Investigation of DNA as a catalyst for Henry reaction in water

Characterization and isolation of an 18-crown-6 complex of potassium hydroxide prepared by milling: application to mechanochemical organic synthesis

Solid-state supramolecular complexation of potassium cations enables the reactivity of KOH in mechanochemical organic reactions.

Henry Reaction Revisited. Crucial Role of Water in an Asymmetric Henry Reaction Catalyzed by Chiral NNO-Type Copper(II) Complexes

Chiral copper(II) and cobalt(III) complexes (1-5 and 6, respectively) derived from Schiff bases of (S)-2-(aminomethyl)pyrrolidine and salicylaldehyde derivatives were employed in a mechanistic study of the Henry reaction-type condensation of nitromethane and o-nitrobenzaldehyde in CH₂Cl₂ (CD₂Cl₂), containing different amounts of water. The reaction kinetics was monitored by ¹H and ¹³C NMR. The addition of water had a different influence on the activity of the two types of complexes, ranging from a crucial positive effect in the case of the copper(II) complex 2 to insignificant in the case of the stereochemically inert cobalt(III) complex 6. No experimental support was found by ¹H NMR studies for the classical Lewis acid complexation of the carbonyl group of the aldehyde by the central copper(II) ion, and, moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations support the absence of such coordination. On the other hand, a very significant complexation was found for water, and it was supported by DFT calculations. In fact, we suggest that it is the Brønsted acidity of the water molecule coordinated to the metal ion that triggers the aldehyde activation. The rate-limiting step of the reaction was the removal of an α-proton from the nitromethane molecule, as supported by the observed kinetic isotope effect equaling 6.3 in the case of the copper complex 2. It was found by high-resolution mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization that the copper(II) complex 2 existed in CH₂Cl₂ in a dimeric form. The reaction had a second-order dependence on the catalyst concentration, which implicated two dimeric forms of the copper(II) complex 2 in the rate-limiting step. Furthermore, DFT calculations help to generate a plausible structure of the stereodetermining transition step of the condensation.

An ionic liquid gel: a heterogeneous catalyst for Erlenmeyer–Plochl and Henry reactions

Agar gel entrapped [Bmim]OH has been prepared and employed as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of β-nitro alcohols and azlactones.

Catalytic Macroporous Biohydrogels Made of Ferritin-Encapsulated Gold Nanoparticles

Reported is a modular approach for the incorporation and stabilization of gold nanoparticles inside a three-dimensional macroporous hydrogel made of ferritin. The strategy, which involves the dynamic templating of surfactant H₁ domains, demineralization, and remineralization helps to overcome aggregation and degradation issues usually associated with bare-metal-based nanocatalysts. The catalytic activity of the so-synthesized bionanocomposite hydrogel was demonstrated in both nitroaldol (Henry) and nitroreduction model reactions in aqueous solution at room temperature. An interesting synergistic effect between basic residues of the protein and the gold nanoparticles was found in the nitroaldol reaction when carried out in water in the presence of a phase-transfer catalyst. Furthermore, the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and 4-nitroaniline catalyzed by the nanocomposite scaffold in the presence of NaBH₄ proceeded significantly faster than that using other known Au- and Ag-based catalysts under similar conditions.

The structural stability and catalytic activity of DNA and RNA oligonucleotides in the presence of organic solvents

Organic solvents and apolar media are used in the studies of nucleic acids to modify the conformation and function of nucleic acids, to improve solubility of hydrophobic ligands, to construct molecular scaffolds for organic synthesis, and to study molecular crowding effects. Understanding how organic solvents affect nucleic acid interactions and identifying the factors that dominate solvent effects are important for the creation of oligonucleotide-based technologies. This review describes the structural and catalytic properties of DNA and RNA oligonucleotides in organic solutions and in aqueous solutions with organic cosolvents. There are several possible mechanisms underlying the effects of organic solvents on nucleic acid interactions. The reported results emphasize the significance of the osmotic pressure effect and the dielectric constant effect in addition to specific interactions with nucleic acid strands. This review will serve as a guide for the selection of solvent systems based on the purpose of the nucleic acid-based experiments.

DNA-catalyzed Henry reaction in pure water and the striking influence of organic buffer systems

In this manuscript we report a critical evaluation of the ability of natural DNA to mediate the nitroaldol (Henry) reaction at physiological temperature in pure water. Under these conditions, no background reaction took place (i.e., control experiment without DNA). Both heteroaromatic aldehydes (e.g., 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde) and aromatic aldehydes bearing strong or moderate electron-withdrawing groups reacted satisfactorily with nitromethane obeying first order kinetics and affording the corresponding β-nitroalcohols in good yields within 24 h. In contrast, aliphatic aldehydes and aromatic aldehydes having electron-donating groups either did not react or were poorly converted. Moreover, we discovered that a number of metal-free organic buffers efficiently promote the Henry reaction when they were used as reaction media without adding external catalysts. This constitutes an important observation because the influence of organic buffers in chemical processes has been traditionally underestimated.

Evaluation of the nitroaldol reaction in the presence of metal ion-crosslinked alginates

Calcium alginate hydrogel beads have been found to promote the Henry reaction under mild conditions.

The influence of G-quadruplex structure on DNA-based asymmetric catalysis using the G-quadruplex-bound cationic porphyrin TMPyP4·Cu

The DNA G-quadruplex-binding porphyrin TMPyP4·Cu was found to form efficient hybrid catalysts for DNA-based asymmetric catalysis when bound to DNA G-quadruplexes. Nucleobase substitution experiments using human telomere-derived G-quadruplex sequences suggest binding of the porphyrin on the 3'-face.

Mechanistic and Catalytic Studies of β-Nitroalcohol Crosslinking with Polyamine

β-Nitroalcohols (βNAs) are promising corneoscleral crosslinking agents for the treatment of diseases such as keratoconus and myopia. Although it is believed that formaldehyde is released from the crosslinking reactions of βNAs, the mechanism by which βNAs react with amine-functionalized polymers has yet to be known. In this study, we present the reaction mechanism of the βNA crosslinking. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data provide strong evidence that formaldehyde is released during the reaction. Catalytic studies show that sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and salmon testes DNA accelerate the reaction while hydroxynitrile lyase from Arabidopsis thaliana decelerates the crosslinking reaction. These results suggest that βNAs are potential self-administered crosslinking agents for future clinical use.

C-C Bond formation catalyzed by natural gelatin and collagen proteins

The activity of gelatin and collagen proteins towards C–C bond formation via Henry (nitroaldol) reaction between aldehydes and nitroalkanes is demonstrated for the first time. Among other variables, protein source, physical state and chemical modification influence product yield and kinetics, affording the nitroaldol products in both aqueous and organic media under mild conditions. Significantly, the scale-up of the process between 4-nitrobenzaldehyde and nitromethane is successfully achieved at 1 g scale and in good yield. A comparative kinetic study with other biocatalysts shows an increase of the first-order rate constant in the order chitosan < gelatin < bovine serum albumin (BSA) < collagen. The results of this study indicate that simple edible gelatin can promote C–C bond forming reactions under physiological conditions, which may have important implications from a metabolic perspective.

Ethyl acrylate conjugated polystyryl-diphenylphosphine — An extremely efficient catalyst for Henry reaction under solvent-free conditions (SolFC)

Over the last few decades, the fast-growing development of polymer supported reagents has led to the synthesis of a variety of reagents on solid support. Some of the major advantages of using such reagents are that they are less hygroscopic, easy to recover, and can be recycled. Here, we have demonstrated that in situ generated ethyl acrylate conjugated polystyryl-diphenylphosphine (PDPP–EA) derived from the reaction of a mixture of polystyryl-diphenylphosphine and ethyl acrylate in a stoichiometric ratio can efficiently catalyze the synthesis of β-nitroalcohols from the reaction of aldehydes and nitroalkanes under solvent-free conditions (SolFC).

DNA as a versatile chemical component for catalysis, encoding, and stereocontrol

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the genetic material common to all of Earth's organisms. Our biological understanding of DNA is extensive and well-exploited. In recent years, chemists have begun to develop DNA for nonbiological applications in catalysis, encoding, and stereochemical control. This Review summarizes key advances in these three exciting research areas, each of which takes advantage of a different subset of DNA's useful chemical properties.

Organic co-solvents in aqueous DNA-based asymmetric catalysis

Water-miscible organic co-solvents can be used in DNA-based catalytic asymmetric reactions at appreciable concentration without a negative effect on enantioselectivity. While the rate of the copper(II) Diels-Alder reaction is affected negatively by the presence of organic co-solvents, the copper(II) catalyzed Michael addition and Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction are significantly faster. Additionally, the presence of organic co-solvents allows for reaction temperatures <0 degrees C, which results in higher ee's. This is used to perform enantioselective Michael additions and Friedel-Crafts alkylations at gram scale, using catalyst loadings as low as 0.75 mol%. These results are an important step towards application of the DNA-based catalysis concept in organic synthesis.