosolic acid, and their derivatives, particularly in anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-tumour treatments, using molecular ADMET and docking methods. The methods developed in this work have led to the synthesis of novel molecules, thus creating opportunities for the future investigation of biological activity and the modification of a wide range of triterpenoids applying acidic DMC systems to deliver novel active pharmaceutical intermediates.

Carboxymethylation of Cinnamyl Alcohol with Dimethyl Carbonate over Graphitic Carbon Nitrides

A set of graphitic carbon nitride samples was prepared using a straightforward experimental procedure without templates and any subsequent treatments. The materials were studied in-depth using a range of physical and chemical methods such as X-ray diffraction, FTIR spectroscopy, elemental analysis (CHN), nitrogen physisorption, SEM, XPS, TPD CO2. The resulting g-C3N4 was shown to be highly efficient in carboxymethylation of cinnamyl alcohol with dimethyl carbonate yielding up to ca. 82 % of the desired cinnamyl methyl carbonate. In the studied conditions, an increase in the surface N atomic content leads to an increase in selectivity towards the desired carbonate, while a higher surface O content was beneficial for side products. Metal-free graphitic carbon nitride was shown to be one of the most productive (ca. 2 mol/h kgcat) in the investigated reaction among studied heterogeneous catalysts.

Accelerated synthesis of 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthene and 1,8-dioxo-decahydroacridine derivatives using dendritic mesoporous nanosilica functionalized by hexamethylenetetramine: a novel nanocatalyst

Xanthene and acridine derivatives are interesting organic compounds that are used in different research fields like biomedicine and pharmaceutical science. However, applied catalysts for their synthesis have some limitations such as long reaction times, the need for harsh conditions and low yield. So, discovery of novel catalysts for the synthesis of xanthene and acridine derivatives is highly demanded. To overcome the limitation of previous methods on the efficient synthesis of 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthene and 1,8-dioxo-decahydroacridine derivatives, a green heterogeneous organic nano-catalyst (Cu@KCC-1-nPr-HMTA) was synthesized by covalent attachment of hexamethylenetetramine to the cavities and channels of dendritic mesoporous nanosilica (KCC-1). The prepared nano-catalyst was identified using various spectroscopic and microscopic methods including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray energy diffraction (EDX), EDX mapping and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis (BET-BJH). The prepared green nano-catalyst showed a spherical and dendritic structure with a surface area of 65.699 m2 g-1, average pore size of 40.78 nm and pore volume of 0.66 cm3 g-1. Also, Cu@KCC-1-nPr-HMTA has many chemo-active sites for the condensation reaction and was used as an efficient nano-catalyst towards one-step synthesis of 1,8-dioxo-decahydroacridine and 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthene derivatives from the reaction of aromatic aldehydes, dimedone, and ammonium acetate under solvent-free conditions. Short reaction times of 1 to 5 minutes for 1,8-dioxo-decahydroacridine and 30 to 55 minutes for 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthene derivatives, high yields and mild reaction conditions are advantages of the proposed synthetic method. It is hoped that the engineered nano-catalyst will be used for the synthesis of other organic compounds in the future.

Carboxymethylation of cinnamylalcohol with dimethyl carbonate over the slag-based catalysts

The carboxymethylation of cinnamylalcohol with dimethyl carbonate was performed using low-cost catalysts obtained from desulfurization slag. Processing of steel slag performed by different techniques was resulted in a wide range of the catalysts with different morphological and structural properties. Catalytic evaluation of the slag catalysts illustrated diversity of the obtained results strongly dependent on the surface area, crystal morphology and basicity. Catalytic materials demonstrated high variability of the conversion (8–85%) exhibiting similar selectivity to the desired product – cinnamyl methyl carbonate (ca. 80%). A significant impact of ultrasonication on catalytic activity was observed. Comparison of the synthesized samples with commercial basic materials illustrated competitive ability of the slag catalysts. Based on the results of catalytic evaluation and product analysis the reaction network was proposed and verified by thermodynamic analysis. A kinetic model was developed to describe concentration dependencies in carboxymethylation.

Dysprosium-doped zinc tungstate nanospheres as highly efficient heterogeneous catalysts in green oxidation of terpenic alcohols with hydrogen peroxide

Dysprosium-doped zinc tungstate nanospheres efficiently catalyzed the epoxidation of terpenic alcohols using hydrogen peroxide, an inexpensive and environmentally benign oxidant.