Esterification of Aryl/Alkyl Acids Catalysed by N-bromosuccinimide under Mild Reaction Conditions

Quantitative Methylation of Lignin Monomers Using Tetrabutylammonium Hydroxide and MeI and Applications in Organic Synthesis

Efficient O-alkylation of phenols and carboxylic acids has essential applications in organic synthesis. A mild alkylation method for phenolic and carboxylic OH groups is developed using alkyl halides as alkylation reagents and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide as a base, and lignin monomers can be fully methylated in quantitative yields. Additionally, phenolic and carboxylic OH groups can be alkylated by different alkyl halides in one pot in different solvent systems.

Microwave Assisted Esterification of Aryl/Alkyl Acids Catalyzed by N-Fluorobenzenesulfonimide

The susceptibility of the carbonyl group towards nucleophilic attack affords the construction of various organic compounds. Thus, investigations of carbonyl activation applying greener methodologies are highly important. In the present work, among the investigated N-halo compounds, N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSi) has been found as an efficient and selective catalyst in the reaction of direct esterification of aryl and alkyl carboxylic acids supported by microwave (MW) irradiation. The comprehensive esterification of different benzoic acids and mono-, di- and tri-carboxy alkyl derivatives was performed, whereby significant reaction time reductions were achieved. The presented method used NFSi as an easily manipulatable, non-metal, water- and air-tolerant catalyst, allowing simple synthetic and isolation procedures and energy saving, compared to conventional methodologies. Importantly, in contrast to esterification under thermal conditions, where N-halo compounds behave as pre-catalysts, in the MW-supported protocol, a distinct reaction mechanism has been proposed that assumes NFSi as a sustainable catalyst. Moreover, a scale-up of the industrially important derivative was performed.

Hydrolytic vs. Nonhydrolytic Sol-Gel in Preparation of Mixed Oxide Silica-Alumina Catalysts for Esterification

The development of green and sustainable materials for use as heterogeneous catalysts is a growing area of research in chemistry. In this paper, mesoporous SiO₂-Al₂O₃ mixed oxide catalysts with different Si/Al ratios were prepared via hydrolytic (HSG) and nonhydrolytic sol-gel (NHSG) processes. The HSG route was explored in acidic and basic media, while NHSG was investigated in the presence of diisopropylether as an oxygen donor. The obtained materials were characterized using EDX, N₂-physisorption, powder XRD, ²⁹Si, ²⁷Al MAS-NMR, and NH₃-TPD. This approach offered good control of composition and the Si/Al ratio was found to influence both the texture and the acidity of the mesoporous materials. According to ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si MAS NMR analyses, silicon and aluminum were more regularly distributed in NHSG samples that were also more acidic. Silica–alumina catalysts prepared via NHSG were more active in esterification of acetic acid with n-BuOH.

In vitro antibacterial and cytotoxic effects of Euphorbia grandicornis Blanc chemical constituents

BACKGROUND

Euphorbia grandicornis is widely utilized in traditional medicine for the treatment of microbial infections including sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhoea and for healing of wounds.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this work was to isolate and evaluate the antibacterial and anticancer activities of Euphorbia grandicornis chemical constituents.

METHODS

Chemical constituents were isolated and identified using various spectroscopic techniques such as IR, MS, and NMR. The single point growth inhibitory potential of the compounds was determined using a 96-well plate based assay.

RESULTS

The CH₂Cl₂ crude extracts exhibited potent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli ATCC 8739 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 with percentage growth of 94.90 ± 4.24 and 29.47 ± 4.89 respectively. Hence, the CH₂Cl₂ crude extract was further subjected to column chromatography which resulted in the isolation of methyl 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate (1), n-octyl benzoate (2), friedelanol (3), and germanicol (4) and identification of compounds 12-24 for the first time in the species based on the LC-MS/MS spectroscopic data. The purified compounds (1-4), and previously reported compounds (5-11) were evaluated for antibacterial activities against S. aureus and E. coli, as well as the cytotoxicity effects against HeLa cells. Of the purified compounds, methyl 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate (1), was the most active against E.coli and S. aureus with a percentage growth of 19.12 ± 0.65 and 23.32 ± 0.23 respectively. β-amyrin (6), and β-sitosterol (8), were active against S. aureus with percentage growth of 27.17 ± 0.07, and 47.79 ± 2.99 respectively.

CONCLUSION

The results obtained from this study indicate that E. grandicornis, is a rich source of chemical constituents that may provide new lead compounds for the development of antibacterial agents.

N-Halosuccinimides as Precatalysts for C-, N-, O-, and X-Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions of Alcohols under Mild Reaction Conditions

N-halosuccinimides (chloro, bromo, and iodo, respectively) were introduced, tested, and applied as efficient and non-metal precatalysts for C-, N-, O-, and X-nucleophilic substitution reactions of alcohols under solvent-free reaction conditions (SFRC) or under high substrate concentration reaction conditions (HCRC) efficiently and selectively, into the corresponding products.

1,3-Dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin as a Precatalyst for Activation of Carbonyl Functionality

Activation of carbonyl moiety is one of the most rudimentary approaches in organic synthesis and is crucial for a plethora of industrial-scale condensation reactions. In esterification and aldol condensation, which represent two of the most important reactions, the susceptibility of the carbonyl group to nucleophile attack allows the construction of a variety of useful organic compounds. In this context, there is a constant need for development of and improvement in the methods for addition-elimination reactions via activation of carbonyl functionality. In this paper, an advanced methodology for the direct esterification of carboxylic acids and alcohols, and for aldol condensation of aldehydes using widely available, inexpensive, and metal-free 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin under neat reaction conditions is reported. The method is air- and moisture-tolerant, allowing simple synthetic and isolation procedures for both reactions presented in this paper. The reaction pathway for esterification is proposed and a scale-up of certain industrially important derivatives is performed.