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Enantiomerically pure THPPs are useful pharmacological agents in relevant therapeutic areas such as tuberculosis, osteoporosis and hepatitis C. Typically resolved by preparative chiral HPLC, in this work the catalytic approach – via hydrolase-catalyzed kinetic resolution – has been demonstrated for the first time. After biocatalytic successful proof-of-concept, future opportunities for protein engineering and process set-up appear.

Nano conjugated thienylethenyl and thienylethynyl compounds with controlled structure and dimensions have been efficiently prepared, by heterocoupling reaction between 1,4-(thienylethynyl)phenylacetylene (or thienylethenyl)phenylacetylene and 2- or 2,5-dihalothiophene. Conjugated 1,4-di(2-thienylethynylphenyl)- (or 2-thienylethenylphenyl)-1,3-butadiyne were obtained by the homocoupling of the terminal acetylenes in excellent yield. The end-capped (N,N-dimethylaminophenyl)- and [3,5-di(trimethylsilylethynyl)-1-ethynyl]-2,5-di(phenylethynyl)nthiophene were obtained by the heterocoupling between the corresponding terminal acetylene and 2,5-di(iodo)thiophene, catalyzed by the bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium and cuprous iodide system in excellent yield.

End-capped (N,N-dimethylaminophenyl) and 2′-thienylethynyl 2,5-thiophene oligomer structures were synthesized by heterocoupling between the terminal acetylenes such as: p-(N,N-dimethylaminophenyl)ethyne (3) [or 1-(p-(N,N-dimethylaminophenyl)-2-p-(ethynylphenyl)ethyne, 4]; p-(β-ethenyl-2′-thienyl)phenylethyne (E-9) [or p-(β-ethynyl-2′-thienyl)phenylethyne, 11], and 2,5-diiodothiophene, catalyzed by the Cl2Pd(PPh3)2/CuI system, in good to excellent yields. The 2,5-di[(3′,5′-di(trimethylsilylethynyl)phenyl]x-1-ethynyl]thiophene oligomers were prepared by heterocoupling between 3′,5′-di[(trimethylsilylethynyl)phenyl]x-1-ethyne (n = 0–2) terminal acetylenes and 2,5-diiodothiophene, in excellent yields. The terminal acetylenes were efficiently prepared by a specific protection-deprotection methodology. All the ethynylphenyl compounds obtained show fluorescence radiation emission, with a bathochromic shift of the wavelength that increases with the chain conjugation.