Miguel A. Maestro

Clinical utility of simultaneous quantitation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D by LC-MS/MS involving derivatization with DMEQ-TAD

CONTEXT The discovery of hypercalcemic diseases due to loss-of-function mutations in 25-hydroxyvitamin D-24-hydroxylase has placed a new demand for sensitive and precise assays for 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [24,25-(OH)2D]. OBJECTIVE We describe a novel liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry-based method involving derivatization with DMEQ-TAD {4-[2-(6,7-dimethoxy-4-methyl-3,4-dihydroquinoxalinyl)ethyl]-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione} to simultaneously assay multiple vitamin D metabolites including 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH-D) and 24,25-(OH)2D using 100 μL of serum with a 5-minute run time. DESIGN The assay uses a newly synthesized internal standard d6-24,25-(OH)2D3 enabling the quantitation of 24,25-(OH)2D3 as well as the determination of the ratio of 25-OH-D3 to 24,25-(OH)2D3, a physiologically useful parameter. SETTING We report data on more than 1000 normal and disease samples involving vitamin D deficiency or hypercalcemia in addition to studies involving knockout mouse models. RESULTS The assay showed good correlation with samples from quality assurance schemes for 25-OH-D (25-OH-D2 and 25-OH-D3) determination (-2% to -5% bias) and exhibited low inter- and intraassay coefficients of variation (4%-7%) and lower limits of quantitation of 0.25-0.45 nmol/L. In clinical studies, we found a strong correlation between serum levels of 25-OH-D3 and 24,25-(OH)2D3 (r(2) = 0.80) in subjects over a broad range of 25-OH-D3 values and a marked lack of production of 24,25-(OH)2D3 below 25 nmol/L of 25-OH-D. The ratio of 25-OH-D3 to 24,25-(OH)2D3, which remained less than 25 in vitamin D-sufficient subjects (serum 25-OH-D < 50 nmol/L) but was greatly elevated (80-100) in patients with idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia. CONCLUSIONS The new method showed good utility in clinical settings involving vitamin D deficiency; supplementation with vitamin D and idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia, as well as in animal models with ablation of selected cytochrome P450-containing enzymes involved in vitamin D metabolism.

Highly Enantioselective Conjugate Additions of Aldehydes to Vinyl Sulfones

Joined together, organocatalysts aldehydes and sulfones: A diaryl prolinol silyl ether was found to catalyse efficiently and enantioselectively the conjugate addition of aldehydes to vinyl sulfones (see scheme). The ample synthetic utility of the resulting adducts is illustrated.

Gold-Catalyzed Intramolecular Hydroamination of o-Alkynylbenzyl Carbamates: A Route to Chiral Fluorinated Isoindoline and Isoquinoline Derivatives

Enantiomerically pure fluorinated isoindoline and dihydroisoquinoline scaffolds have been prepared through a diastereoselective addition of fluorinated nucleophiles to Ellmans N-(tert-butanesulfinyl)imines followed by a sequence of Sonogashira cross-coupling/gold(I)-catalyzed cycloisomerization of the corresponding carbamate. A more favored 5-exo-dig mechanism was observed mainly due to an electronic effect of the fluorinated group.

β-Ferrocenyl-β-amino alcohols: a new class of central chiral ferrocene derivatives

Abstract An efficient procedure for the enantioselective synthesis of β-ferrocenyl-β-amino alcohols, a new class of central chiral ferrocene derivatives suitable for the elaboration of auxiliaries and ligands for asymmetric synthesis, is described. Key steps of the method are the catalytic asymmetric dihydroxylation of 1-ferrocenyl alkenes and the regio- and stereoselective azide substitution of the hydroxyl group adjacent to the ferrocene moiety. The stereochemistry of the substitution step has been established by X-ray diffraction analysis of a cyclic derivative. The first catalytic enantioselective synthesis of a β-ferrocenyl-β-amino acid derivative is also disclosed.

Intramolecular Michael Reaction of tert-Butylsulfinyl Ketimines: Asymmetric Synthesis of 3-Substituted Indanones

Aromatic tert-butylsulfinyl ketimines bearing a suitable Michael acceptor at the ortho position readily undergo an intramolecular conjugate addition achieving indanone derivatives in good yields and complete diastereoselectivity.

Chiral S,S-donor ligands in palladium-catalysed allylic alkylation

Abstract Chiral dithioether ligands have been tested in the model Pd-catalysed allylic alkylation reaction of (±)-3-acetoxy-1,3-diphenyl-1-propene with dimethyl malonate, giving high enantioselectivity (up to 81% e.e.) for the first time in this type of system. Pd(II)-allylic intermediates, [Pd(η3-1,3-Ph2-C3H3)(dithioether)]PF6 were prepared and characterised both in solution by NMR spectroscopy and solid state. The X-ray structure for [Pd(η3-1,3-Ph2-C3H3)(L)]PF6 (L=(R,R)-7,8-O-isopropylidene-1,5-dithia-cyclononane) was determined.

A 4‐Hydroxypyrrolidine‐Catalyzed Mannich Reaction of Aldehydes: Control of anti‐Selectivity by Hydrogen Bonding Assisted by Brønsted Acids

An anti-selective Mannich reaction of aldehydes with N-sulfonyl imines has been developed by using a 4-hydroxypyrrolidine in combination with an external Brønsted acid. The catalyst design is based on three elements: the alpha-substituent of the pyrrolidine, the 4-hydroxy group, and the Brønsted acid, the combination of which is essential for high chemical and stereochemical efficiency. The reaction works with aromatic aldehyde-derived imines, which have rarely been employed in previously reported enamine-based anti-Mannich reactions. Additionally, both N-tosyl and N-nosyl imines can be successfully used and the Mannich adducts can be easily reduced or oxidized, and after N-deprotection the corresponding beta-amino acids and beta-amino alcohols can be obtained with good yields. The results also show that this ternary catalytic system may be practical in other enamine-based reactions.

First end-to-end thiocyanato chain containing 5-coordinate copper(II) ions

The synthesis and crystalstructure of a new ½fCuðLÞðNCSÞ2gncomplex where L ¼ð C8H8N4O Þ¼ 2-methylamino-5-pyridin-2- yl-1,3,4-oxadiazole are reported. The structure is made up of 1D-chains containing monomeric copper(II) units linked by thiocy- anato groups which act as end-to-end bridges. The metalions show a 5-coordinate environment with a stereochemistry cl ose to SP where the basal plane positions are occupied by the N-donor atoms of the bidentate L ligand, a bridging and a terminal thiocyanato group. The apical site is occupied by an S-donor atom from the neighbor molecule. The shortest copper ��� copper distances are 5.599(6) � A A paramagnetic behavior is observed in this compound. 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Reaction between hydrazines and chiral α-acetylenic ketones: synthesis of novel enantiomerically pure pyrazolyl-β-amino alcohols

Abstract A simple and efficient methodology toward the stereoselective synthesis of novel, enantiomerically pure, pyrazolyl-β-amino alcohols is presented. Thus, when hydrazines 4a,b were allowed to react at 0°C with chiral α-acetylenic ketones of type 3, pyrazolyl oxazolidine derivatives 5a–d were formed with total regioselectivity in 92–97% yield. Subsequent oxazolidine ring opening by means of TFA, and re-protection of the amino group as the N-Boc derivatives, afforded enantiopure amino alcohols 7a–d.

Heck-mediated synthesis and photochemically induced cyclization of [2-(2-styrylphenyl)ethyl]carbamic acid ethyl esters and 2-styryl-benzoic acid methyl esters: total synthesis of naphtho[2,1f]isoquinolines (2-azachrysenes) ☆

Abstract We describe two new closely related total syntheses of naphtho[2,1-f]isoquinolines. The first synthesis consists of a Heck coupling reaction between trifluoromethanesulfonic acid 2-(2-ethoxycarbonylaminoethyl)phenyl esters and styrenes to give [2-(2-styrylphenyl)ethyl]carbamic acid ethyl esters. These compounds cyclize to give (2-phenanthren-1-yl-ethyl)carbamic acid ethyl esters, from which 2-azachrysenes can be obtained in a three-step sequence. The second synthesis includes a new total synthesis of 2-styrylbenzoic acid methyl esters by Heck coupling of methyl o-iodobenzoates to styrenes, followed by the transformation of the resulting benzoic acid derivatives into phenanthrene-1-carboxylic acid methyl esters and then into the target compounds by a six-step sequence including a Bischler–Napieralski cyclization.