Paul R. Rablen

Spontaneous transfer of chirality in an atropisomerically enriched two-axis system

One of the most well-recognized stereogenic elements in a chiral molecule is an sp3-hybridized carbon atom that is connected to four different substituents. Axes of chirality can also exist about bonds with hindered barriers of rotation; molecules containing such axes are known as atropisomers. Understanding the dynamics of these systems can be useful, for example, in the design of single-atropisomer drugs or molecular switches and motors. For molecules that exhibit a single axis of chirality, rotation about that axis leads to racemization as the system reaches equilibrium. Here we report a two-axis system for which an enantioselective reaction produces four stereoisomers (two enantiomeric pairs): following a catalytic asymmetric transformation, we observe a kinetically controlled product distribution that is perturbed from the system’s equilibrium position. As the system undergoes isomerization, one of the diastereomeric pairs drifts spontaneously to a higher enantiomeric ratio. In a compensatory manner, the enantiomeric ratio of the other diastereomeric pair decreases. These observations are made for a class of unsymmetrical amides that exhibits two asymmetric axes—one axis is defined through a benzamide substructure, and the other axis is associated with differentially N,N-disubstituted amides. The stereodynamics of these substrates provides an opportunity to observe a curious interplay of kinetics and thermodynamics intrinsic to a system of stereoisomers that is constrained to a situation of partial equilibrium.

Hydroheteroarylation of Unactivated Alkenes Using N-Methoxyheteroarenium Salts

We report the first reductive coupling of unactivated alkenes with N-methoxy pyridazinium, imidazolium, quinolinium, and isoquinolinium salts under hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) conditions, and an expanded scope for the coupling of alkenes with N-methoxy pyridinium salts. N-Methoxy pyridazinium, imidazolium, quinolinium, and isoquinolinium salts are accessible in 1-2 steps from the commercial arenes or arene N-oxides (25-99%). N-Methoxy imidazolium salts are accessible in three steps from commercial amines (50-85%). In total 36 discrete methoxyheteroarenium salts bearing electron-donating, electron-withdrawing, alkyl, aryl, halogen, and haloalkyl substituents were prepared (several in multigram quantities) and coupled with 38 different alkenes. The transformations proceed under neutral conditions at ambient temperature, provide monoalkylation products exclusively, and form a single alkene addition regioisomer. Preparatively useful and complementary site selectivities in the addition of secondary and tertiary radicals to pyidinium salts are documented: harder secondary radicals favor C-2 addition (2->10:1), while softer tertiary radicals favor bond formation to C-4 (4.7->29:1). A diene possessing a 1,2-disubstituted and 2,2-disubstituted alkene undergoes hydropyridylation at the latter exclusively (61%) suggesting useful site selectivities can be obtained in polyene substrates. The methoxypyridinium salts can also be employed in dehydrogenative arylation, borono-Minisci, and tandem arylation processes. Mechanistic studies support the involvement of a radical process.

N-Methylimidazole Promotes the Reaction of Homophthalic Anhydride with Imines

The addition of N-methylimidazole (NMI) to the reaction of homophthalic anhydride with imines such as pyridine-3-carboxaldehyde-N-trifluoroethylimine (9) reduces the amount of elimination byproduct and improves the yield of the formal cycloadduct, tetrahydroisoquinolonic carboxylate 10. Carboxanilides of such compounds are of interest as potential antimalarial agents. A mechanism that rationalizes the role of NMI is proposed, and a gram-scale procedure for the synthesis and resolution of 10 is also described.

How alkyl halide structure affects E2 and SN2 reaction barriers: E2 reactions are as sensitive as SN2 reactions.

High-level electronic structure calculations, including a continuum treatment of solvent, are employed to elucidate and quantify the effects of alkyl halide structure on the barriers of SN2 and E2 reactions. In cases where such comparisons are available, the results of these calculations show close agreement with solution experimental data. Structural factors investigated include α- and β-methylation, adjacency to unsaturated functionality (allyl, benzyl, propargyl, α to carbonyl), ring size, and α-halogenation and cyanation. While the influence of these factors on SN2 reactivity is mostly well-known, the present study attempts to provide a broad comparison of both SN2 and E2 reactivity across many cases using a single methodology, so as to quantify relative reactivity trends. Despite the fact that most organic chemistry textbooks say far more about how structure affects SN2 reactions than about how it affects E2 reactions, the latter are just as sensitive to structural variation as are the former. This sensitivity of E2 reactions to structure is often underappreciated.

Rotamer-Restricted Fluorogenicity Of The Bis-Arsenical ReAsH

Fluorogenic dyes such as FlAsH and ReAsH are used widely to localize, monitor, and characterize proteins and their assemblies in live cells. These bis-arsenical dyes can become fluorescent when bound to a protein containing four proximal Cys thiols-a tetracysteine (Cys4) motif. Yet the mechanism by which bis-arsenicals become fluorescent upon binding a Cys4 motif is unknown, and this nescience limits more widespread application of this tool. Here we probe the origins of ReAsH fluorogenicity using both computation and experiment. Our results support a model in which ReAsH fluorescence depends on the relative orientation of the aryl chromophore and the appended arsenic chelate: the fluorescence is rotamer-restricted. Our results do not support a model in which fluorogenicity arises from the relief of ring strain. The calculations identify those As-aryl rotamers that support fluorescence and those that do not and correlate well with prior experiments. The rotamer-restricted model we propose is supported further by biophysical studies: the excited-state fluorescence lifetime of a complex between ReAsH and a protein bearing a high-affinity Cys4 motif is longer than that of ReAsH-EDT2, and the fluorescence intensity of ReAsH-EDT2 increases in solvents of increasing viscosity. By providing a higher resolution view of the structural basis for fluorogenicity, these results provide a clear strategy for the design of more selective bis-arsenicals and better-optimized protein targets, with a concomitant improvement in the ability to characterize previously invisible protein conformational changes and assemblies in live cells.

Methoxymethane C–O Bond Strengths: Do Their Changes Result from Hyperconjugation or Polar Effects?

The methoxymethanes have been studied and compared with the fluoromethanes. The energies and atomic charges were calculated using MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ, and the group separation energies and bond dissociation enthalpies were calculated using CBS-QB3. The group separation energies are endothermic and the BDE increases with additional substitution as a result of the increase in charge at the central carbon. The greater charge leads to a stronger bond to the new substituent as well as to the original substituents. With the methoxymethanes, there is a linear relationship between the BDE and the atomic charge at C. The energies of the several methoxymethane conformers were calculated, and their energies usually increase with increasing values of the electronic spatial extent in accord with a proposal by Gillespie. The role of hyperconjugation in these cases is not settled.

Butadiene and Heterodienes Revisited

Surprising features in a recently published high-level calculation of the rotational profile of butadiene led us to compare butadiene with a set of 17 heterodienes. The rotational profiles for this large group of compounds varied widely, thereby possessing a high information content. These data were subjected to a Fourier analysis yielding 1- through 6-fold terms: the one-fold terms represent the change in steric energy on going from 180° to 0°, while the changes in the 2-fold terms correspond to the expected change in π-delocalization energy with structure; the 3-fold terms were significant and found to be linearly correlated to the average of the atomic charges of the atoms at the central single bond of the cis-forms, but their origins are still not clear; we propose a novel 1,4 π-interactions that may account for this phenomenon. The 4-fold terms were at times comparable in magnitude to the 3-fold terms but overall appeared to mainly modify the 3-fold terms slightly without introducing any qualitatively new features. The 5- and 6-fold terms were negligible.

How the Arrangement of Alkyl Substituents Affects the Stability of Delocalized Carbocations

G-4 calculations are used to explore which carbon atoms of methylated butadienes, methylated cyclopentadienes, and methylated benzenes are most readily protonated to yield delocalized allyl and pentadienyl cations. While it is not surprising that alkylation of the positions bearing formal positive charge stabilizes these cations, several other effects are less obvious. First, alkylation of positions in the delocalized cation that do not bear formal charge is beneficial, to an extent about a quarter to a third as great as at charged positions. Second, alkylation of the position receiving the proton disfavors protonation. Finally, at least in the acyclic systems, the more symmetrical substitution pattern that is 2° at both ends is moderately preferred to the less symmetrical pattern that is 3° at one end and 1° at the other. Taking all three of these factors into account, as well as substitution at the formally charged centers, models the stability of all 94 delocalized cations quite well.

Computational assessment of thioether isosteres

Replacement of the sulfur atom in biologically active diaryl and heteroaryl thioethers (Ar-S-Ar, HAr-S-Ar, and HAr-S-HAr) with any of several one-atom or two-atom linkers can be expected to reduce the susceptibility of the analogue to metabolic oxidation, a well-documented problem for thioethers intended for medicinal chemistry applications. Ab initio calculations indicate how well various proposed thioether isosteric groups, including some new and unusual ones, may perform structurally and electronically in replacing the bridging sulfur atom. Four of these are calculationally evaluated as proposed substructures in Axitinib analogues. The predicted binding behavior of the latter within two different previously crystallographically characterized protein-Axitinib binding sites (VEGFR2 kinase and ABL1 T315I gatekeeper mutant kinase), and an assessment of their suitability and anticipated shortcomings, are presented.

Amide Neighbouring Group Effects In Peptides: Phenylalanine As Relay Amino Acid In Long‐Distance Electron Transfer

In nature, proteins serve as media for long‐distance electron transfer (ET) to carry out redox reactions in distant compartments. This ET occurs either by a single‐step superexchange or through a multi‐step charge hopping process, which uses side chains of amino acids as stepping stones. In this study we demonstrate that Phe can act as a relay amino acid for long‐distance electron hole transfer through peptides. The considerably increased susceptibility of the aromatic ring to oxidation is caused by the lone pairs of neighbouring amide carbonyl groups, which stabilise the Phe radical cation. This neighbouring‐amide‐group effect helps improve understanding of the mechanism of extracellular electron transfer through conductive protein filaments (pili) of anaerobic bacteria during mineral respiration.