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We have synthesized a cyan fluorescent boron complex based on a tridentate imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine ligand. The boron complex was found to have potential applications as not only a chiroptical material but also a heavy-atom-free mitochondria-targeted photosensitizer for cancer treatment.

Longer cumulenes have come to draw considerable attention due to their unique properties and reactivities, leading to various hydrocarbons. In this manuscript, we describe the reaction of tetrakis(p-methoxyphenyl)[5]cumulene with iodine to afford poly-functionalized fulvenes via unexpected migration of a terminal aryl ring under ambient conditions. The obtained iodinated fulvenes were utilized in Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions affording penta- and fully-arylated fulvenes successfully.

We have synthesized and characterized an acceptor-π-donor-π-acceptor type pyridinium salt. The salt exhibited yellow emission with large Stokes shift in solution and was successfully excited by NIR...

We have synthesized a series of quaternized imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines in three steps from commercially available reagents. These compounds exhibit blue fluorescence emission at around 425 nm with good quantum yields. In addition, one specific compound was found to work as not only a two- and three-photon excitable mitochondria imaging agent, but also a therapeutic agent upon continuous irradiation conditions.

Two boron complexes of 1-(o-hydroxyphenyl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine, which were named as BOHPIP, have been synthesized. These complexes exhibited blue emission in solution with high quantum yields (ΦFL = up to 0.71). In addition, 1-(o-hydroxyphenyl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine-BPh2 complex showed the strong blue emission even in the solid state (ΦFL = 0.58).

We have synthesized a cyan fluorescent benzothiazole-pyridinium salt composite based on D-π-A architecture. This salt was found to work as not only a two- and three-photon excitable fluorophore but also a degradation agent against amyloid fibrils under LED irradiation conditions.

[Image: see text] N,N′-Dimethylated imidazo[1,5-a]pyridinium salt having good water solubility and exhibiting fluorescence emission was found to work as not only a bioimaging agent but also a therapeutic agent under UVA-LED irradiation conditions. Because the continuous UVA-LED irradiation to HeLa cells stained by the synthesized salt resulted in the cell death due to the mitochondrial damage, the salt has a potential application as photodynamic therapy agent against tumor cells.

Low-temperature radical polymerization of achiral N-allyl-N-tert-butylacrylamide (AltBAAm) was conducted in toluene in the presence of chiral tartrates, such as diethyl l -tartrate (L-EtTar) and di-n-butyl l -tartrate. The 1H NMR spectra of the polymers obtained indicated progress of cyclopolymerization at low temperatures such as −80 °C. Optical properties of the poly(AltBAAm)s examined by optical rotation and circular dichroism measurements indicated asymmetric induction in the cyclopolymerization of achiral AltBAAm. For example, addition of L-EtTar at −80 °C provided the polymer with specific rotation of −4.8°. The tert-butyl groups of poly(AltBAAm)s were removed by treatment with CF3SO3H, transforming into poly(N-allylacrylamide)s [poly(AlAAm)s]. Then, stereochemistry in the stereorepeating unit was investigated by comparing 1H NMR signals of the poly(AlAAm)s with those of model compounds, cis- and trans-3-ethyl-4-methyl-2-pyrrolidones. Taking the negative specific rotation values of the poly(AltBAAm)s obtained with L-tartrates into account, it was revealed that (3S,4S)-trans-unit was predominantly formed through the hydrogen-bond-assisted complex formation of AltBAAm with L-tartrates.

2-Propoxy-1-naphthamide possessing a chiral 2-methylpyrrolidine group exists as a mixture of four diastereomers owing to the rotation of the Ar (C O) and C( O) N bonds. The diastereomers existed in the ratio of 32:32:14:22 in CD3OD. When the MeOH solution of the mixture of diastereomers was irradiated with Pyrex filtered UV light (>290 nm) from a high-pressure mercury lamp, the ratio changed to 27:4:43:26. The diastereomeric ratio was reversibly controlled by irradiation and heat. The change was accurately reflected in the intensity of the CD spectra. Furthermore, the reversible axial chirality was transferred to the optical activity of asymmetric reaction products via the photochemical cycloaddition reaction with 9-cyanoanthracene.

We designed a new class of N-type ligands bearing an imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine moiety and synthesized seven imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine derivatives. The palladium-catalyzed Mizoroki–Heck reaction of aryl bromides and chlorides with alkenes using our imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine-PdCl2 system afforded the desired products in good-to-high yields with the low palladium loadings and short reaction times.

C2-Symmetric cyclic polyethers were conveniently provided by the photochemical dimerization of covalently-linked 2-chromonecarboxylic esters. Irradiation of polyethers possessing 2-chromonecarboxylate groups at both ends efficiently promoted intramolecular [2+2] cyclobutane formation leading to 14- to 23-membered cyclic polyethers in good chemical yields and quantum efficiencies. X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that the stereochemistry of the cyclobutane was the C2-symmetric structure.

We have demonstrated the Mizoroki–Heck reaction of aryl iodides with aryl allyl ethers using 1.5 mol% of imidazo[1, 5-a]pyridine–Pd catalytic system. Aryl cinnamyl ethers were obtained in moderate-to-high yield under mild reaction conditions.

We have designed and synthesized an iridium(III) complex of pincer type imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine ligand. The complex has a broad absorption band and shows the yellow emission in solution. When the complex was used as a photocatalyst in the visible-light-induced oxidative coupling reaction of benzylic amines, the corresponding imines were obtained in quantitative yields.

We found that N-(tert-butyl)-N-methylanilines 1 have C(aryl)–N(amine) bond axial chirality and succeeded the optical resolution of C–N bond atropisomers of amines 1 by a chiral palladium resolving agent and/or a chiral HPLC method. Finally, we demonstrated the ability of chiral amines 1 as a ligand in palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of allylic esters with malonates (up to 95% ee).

A new class of C2 chiral materials was easily prepared by the photodimerization reaction of (R)-N-phenethyl-2-chromonecarboxamide followed by recrystallization. Reduction of the photodimer gave the corresponding alcohol stereoselectively. Both C2 chiral materials worked effectively as ligands for enantioselective ethylation of arylaldehydes using diethylzinc.

The novel polysubstituted 1,1′-phenylene-bipyrrole compounds were synthesized by the double [3+2] cycloaddition-extrusion reactions of N,N′-phenylene-bimunchnones and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate in dry toluene at 80 °C for 24 h. Bimunchnones were prepared successfully by cyclodehydration reactions of N,N′-biacyl-N,N′-(1,4-phenylene)-bis(2-arylglycine) with N,N′-diisopropylcarbodiimide in dry toluene at 0–5 °C for 1.5 h. The structures of the products were characterized on the basis of spectral data.

Unprecedented absolute asymmetric synthesis was carried out using frozen chirality derived from chiral crystals of achiral coumarin-3-carboxamide and carbenoids. An enantioselective cycloaddition reaction with a sulfur ylide gave an optically active cyclopropane up to 97% ee. Furthermore, a cycloaddition reaction with dichlorocarbene gave dihydrofuran in 93% ee. Nucleophilic addition of ylide or carbene occurs from the side of the carbonyl oxygen atom to avoid steric hindrance of substituents on the nitrogen atom.

An asymmetric photoreaction by using chirality provided by dynamic chiral salt formation was demonstrated. Crystallization of racemic 2-quinolone-3-carboxamide and 2-quinolone-4-carboxamide with enantiopure L-dibenzoyltartaric acid led to deracemization and gave high diastereomeric excess values of the crystalline salts in almost quantitative yield. The axial chirality was retained for a long period of time after the salts were dissolved in cooled solvent. The frozen chirality derived from the chiral salts was effectively transferred to the products by using a typical [2+2] photocycloaddition reaction with alkenes.

This communication reports a significant breakthrough on the novel catalytic amide allylation to the acyclic α-ketoester systems, achieving satisfactorily high yields and extremely high levels of the asymmetric induction to allow for highly enantioselective synthesis of ester functionalised α-methylene-γ-butyrolactones.

This article is a full account of the work exploring the potential utility of catalytic enantioselective amide allylation of various isatins using indium-based chiral catalysts. A survey of various isatin substrates and NH-containing stannylated reagents revealed that the reaction has a remarkably wide scope to result in extremely high yields and enantioselectivities (up to >99 %, 99 % ee) of variously substituted homoallylic alcohols. Several mechanistic investigations demonstrated that the substrate-reagent hydrogen-bond interaction plays a critical role in the formation of the key transition states to result in enhanced catalytic reaction. The success of this approach allowed convenient access to chiral 2-oxindoles spiro-fused to the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone functionality and their halogenated derivatives in almost enantiopure forms, thus highlighting the general utility of this synthetic method to deliver a large variety of antineoplastic drug candidates and pharmaceutically meaningful compounds.

We report a new catalyst system, a morpholine–Pd(OAc)2 complex, for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of aryl tosylates or mesylates with arylboronic acids to give biaryl compounds. The morpholine–Pd(OAc)2 catalyst system is proposed to be a precursor of the catalytically active species in the coupling reaction. Aryl chlorides and aryl triflates can also be used in this coupling reaction. Altogether, 22 biaryl compounds were obtained using this catalyst system.

A remarkably effective method allowing an extremely high enantioselective synthesis of the spiro-fused 2-oxindole/α-methylene-γ-butyrolactones is described. The key strategy lies in the use of indium-catalyzed asymmetric amide allylation of N-methyl isatin with functionalized allylstannanes, which can lead to the antineoplastic spirocyclic lactones in almost enantiopure forms.

Redox enzymes play a central role in generating structural complexity during natural product biosynthesis. In the postassembly tailoring steps, redox cascades can transform nascent chemical scaffolds into structurally complex final products. Chaetoglobosin A (1) is biosynthesized by a hybrid polyketide synthase-nonribosomal peptide synthetase. It belongs to the chaetoglobosin family of natural products, comprising many analogs having different degrees of oxidation introduced during their biosynthesis. We report here the determination of the complete biosynthetic steps leading to the formation of 1 from prochaetoglobosin I (2). Each oxidation step was elucidated using Chaetomium globosum strains carrying various combinations of deletion of the three redox enzymes, one FAD-dependent monooxygenase, and two cytochrome P450 oxygenases, and in vivo biotransformation of intermediates by heterologous expression of the three genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Five analogs were identified in this study as intermediates formed during oxidization of 2 to 1 by those redox enzymes. Furthermore, a stereochemical course of each oxidation step was clearly revealed with the absolute configurations of five intermediates determined from X-ray crystal structure. This approach allowed us to quickly determine the biosynthetic intermediates and the enzymes responsible for their formation. Moreover, by addressing the redox enzymes, we were able to discover that promiscuity of the redox enzymes allowed the formation of a network of pathways that results in a combinatorial formation of multiple intermediate compounds during the formation of 1 from 2. Our approach should expedite elucidation of pathways for other natural products biosynthesized by many uncharacterized enzymes of this fungus.

The irradiation of methyl 2- and 3-chromonecarboxylate in the presence of various alkenes afforded cyclobutane type adducts, whose structures were established by X-ray structural analysis. Methyl 2-chromonecarboxylate showed higher photochemical reactivity than methyl 3-chromonecarboxylate, in which endo adducts were yielded as major products.

Copper-catalyzed C-C coupling reaction of aryl iodides with diethylmalonate in toluene at 90 °C gave arylated malonates using 5 mol% of CuI with hydrazone la as a ligand in good yields under an aerobic atmosphere. We also found Cul/hydrazone 1b in toluene to be an efficient catalytic system for C-O coupling reactions of aryl bromides with phenols to give aryl ethers in good yields at 110 °C under an aerobic atmosphere.

The allylic alkylation of malonates with allylic esters is performed in high yields and with very high enantiomeric excess.

A new class of C2 chiral materials was easily prepared by the photodimerization reaction of (R)-N-phenethyl-2-chromonecarboxamide followed by recrystallization. Reduction of the photodimer gave the corresponding alcohol stereoselectively. Both C2 chiral materials worked effectively as ligands for enantioselective ethylation of arylaldehydes using diethylzinc.

Understanding enzymatic Diels-Alder (DA) reactions that can form complex natural product scaffolds is of considerable interest. Sch 210972 1, a potential anti-HIV fungal natural product, contains a decalin core that is proposed to form through a DA reaction. We identified the gene cluster responsible for the biosynthesis of 1 and heterologously reconstituted the biosynthetic pathway in Aspergillus nidulans to characterize the enzymes involved. Most notably, deletion of cghA resulted in a loss of stereoselective decalin core formation, yielding both an endo (1) and a diastereomeric exo adduct of the proposed DA reaction. Complementation with cghA restored the sole formation of 1. Density functional theory computation of the proposed DA reaction provided a plausible explanation of the observed pattern of product formation. Based on our study, we propose that lipocalin-like CghA is responsible for the stereoselective intramolecular [4+2] cycloaddition that forms the decalin core of 1.

The novel polysubstituted 1,1′-phenylene-bipyrrole compounds were synthesized by the double [3+2] cycloaddition-extrusion reactions of N,N′-phenylene-bimunchnones and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate in dry toluene at 80 °C for 24 h. Bimunchnones were prepared successfully by cyclodehydration reactions of N,N′-biacyl-N,N′-(1,4-phenylene)-bis(2-arylglycine) with N,N′-diisopropylcarbodiimide in dry toluene at 0–5 °C for 1.5 h. The structures of the products were characterized on the basis of spectral data.

Irradiation of chromone-carboxamides bearing a chiral auxiliary, e.g. (I), results in diastereoselective formation of a C2-chiral anti-HH dimer scaffold.

The oxidation of 9-p-tolylcarbazole by iron(III) perchlorate in acetonitrile produces oligo(9,9′-di-p-tolyl-3,3′-bicarbazyl), partially doped with perchlorate. To the chloroform solution of the oli...

One of six 2-alkylamino-4,6-dimethylnicotinamides afforded a conglomerate, and subsequent X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed that the compound crystallized in the monoclinic system, the space...

This article is a full account of the work exploring the potential utility of catalytic enantioselective amide allylation of various isatins using indium-based chiral catalysts. A survey of various isatin substrates and NH-containing stannylated reagents revealed that the reaction has a remarkably wide scope to result in extremely high yields and enantioselectivities (up to >99 %, 99 % ee) of variously substituted homoallylic alcohols. Several mechanistic investigations demonstrated that the substrate-reagent hydrogen-bond interaction plays a critical role in the formation of the key transition states to result in enhanced catalytic reaction. The success of this approach allowed convenient access to chiral 2-oxindoles spiro-fused to the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone functionality and their halogenated derivatives in almost enantiopure forms, thus highlighting the general utility of this synthetic method to deliver a large variety of antineoplastic drug candidates and pharmaceutically meaningful compounds.

Organocatalytic tandem reactions of L-phenylalanine-derived tetramic acid with aldehydes allow a one-pot and high-yielding access to a diverse range of novel chiral diols in enantiomerically pure forms. In addition, a new entry of the diols, featuring their unique structures associated with C2- and pseudo C2-symmetric chiral motifs, is reported.

The previously reported carbonyl allylation of isatin derivatives with β-amido-functionalized allylstannanes is extended towards the challenging utilization of α-ketoesters as acyclic 1,2-dicarbonyl substrates.

Irradiation of three chromone-2-carboxamides with a chiral auxiliary resulted in diastereoselective formation of a C2-chiral anti-HH dimer scaffold. Selection of the solvent polarity and decreasing the temperature resulted in asymmetric induction with up to 84% diastereomeric excess (de).

A remarkably effective method allowing an extremely high enantioselective synthesis of the spiro-fused 2-oxindole/α-methylene-γ-butyrolactones is described. The key strategy lies in the use of indium-catalyzed asymmetric amide allylation of N-methyl isatin with functionalized allylstannanes, which can lead to the antineoplastic spirocyclic lactones in almost enantiopure forms.

As dimeric natural products frequently exhibit useful biological activities, identifying and understanding their mechanisms of dimerization is of great interest. One such compound is (−)-ditryptophenaline, isolated from Aspergillus flavus, which inhibits substance P receptor for potential analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity. Through targeted gene knockout in A. flavus and heterologous yeast gene expression, we determined for the first time the gene cluster and pathway for the biosynthesis of a dimeric diketopiperazine alkaloid. We also determined that a single cytochrome P450, DtpC, is responsible not only for pyrroloindole ring formation but also for concurrent dimerization of N-methylphenylalanyltryptophanyl diketopiperazine monomers into a homodimeric product. Furthermore, DtpC exhibits relaxed substrate specificity, allowing the formation of two new dimeric compounds from a non-native monomeric precursor, brevianamide F. A radical-mediated mechanism of dimerization is proposed.

Separated: 3-hydroxy-3-phenylisoindolin-1-ones have been resolved by dynamic preferential crystallization. The compounds were effectively racemized through ring-opening and ring-closing reactions via achiral intermediates under basic conditions. Crystallization from a toluene solution containing 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) with stirring and evaporation of the solvent gave optically active crystals quantitatively with high ee values.

N,N-diallyl-4-methyl-1-propyl-2-quinolone-3-carboxamide afforded chiral crystals of a P2(1) crystal system by spontaneous crystallization. The molecular chirality in the crystal was retained after the crystals were dissolved in a solvent at a low temperature, and the frozen molecular chirality was effectively transferred to the products by a two-step reaction involving hydrogenation and intermolecular photocycloaddition reactions.

Chiral crystals of quinolonecarboxamide (I) are obtained by a spontaneous crystallization and used for the preparation of cyclobutane (II) by an intramolecular photocycloaddition in the solid state.

Crystal structures and photochemical reactions of three N,N-diallyl-2-quinolone-3-carboxamides were investigated. One quinolonecarboxamide afforded chiral crystals of a P2(1) crystal system by spontaneous crystallization, and the molecular chirality in the crystal was effectively transferred to cyclobutane in 96% ee by an intramolecular 2 + 2 photocycloaddition reaction in the solid state.

N-(2-Methoxy-1-naphthoyl)piperidine afforded chiral crystals by spontaneous crystallization, and the molecular chirality of the crystals was retained after dissolving them in a cooled solvent. An asymmetric photocycloaddition reaction with a diene was performed using the provisional chiral molecular conformation derived from these chiral crystals.

The irradiation of chromone-2-carboxylic esters resulted in the stereo- and regioselective formation of C(2) chiral anti-HH dimers from the triplet excited state. On the contrary, photolysis in the solid-state gave anti-HT dimers exclusively controlled by molecular arrangement in the crystal.