A novel Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative ortho-acylation of acetanilides with alpha-oxocarboxylic acids is realized at room temperature. This reaction provides efficient access to o-acyl acetanilides under mild conditions.

In the present work, a new route for preparation of high-performance porous carbons under mild conditions was reported. The high surface area (2700 m2/g) and large pore volume (1.98 cm3/g) porous carbons were prepared from hydrochars by conventional phosphoric acid activation method. The hydrochars described here can be obtained from ...

Origin(s) of biological chirality appear(s) to be intimately connected to origin(s) of life. Prebiotic evolution toward these important turning points can be traced back to single chiral molecules. These can be small (monomeric) units as amino acids or monosaccharides or oligomers as oligo-RNA type molecules. Earlier speculations about these two ...

A new Lewis base-tolerant LBA (Lewis Acid Assisted Brønsted Acid) derived from La(OTf)(3) and (S)-HOP has been developed as a new chiral Brønsted acid. This acid has been successfully applied as a catalyst to asymmetric protonation reactions of silyl enol ethers of 2-substituted cyclic ketones.

A syn-enantioselective aldol reaction has been developed using Brønsted acid catalysis based on H(8)-BINOL-derived phosphoric acids. This method affords an efficient synthesis of various beta-hydroxy ketones, some of which could not be synthesized using enamine organocatalysis.

An efficient strategy to synthesize tartaric acid building blocks for totally regioselective transformations or derivatizations was disclosed. Starting from l-tartaric acid or l-dimethyl tartrate, respectively, we obtained type I and II building blocks with orthogonal sets of protecing groups (4-8 steps, 38-56% overall yield).

A highly regio- and stereoselective nickel-catalyzed three-component coupling of alkynes with enones and alkenyl boronic acids to afford highly substituted 1,3-dienes is described. The reaction can also be extended to cyclization of enynes with coupling to alkenyl boronic acids. A possible reaction mechanism involving a five-membered nickelacycle as a key ...

Several novel nitrilases were selected from metagenomic libraries using cinnamonitrile and a mixture of six different nitriles as substrates. The nitrilase gene nit1 was expressed in Escherichia coli and the resulting protein was further examined concerning its biochemical properties. Nit1 turned out to be an aliphatic nitrilase favoring dinitriles over ...

Artemisinin, in the form of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), is currently the most important compound in the treatment of malaria. The current commercial source of artemisinin is Artemisia annua, but this represents a relatively expensive source for supplying the developing world. In this study, the possibility of producing artemisinin in ...

We report that catalytic quantities of the Lewis acidic metal catalysts scandium triflate and bismuth triflate promote conversion of oleic, linoleic, palmitic and myristic acids and their glyceryl triesters to the corresponding methyl esters (biodiesel) in greater than 90% yield upon microwave heating. Additionally, both catalysts could be recovered and ...

Treatment of siloxy enynes with base leads to the corresponding vinylsiloxyallenes which undergo Nazarov cyclization in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid to provide the cyclized product as a mixture of regioisomers in moderate to good overall yield.

An efficient palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative acylation of unactivated arenes with alpha-oxocarboxylic acids is reported. This method provides a novel access to aryl ketones.

The combined Lewis acid catalytic system, generated from (R)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol [(R)-BINOL], Ti(O-i-Pr)(4), H(2)O, and lithium chloride, effectively catalyzed the enantioselective vinylogous aldol reaction of Brassard's diene with aromatic aldehydes affording the (Z)-delta-hydroxyl-alpha,beta-unsaturated esters exclusively in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities (90-99% ee) under mild conditions. A Lewis acid-Lewis acid bifunctional working ...

A copper(I)-catalyzed bis-esterification of cyclic anhydrides with aryl and vinyl alkoxysilanes is described, in which the alkoxy and aryl (or vinyl) esters of dicarboxylic acids were prepared in one pot with moderate to good yields. Notably, vinyl trimethoxysilanes also worked well with this procedure.

In the presence of TMSOTf and a trialkylamine base, acetic acid undergoes aldol addition to non-enolizable aldehydes under exceptionally mild conditions. Acidic workup yields the beta-hydroxy carboxylic acid. The reaction appears to proceed via a three-step, one-pot process, including in situ trimethylsilyl ester formation, bis-silyl ketene acetal formation, and TMSOTf-catalyzed ...

The racemic and enantioselective synthesis of a novel glyceric acid derivative, namely, 2,3-dihydroxy-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid as well as the antioxidant activities is described. The virtually pure enantiomers, (+)-(2R,3S)-2,3-dihydroxy-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid and (-)-(2S,3R)-2,3-dihydroxy-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-propionic acid were synthesized for the first time via Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation of trans-caffeic acid derivatives using the enantiocomplementary catalysts, (DHQD)(2)-PHAL ...

The objective of this study was to identify the Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) from Neurospora intermedia N-1 that isolated from Indonesian red peanut cake (oncom). FAME profiles have been used as biochemical characters to study many different groups of organisms, such as bacteria and yeasts. FAME from N. intermedia ...

Cyanoformates and cyanoformamides are found to add across alkynes by nickel/Lewis acid (LA) cooperative catalysis to give beta-cyano-substituted acrylates and acrylamides, respectively, in highly stereoselective and regioselective manners. The resulting adducts serve as versatile synthetic building blocks through chemoselective transformations of the ester, amide, and cyano groups as demonstrated by ...

Enzymes are a continuing source of inspiration for the design of new chemical reactions that proceed with efficiency, high selectivity and minimal waste. In many biochemical processes, different catalytic species, such as Lewis acids and bases, are involved in precisely orchestrated interactions to activate reactants simultaneously or sequentially. This type ...

Mild conditions have been developed to achieve a Pd(OAc)(2)-catalyzed cross-coupling between indoles and arylsiloxanes in the presence of TBAF and Ag(2)O in acidic medium. Electron-deficient arylsiloxanes presented high efficiency in this system to give the arylated indoles in excellent yields.

Substituted dihydropyrans, easily accessed from a commercially available glycal, undergo acid-catalyzed rearrangement to provide highly functionalized isochroman and dioxabicyclooctane scaffolds.

A chiral ferrocene-based boronic acid interacts with (R)- and (S)-Binol to form two complexes that exhibit significantly different ferrocene-based electrode potentials. This difference in redox behavior can be exploited to demonstrate in principle how high levels of enantiomeric excess in a mixture of enantiomers can be quantified and read-out using ...

Reaction of diazodiketoesters 17 and 28 with methyl glyoxylate in the presence of catalytic rhodium(II) acetate generates predominantly the 6,8-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes 29 and 30, respectively. Acid-catalysed rearrangement of the corresponding alcohol 31 favours, at equilibrium, the 2,8-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane skeleton 33 of the squalestatins-zaragozic acids. Force field calculations on the position of the ...

New syntheses of (-)-deoxoprosophylline, (+)-2-epi-deoxoprosopinine, and (2R,3R)- and (2R,3S)-3-hydroxypipecolic acids are reported. Utilization of the chiral functionalities of Perlin aldehydes, derived from 3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl glycals, has been done along with chemoselective saturation of olefins and reductive aminations as key steps.

Chiral imino lactones derived from (R)-phenylglycinol containing an allyl- or propargyltrimethylsilyl group in the side chain readily cyclized in the presence of acidic reagents to afford spirocyclic compounds with high diastereoselectivity. Removal of the chiral auxiliary produced 2-substituted 1-aminocycloalkanecarboxylic acids, whereas further cyclizations by means of metathesis or hydroamination reactions ...

The preparation of new organosoluble Lewis acidic polyoxometalates (POMs) is reported. These complexes were prepared by the incorporation of Zr, Sc, and Y atoms into the corresponding monolacunary Dawson [P(2)W(17)O(61)](10-) and Keggin [PW(11)O(39)](7-) polyoxotungstates. The catalytic activity of these compounds was evaluated for C-C bond formation in the Diels-Alder, Mannich, ...

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) offer a new strategy for assembling organic semiconductors into robust networks with atomic precision and long-range order. General methods for COF synthesis will allow complex building blocks to be incorporated into these emerging materials. Here we report a new Lewis acid-catalysed protocol to form boronate esters ...

Inhibitors of melanin formation are sought after for a range of applications. Boronophenylalanine is known to inhibit melanogenesis via boronic acid-catechol interactions. A spectroscopic assay was developed to study the polymerization of l-dopa to synthetic melanin in the presence of para-substituted aryl boronic acids. The best inhibition was observed for ...

C(2)-Symmetrical chiral macrocycles containing two sucrose units were prepared by an amino acid templated macrocyclization reaction between appropriate sucrose-based linear precursors and ethylenediamine.

Annulation of ynamides with arylboronic acids or esters containing an electrophilic functional group at the ortho-position proceeds under the action of rhodium catalysis to generate 2-amidoindenols or 2-amidoindenes, usually with good regioselectivity.

A palladium-catalyzed diacetoxylation of alkenes in the presence of peracetic acid and acetic anhydride was developed to produce diacetates efficiently and diastereoselectively. Due to its mild conditions, this method was suitable for a broad range of substrates encompassing conjugated and nonconjugated olefins.

A convenient and regioselective silver(I)-mediated electrophilic iodination and bromination reaction of arylboronic acids has been developed. The boronic acid does not require protection prior to the reaction, which can be performed on a multigram scale with moderate to excellent yields. A mild, simple, and effective method is disclosed to provide ...

In(I)OTf has been uncovered as an effective Lewis acid catalyst for unprecedented nucleophilic substitution of acetals or ketals with allylboronates. A transmetalative S(N)1 mechanism is proposed in which a single In(I) center acts as a dual catalyst to activate both reagents sequentially. Contrary to the classic gamma-selectivity of allylsilanes (Hosomi-Sakurai ...

Lewis acid catalyzed cycloaddition of methylenecyclopropanes (MCPs) with o-quinonemethide analogues, derived from the corresponding salicylaldehydes and CH(OEt)(3), produces the corresponding cycloadducts 3 in moderate to high yields at room temperature (20 degrees C). Moreover, the compounds 3 can be transformed to the indene derivatives 5 at high temperature. Plausible mechanisms ...

A novel regioselective rhodium(I)-catalyzed hydroarylation of unactivated alkenes with arylboronic acids is described. The catalytic system employs [Rh(COD)OH](2) and BINAP to effect the addition of various arylboronic acids to protected allylic amines. The regioselectivity was found to be highly dependent on the protecting group, favoring the linear addition product with ...

The use of natural amino acids as chiral ligands on a triethylbenzene scaffold for the binding and enantiodifferentiation of carbohydrates has resulted in moderate affinity and selectivity values for glucose. Selective 1D TOCSY experiments revealed this as a powerful titration technology surpassing the severe overlapping of receptor and carbohydrate signals ...

An efficient and facile gold-catalyzed three-component tandem process for the assembly of two types of highly functionalized butenolides has been developed. In this reaction system, more than four chemical bonds are formed by a single gold catalyst. The present tandem protocol includes a direct coupling of alkynes, amines, and glyoxylic ...

Amino acids are attractive sources of chirality in stoichiometric or catalytic transition metal/organic chemistry. In spite of easy availability and other advantages, the application of these ligands is hindered by several problems. Now, at the dawn of emerging D-amino acid biochemistry, efforts in this direction are becoming increasingly important. The ...

The isomerization of o-xylene, a prototypical example of shape-selective catalysis by zeolites, was investigated on hierarchical porous ZSM-5. Extensive intracrystalline mesoporosity in ZSM-5 was introduced by controlled silicon leaching with NaOH. In addition to the development of secondary porosity, the treatment also induced substantial aluminum redistribution, increasing the density of ...

A mechanism for creating amino acid enantiomerism that always selects the same large-scale chirality is identified, and subsequent chemical replication and galactic mixing that would populate the Galaxy with the predominant species is described. This involves (1) the spin of the 14N in the amino acids, or in precursor molecules ...

Infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed CO has been used to characterize the effect of adsorbed methanol on the Lewis acidity of 4 nm rutile TiO(2) nanoparticles. Measurements of CO absorbance and vibrational frequency have revealed that CO adsorbs primarily at one class of Lewis acid sites on clean TiO(2) particles, where ...

The growing awareness of the importance of chirality in conjunction with biological activity has led to an increasing demand for efficient methods for the industrial synthesis of enantiomerically pure compounds. Polyhydroxyalkanotes (PHAs) are a family of polyesters consisting of over 140 chiral R-hydroxycarboxylic acids (R-HAs), representing a promising source for ...

Skipped polyenes (that is, 1,4-dienes and higher homologues) are stereodefined components of a vast array of biologically important natural products, including polyunsaturated fatty acids. Although widespread in nature, these architectures are generally considered to represent significant barriers to efficient chemical synthesis. Partial reduction of skipped poly-ynes provides a pathway to ...

Ketones and acyl silanes were reduced to the corresponding alcohols by a simple procedure employing anti-1,3-diol and a catalytic amount (5 mol %) of 2,4-dinitrobenzenesulfonic acid in benzene at reflux. Asymmetric induction reached up to >99% ee when a chiral pentane-2,4-diol of 97% ee was used.

Substitution of the fluoro or methoxy group in unprotected 2-fluoro- and 2-methoxybenzoic acids to afford N-aryl and N-alkyl anthranilic acids occurs upon reaction with lithioamides under mild conditions in the absence of a metal catalyst.

A simple copper-catalyzed direct amination of ortho-functionalized haloarenes (2-halobenzoic acid, 2-halobenzamide, and N-(2-bromophenyl)acetamide derivatives) has been developed with use of NaN(3) as the amino source in ethanol, and the corresponding ortho-functionalized aromatic amines were synthesized in good to excellent yields. The protocol undergoes one-pot Ullmann-type coupling of ortho-functionalized haloarenes with ...

A clean and highly efficient enantioselective addition of alpha-isocyanoacetamides to aliphatic aldehydes catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acid in the presence of MS 5 A in toluene at -40 degrees C was developed. Excellent yields (85-98%) and good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee) were achieved.

We have developed a regiospecific and highly stereoselective strategy for constructing the five-/six-membered monocyclic and bicyclic nitrogen heterocycle skeletons using PhSe group transfer radical cyclization of alpha-phenylseleno amido esters promoted by a Lewis acid (e.g., Yb(OTf)(3)) under UV irradiation. We obtained 5-/6-exo-trig mode cyclization products for the N-allyl/homoallyl substrates, whereas ...

A non-intermetallic PtPb/C catalyst of hollow structure is synthesized through a simple reduction method, and exhibits an activity as high as 3.6 times that of commercial Pd black and a much higher stability for electrooxidation of formic acid.

A highly efficient and mild palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-coupling of aryl boronic acids and alkynyl carboxylic acids for the synthesis of unsymmetrical substituted alkynes is described for the first time.