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The synthesis of various 1,8-diaza-4,5-dialkoxy-2,7-anthracene dicarboxylic acid derivatives and their incorporation into cyclic and helically folded aromatic oligoamides are described. Longer, noncyclic oligoamides composed of one or two diaza-anthracene units have adopted helical conformations that have existed preferentially as double helical dimers.

The preparation and characterization of a family of stable 2,2'-bipyrroles substituted at positions 5 and 5' with thienyl, phenyl, TMS-ethynyl, and vinyl groups is reported herein. The synthesis of these new bipyrroles comprises three steps: formation of the corresponding 5,5'-unsubstituted bipyrrole, bromination, and Stille or Suzuki coupling. The best results in the coupling are obtained using the Stille reaction under microwave irradiation. The new compounds have been fully characterized by UV-vis absorption, fluorescence, and IR spectroscopies and cyclic voltammetry. X-ray single-crystal analysis of four of the synthesized bipyrroles indicates a trans coplanar geometry of the pyrrole rings. Furthermore, the substituents at positions 5,5' remain coplanar to the central rings. This particular geometry extends the π-conjugation of the systems, which is in agreement with a red-shifting observed for the λmax of the substituted molecules compared to the unsubstituted bipyrrole. All of these new compounds display a moderate fluorescence. In contrast with unsubstituted bipyrroles, these bipyrroles are endowed with a high chemical and thermal stability and solubility in organic solvents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis and conformational analysis of aliphatic oligoureas containing multiple adjacent N-alkylated units derived from proline (i.e., Prou) are reported. The insertion of trisubstituted ureas in the main chain of N,N'-linked oligourea foldamers locally impairs the characteristic three centered-hydrogen bonding pattern associated with the formation of 2.5-helical structures. Three series of oligomers have been studied: one series in which the Prou repeat is flanked on both sides by canonical urea residues (e.g., oligomers 2-6), one series with canonical residues on either side of the Prou repeat (oligomers 12 and 23), and one series consisting exclusively of Prou residues (oligomers 25 and 26). Spectroscopic (NMR and electronic circular dichroism) and X-ray diffraction studies reveal that the 2.5-helix formed by oligomers of N,N'-disubstituted ureas is robust enough to accommodate short oligopyrrolidine segments (Prou)n (n < 7) that alone display no intrinsic folding propensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]