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A highly stereoselective access to 3-sulfinyl-substituted isoindolinones has been achieved by a tandem organocatalytic addition/cyclization reaction of 2-carbobenzyloxy- N -tosylbenzylidenimine with thiols and succeeding diastereoselective oxidation with MCPBA. First, enantioenriched isoindolinone N , S -acetals have been obtained through a dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation induced by a bifunctional chiral thiourea organocatalyst. In turn, the newly created carbon stereocenter enabled a high diastereocontrol in the subsequent sulfoxidation. Based on DFT calculations, a theoretical rationale for the stereoselectivity of the oxidation reaction is also provided.

We herein report the ammonium salt-catalyzed synthesis of chiral 3,3-disubstituted isoindolinones bearing a heteroatom functionality in the 3-position. A broad variety of differently substituted CF 3 S- and RS-derivatives were obtained with often high enantioselectivities when using Maruoka's bifunctional chiral ammonium salt catalyst. In addition, a first proof-of-concept for the racemic synthesis of the analogous F-containing products was obtained as well, giving access to one of the rare examples of a fairly stable α-F-α-amino acid derivative., (© 2021 The Authors. Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to cognitive deficits and cognitive decline. Since no cure or preventing therapy is currently available to counteract AD, natural-derived compounds are investigated to find new potential neuroprotective agents for its treatment. In the present study, we tested the neuroprotective effect of lavender and coriander essential oils (EOs) and their main active constituent linalool, against the neurotoxicity elicited by Aβ 1-42 oligomers, a key molecular factor in the neurodegeneration of AD. Importantly, our findings on neuronally differentiated PC12 cells exposed to Aβ 1-42 oligomers are in accordance with previous in vivo studies reporting the neuroprotective potential of lavender and coriander EOs and linalool. We found that lavender and coriander EOs at the concentration of 10 μg/mL as well as linalool at the same concentration were able to improve viability and to reduce nuclear morphological abnormalities in cells treated with Aβ 1-42 oligomers for 24 hours. Lavender and coriander EOs and linalool also showed to counteract the increase of intracellular reactive oxygen species production and the activation of the pro-apoptotic enzyme caspase-3 induced by Aβ 1-42 oligomers. Our findings provide further evidence that these EOs and their main constituent linalool could be natural agents of therapeutic interest against Aβ 1-42 -induced neurotoxicity., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Herein we describe for the first time a practical analytical method for determining the enantio-purity of L-α-glycerophosphocholine (L-α-GPC) by chiral derivatization. The use of a suitable chiral boronic acid allowed the formation of a mixture of two diastereomeric boronate esters whose ratio, carefully analyzed by 1 HNMR spectroscopy, reflects L-α-GPC enantiomeric excesses. The determination of the enantiopurity of L-α-GPC furnishes convincing correlations with its manufacturing process., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Chemi SpA is a company who produces and commercializes L-α-GPC. Spectral Service AG is an NMR service provider and research institute, (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Herein we describe a very useful application of the readily available trifunctional aromatic ketone methyl-2-(2-bromoacetyl)benzoate in reactions with primary amines. An unexpected in situ air oxidation that follows a cascade process allowed the access to a series of isoquinoline-1,3,4( 2H )-triones, a class of heterocyclic compounds of great interest containing an oxygen-rich heterocyclic scaffold. A modification of the original protocol, utilizing a Staudinger reaction in the presence of trimethylphosphine, was necessary for the synthesis of Caspase inhibitor trione with free NH group., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

A novel high yielding, enantio- and diastereoselective protocol for the synthesis of α-allylated highly functionalised β-amino acid derivatives by adding isoxazolidin-5-ones to MBH carbonates under asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis has been developed., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts to declare.

Vibrational absorption and vibrational circular dichroism spectra (VA and VCD) have been recorded for two hybrid isoindolinone-phtalide stereoisomers dissolved in CDCl 3 . Density-functional calculations have been performed to determine their absolute configuration. A comparison of calculated and measured values has been made using several goodness-of-fit indicators, and also introducing a model-averaging technique, taking into account the variation of calculated spectra with the details of the computational method. The model-averaging technique, preliminarily tested on two VCD spectra already assigned to two diastereomers of tadalafil, gives higher credibility to the ab initio calculations, and should be useful for other molecules with high flexibility and/or more than one stereogenic center.

The absolute configuration of a recently prepared asymmetric 3,3-disubstituted isoindolinone (ethyl 2-benzyl-3-oxo-1-(3-oxobutyl)isoindoline-1-carboxylate), possessing highly promising pharmaceutical activity, has been determined by means of VCD spectroscopy and DFT calculations. The great flexibility of the molecule reduces to a few relevant conformers, all contributing in the same way to the shape of the VCD spectrum for the carbonyl stretching region. Two of the three CO groups of the molecule interact with each other during the stretching vibration, thus providing a non-conservative VCD couplet whose signature, together with the VCD sign of the third CO stretching mode, unequivocally determines the absolute configuration of the molecule, which is found to be (S) for the (-) optical isomer., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

New bifunctional chiral ammonium salts were investigated in an asymmetric cascade synthesis of a key building block for a variety of biologically relevant isoindolinones. With this chiral compound in hand, the development of further transformations allowed for the synthesis of diverse derivatives of high pharmaceutical value, such as the Belliotti (S)-PD172938 and arylated analogues with hypnotic sedative activity, obtained in good overall total yield (50%) and high enantiomeric purity (95% ee). The synthetic routes developed herein are particularly convenient in comparison with the current methods available in literature and are particularly promising for large scale applications.

Bifunctional chiral urea-containing quaternary ammonium salts can be straightforwardly synthesised in good yield and with high structural diversity via a scalable and operationally simple highly telescoped sequence starting from trans -1,2-cyclohexanediamine. These novel hybrid catalysts were systematically investigated for their potential to control glycine Schiff bases in asymmetric addition reactions. It was found that Michael addition reactions and the herein presented aldol-initiated cascade reaction can be carried out to provide enantiomeric ratios up to 95 : 5 and good yields under mild conditions at room temperature.

By means of C-H acids activation on Pt-cathode, an electrochemically initiated strategy aimed to developing a diversity-oriented synthesis based on the isoindolinone nucleus has been established. Conveniently, the achievement of a small library of new heterocycle-fused isoindolinone compounds with potential interest for drug design was carried out by using tandem reactions and one-pot sequential processes.

With the aim of identifying novel lead compounds active against emergent human infectious diseases, a series of 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyridinone derivatives has been prepared and evaluated for antiviral activity. Compounds were evaluated in vitro in cell-based assays for cytotoxicity and against a wide spectrum of viruses. In the antiviral screening, several compounds showed to be fairly active against viruses belonging to the Flaviviridae family. The Pestiviruses (bovine viral diarrhoea virus) were inhibited by 4a cis (CC(50) > 100 μm; EC(50) = 14 μm), compounds 4c cis and 6a showed a significant activity against Flaviviruses (Yellow Fever Virus) (CC(50) > 100 μm; EC(50) = 18μm, CC(50) > 100 μm; EC(50) = 10 μm). Among these, compound 6a displayed great inhibitory activity against Hepaciviruses (hepatitis C virus) in replicon assay [CC(50) > 100 μm; EC(50) (1b) = 4 μm]. In vitro inhibitory activity against the HCV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5B) of title compounds is discussed. The antiviral screening of viral strains indicated that compound 6a can be selected as promising tool in novel anti-flaviviruses development., (© 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.)

The first record of Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) coniceps (Canestrini) was reported for Italy in 1877, inside the interstices of the ancient mosaics at S. Marco Basilica in Venice. Afterwards only few discoveries of the species are reported for Italy; the last record is dated back to 1984, in L'Aquila town (Abruzzo Region). The present study shows the data of a survey carried out as a result of a massive infestation by O. coniceps in an ancient villa in Anzio town (Latium region) recently restored. In the past decades the villa has been fallen into disrepair, becoming an occasional shelter for wild animals mainly pigeons, that colonized the whole building for generations. This case appears worthy of note because it is the first record of this species after more than 25 years in Italy. A total of 136 specimens were collected by three methods: manual, mechanical aspirators and Wilson traps. Wilson trapping indicates positive O. coniceps tropism for CO(2).

Europe was officially declared free from malaria in 1975; nevertheless, this disease remains a potential problem related to the presence of former vectors, belonging to the Anopheles maculipennis complex. Autochthonous-introduced malaria cases, recently reported in European countries, together with the predicted climatic and environmental changes, have increased the concern of health authorities over the possible resurgence of this disease in the Mediterranean Basin. In Italy, to study the distribution and bionomics of indigenous anopheline populations and to assess environmental parameters that could influence their dynamics, an entomological study was carried out in 2005-2006 in an at-risk study area. This model area is represented by the geographical region named the Maremma, a Tyrrhenian costal plain in Central Italy, where malaria was hyperendemic up to the 1950s. Fortnightly, entomological surveys (April-October) were carried out in four selected sites with different ecological features. Morphological and molecular characterization, blood meal identification, and parity rate assessment of the anophelines were performed. In total, 8274 mosquitoes were collected, 7691 of which were anophelines. Six Anopheles species were recorded, the most abundant of which were Anopheles labranchiae and An. maculipennis s.s. An. labranchiae is predominant in the coastal plain, where it is present in scattered foci. However, this species exhibits a wider than expected range: in fact it has been recorded, for the first time, inland where An. maculipennis s.s. is the most abundant species. Both species fed on a wide range of animal hosts, also showing a marked aggressiveness on humans, when available. Our findings demonstrated the high receptivity of the Maremma area, where the former malaria vector, An. labranchiae, occurs at different densities related to the kind of environment, climatic parameters, and anthropic activities.

A series of modular bipyridine-type ligands 1 and 3-9 has been synthesized via a de novo construction of the pyridine nucleus. The chiral moieties of these ligands originate from the isoprenoid chiral pool, namely, beta-pinene (10 --> 1), 3-carene (14 --> 3 and 5), 2-carene (28 --> 4), alpha-pinene (43 --> 6-8), and dehydropregnenolone acetate (48 --> 9), respectively. Copper(I) complexes, derived from these ligands and (TfO)(2)Cu (1 mol %) upon an in situ reduction with phenylhydrazine, exhibit good enantioselectivity (up to 82% ee) and unusually high reaction rate (typicaly 30 min at room temperature) in allylic oxidation of cyclic olefins (52 --> 53). Copper-catalyzed cyclopropanation proceeded with < or =76% enantioselectivity and approximately 3:1 to 99:1 trans/cis-diastereoselectivity (54 --> 55 + 56). The level of the asymmetric induction is discussed in terms of the ligand architecture that controls the stereochemical environment of the coordinated metal.