Susheel J. Nara

Lewis acidic ionic liquids for the synthesis of electrophilic alkenes via the Knoevenagel condensation

1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloroaluminate, [bmim]Cl·AlCl3, N=0.67 and 1-butylpyridinium chloroaluminate, [bpy]Cl·AlCl3, N=0.67 ionic liquids were found to work well as the Lewis acid catalyst and solvent in the Knoevenagel condensations of benzaldehyde and substituted benzaldehydes with diethyl malonate to give benzylidene malonates. The benzylidene malonates subsequently underwent Michael additions with diethyl malonate. The extent of Michael product formed during the reaction was found to vary with the Lewis acidity and the molar proportion of ionic liquid. The influence of Lewis acidity of the ionic liquid on the Knoevenagel and Michael products is demonstrated. In the case of 2-hydroxyarylaldehydes, the reactions led to the formation of 3-ethoxycarbonyl coumarins under ambient conditions.

Lipase-catalysed transesterification in ionic liquids and organic solvents: a comparative study

Abstract The lipase-catalysed transesterifications of 2-hydroxymethyl-1,4-benzodioxane in two different ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [bmim]PF 6 and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, [bmim]BF 4 and different organic solvents was studied. The hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties of ionic liquids and organic solvents do influence the lipase activity as illustrated from the results. The influence of the ionic liquid as an additive in an organic solvent on this reaction has been demonstrated. The enzymes in ionic liquids in combination can be recycled for several runs without substantial diminution in the lipase activity.

Lipase-catalysed polyester synthesis in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ionic liquid

1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ionic liquid was employed as a reaction medium for lipase-catalysed aliphatic polyester synthesis. Lipase PS-C exhibited excellent catalysis in polycondensation of diethyl octane-1,8-dicarboxylate and 1,4-butanediol at room temperature and at 60°C. A relatively high molecular weight polymer was obtained at 60°C.

Hock Cleavage of Cholesterol 5α-Hydroperoxide: An Ozone-Free Pathway to the Cholesterol Ozonolysis Products Identified in Arterial Plaque and Brain Tissue

Cholesterol 5alpha-hydroperoxide, the major product of 1O2-oxidation of cholesterol, readily undergoes acid-catalyzed (Hock) cleavage of the C5-C6 bond to yield the 5,6-secosterol ketoaldehyde and the product of its intramolecular aldolization. These cholesterol oxidation products have long been thought to arise solely from ozonolysis of cholesterol, prompting the recent suggestion that ozone is produced in humans following their identification in arterial and brain tissue extracts.

A Simple Cu-Catalyzed Coupling Approach to Substituted 3-Pyridinol and 5-Pyrimidinol Antioxidants

A convenient approach to 3-pyridinols and 5-pyrimidinols via a two-step Cu-catalyzed benzyloxylation/catalytic hydrogenation sequence is presented. The corresponding 3-pyridinamines and 5-pyrimidinamines can be prepared in an analogous sequence utilizing benzylamine in lieu of benzyl alcohol. The radical-scavenging ability of these derivatives are preliminarily explored and reveal that the increased acidities of the pyridinols and pyrimidinols render them susceptible to more significant kinetic solvent effects when compared to phenols.

Pyridine and pyrimidine analogs of acetaminophen as inhibitors of lipid peroxidation and cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase catalysis.

Herein we report an investigation of the efficacy of pyridine and pyrimidine analogs of acetaminophen (ApAP) as peroxyl radical-trapping antioxidants and inhibitors of enzyme-catalyzed lipid peroxidation by cyclooxygenases (COX) and lipoxygenases (LOX). In inhibited autoxidations we find that ApAP, the common analgesic and antipyretic agent, is a very good antioxidant with a rate constant for reaction with peroxyl radicals (k(inh) = 5 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1)) that is higher than many widely-used phenolic antioxidants, such as the ubiquitous butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). This reactivity is reduced substantially upon incorporation of nitrogen into the phenolic ring, owing to an increase in the O-H bond dissociation enthalpy of pyridinols and pyrimidinols with respect to phenols. Incorporation of nitrogen into the phenolic ring of ApAP was also found to decrease its efficacy as an inhibitor of prostaglandin biosynthesis by ovine COX-1 (oCOX-1). This is explained on the basis of an increase in its oxidation potential and its reduced reactivity as a reducing co-substrate of the peroxidase protoporphyrin. In contrast, the efficacy of ApAP as an inhibitor of lipid hydroperoxide biosynthesis by soybean LOX-1 (sLOX-1) increased upon incorporation of nitrogen into the ring, suggesting a different mechanism of inhibition dependent on the acidity of the phenolic O-H which may involve chelation of the catalytic non-heme iron atom. The greater stability of the 3-pyridinols and 5-pyrimidinols to air oxidation as compared to phenols allowed us to evaluate some electron-rich pyridinols and pyrimidinols as inhibitors of oCOX-1 and sLOX-1. While the pyridinols had the best combination of activities as antioxidants and inhibitors of oCOX-1 and sLOX-1, they were found to be more toxic than ApAP in preliminary assays in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell culture. The pyrimidinols, however, were up to 17-fold more reactive to peroxyl radicals and up to 25-fold better inhibitors of prostaglandin biosynthesis than ApAP, with similar cytotoxicities to HepG2 cells at high levels of exposure.

3-Pyridinols and 5-pyrimidinols: Tailor-made for use in synergistic radical-trapping co-antioxidant systems

Summary The incorporation of nitrogen atoms into the aromatic ring of phenolic compounds has enabled the development of some of the most potent radical-trapping antioxidants ever reported. These compounds, 3-pyridinols and 5-pyrimidinols, have stronger O–H bonds than equivalently substituted phenols, but possess similar reactivities toward autoxidation chain-carrying peroxyl radicals. These attributes suggest that 3-pyridinols and 5-pyrimidinols will be particularly effectiveco-antioxidants when used in combination with more common, but less reactive, phenolic antioxidants such as 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (BHT), which we demonstrate herein. The antioxidants function in a synergistic manner to inhibit autoxidation; taking advantage of the higher reactivity of the 3-pyridinols/5-pyrimidinols to trap peroxyl radicals and using the less reactive phenols to regenerate them from their corresponding aryloxyl radicals. The present investigations were carried out in chlorobenzene and acetonitrile in order to provide some insight into the medium dependence of the synergism and the results, considered with some from our earlier work, prompt a revision of the H-bonding basicity value of acetonitrile to β2 H of 0.39. Overall, the thermodynamic and kinetic data presented here enable the design of co-antioxidant systems comprising lower loadings of the more expensive 3-pyridinol/5-pyrimidinol antioxidants and higher loadings of the less expensive phenolic antioxidants, but which are equally efficacious as the 3-pyridinol/5-pyrimidinol antioxidants alone at higher loadings.

Tyrosine analogues for probing proton-coupled electron transfer processes in peptides and proteins.

A series of amino acids analogous to tyrosine, but differing in the physicochemical properties of the aryl alcohol side chain, have been prepared and characterized. These compounds are expected to be useful in understanding the relationships between structure, thermodynamics, and kinetics in long-range proton-coupled electron transfer processes in peptides and proteins. Systematic changes in the acidity, redox potential, and O-H bond strength of the tyrosine side chain could be induced upon substituting the phenol for pyridinol and pyrimidinol moieties. Further modulation was possible by introducing methyl and t-butyl substitution in the position ortho to the phenolic hydroxyl. The unnatural amino acids were prepared by Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling of the corresponding halogenated aryl alcohol protected as their benzyl ethers with an organozinc reagent derived from N-Boc L-serine carboxymethyl ester. Subsequent debenzylation by catalytic hydrogenation yielded the tyrosine analogues in good yield. Spectrophotometric titrations revealed a decrease in tyrosine pK(a) of ca. 1.5 log units per included nitrogen atom, along with a corresponding increase in the oxidation (peak) potentials of ca. 200 mV, respectively. All told, the six novel amino acids described here have phenol-like side chains with pK(a)s that span a range of 7.0 to greater than 10, and an oxidation (peak) potential range of greater than 600 mV at and around physiological pH. Radical equilibration EPR experiments were carried out to reveal that the O-H bond strengths increase systematically upon nitrogen incorporation (by ca. 0.5-1.0 kcal/mol), and radical stability and persistence increase systematically upon introduction of alkyl substitution in the ortho positions. The EPR spectra of the aryloxyl radicals derived from tyrosine and each of the analogues could be determined at room temperature, and each featured distinct spectral properties. The uniqueness of their spectra will be helpful in discerning one type of aryloxyl in the presence of other possible aryloxyl radicals in peptides and proteins with multiple tyrosine residues between which electrons and protons can be transferred.

TRANSPROTECTION OF SILYL ETHERS OF NUCLEOSIDES IN FeCl3 BASED IONIC LIQUIDS

Ionic liquid mediated deprotection of tert-butyldimethyl silyl (TBDMS) ethers derived from various primary and secondary alcohols have been studied and the reaction conditions optimized. Deprotection of the silyl ethers in FeCl3 based ionic liquids in presence of acetic anhydride yielded the acetate esters of the corresponding alcohols in good yields. The transprotection methodology was extended to the silyl ethers of nucleosides to yield the corresponding acetylated products.

Synthesis of Isoxazole Conjugates of 1,4-Benzodioxane Moiety via Intermolecular 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition

Abstract 1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition was utilized as a tool to conjugate the 1,4-benzodioxane moiety with several biologically active compounds such as steroid, sugar, and other aromatic scaffolds via isoxazole or triazole bridge. The propynyl ether of 2-hydroxymethyl-1,4-benzodioxane underwent 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions smoothly with different in situ generated nitrile oxides in good yields. The triazole conjugate of 1,4-benzodioxane was synthesized via click chemistry.