Lars Andernach

Iodocyclization of o-alkynylbenzamides revisited: formation of isobenzofuran-1(3H)-imines and 1H-isochromen-1-imines instead of lactams.

The iodocyclization of o-alkynylbenzamides with various electrophiles has been reported to yield five- or six-membered lactams by nucleophilic attack of the amide nitrogen onto the triple bond. While the formation of an isobenzofuran-1(3H)-imine with two bulky substituents under Larock conditions was initially attributed to steric hindrance, we found out that cyclization via the amide oxygen is the rule rather than the exception. Thus, the structures of the products reported in the literature need to be revised.

Total Synthesis of (−)-Hymenosetin

The 3-decalinoyltetramic acid (-)-hymenosetin and its N-methyl analogue were prepared in 11 and 8 steps, respectively, from (+)-citronellal using an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction as the key step. This method represents the first example for the synthesis of a 3-decalinoyltetramic acid with a free NH moiety. The stereochemistry of the title compound, an unnatural diastereomer, and of a decalin building block was studied in detail using circular dichroism spectroscopy in the IR and UV/VIS freqeuncy range. This allowed to determine the absolute configuration of the natural product and to plan the synthetic route.

Chromatographically separable rotamers of an unhindered amide

Summary Surprisingly stable formamide rotamers were encountered in the tetrahydroisoquinoline and morphinan series of alkaloids. We investigated the hindered rotation around the amide bond by dynamic high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and kinetic measurements of the interconversion of the rotamers which can readily be separated by HPLC as well as TLC. The experimental results of the different methods were compared to each other as well as to results obtained by DFT calculations.

Separation, isolation and stereochemical assignment of imazalil enantiomers and their quantitation in an in vitro toxicity test.

A simple method for the separation of the enantiomers of the fungicide imazalil was developed. Racemic imazalil was separated into its enantiomers with an enantiomeric purity of 99% using HPLC-UV with an enantioselective column (permethylated cyclodextrin) operated in reversed phase mode (water with 0.2% trimethylamine and 0.08% acetic acid and methanol). The absolute configuration of the separated enantiomers was assigned and unequivocally confirmed by optical rotation as well as by vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) combined with ab-initio calculations. The same enantioselective column was also used to develop an HPLC-MS/MS method for the quantification of imazalil enantiomers. The HPLC-MS/MS method reached limits of quantification (LOQs) of 0.025mg/mL with 5μL injections. This method was used to verify imazalil concentrations and enantiomeric fractions in samples from an in vitro test on effects on human steroidogenesis (H295R steroidogenesis assay). The quantification verified the stability of the enantiomers of imazalil during the in vitro tests.

Absolute configuration of the synthetic cannabinoid MDMB-CHMICA with its chemical characteristics in illegal products

A seized sample of the synthetic cannabinoid MDMB-CHMICA was studied by means of vibrational and electronic circular dichroism spectroscopy and found to have (S)-configuration by comparison of the experimental spectra with density functional theory calculations. We were able to additionally confirm the absolute configuration was additionally confirmed using X-ray crystallography. Furthermore, the title compound was extracted from five commercially available “Spice-like” herbal mixtures. The extracts were all found to have the same absolute configuration as the seized sample and all analyzed samples were found to be of very high optical purity as judged by chiral high-performance liquid chromatography.

Phytotoxic dioxolanones are potential virulence factors in the infection process of Guignardia bidwellii

Phytotoxic dioxolanones from Guignardia bidwellii can be described as potential virulence factors which cause the formation of lesions upon an infection by G. bidwellii. The toxin guignardic acid was found in planta of G. bidwellii-infected Vitis vinifera leaves, whereas no phytotoxic dioxolanones were detected in uninfected leaf material. Secondary metabolism analyses of further phytopathogenic fungi from the genus Guignardia led to the observation that all species investigated can produce the phytotoxins known from G. bidwellii. In addition to these studies, it was demonstrated that phenguignardic acid is biosynthetically derived from two molecules of phenylalanine and that phenylalanine is a key precursor in the biosynthesis of the two other phytotoxins – alaguignardic acid and guignardic acid.