Structural and Mechanistic Investigations in Asymmetric Copper(I) and Copper(II) Catalyzed Reactions

We report a one-step, Ru(II)-catalyzed cyclopropanation reaction that is conceptually different from the previously reported protocols that include Corey-Chaykovsky, Simmons-Smith, and metal catalyzed carbene attack on olefins. Under the current protocol, various alcohols are transformed into sulfone substituted cyclopropanes with excellent isolated yields and diastereoselectivities. This new reaction forms highly congested cyclopropane products with three new C–C bonds, three or two new chiral centers and one new quaternary carbon center. 22 examples of isolated substrates are given. Previously reported synthetic routes for similar substrates are all multi-step, linear routes that proceed with overall low yields and poor control of stereochemistry. Experimental mechanistic investigations suggest initial metal-catalyzed dehydrogenation of the alcohol substrate and catalyst independent stepwise attack of two equivalents of sulfone on the aldehyde under basic conditions. While the Ru(II) is only responsible for the initial dehydrogenation step, the rate of aldehyde formation is crucial to maintaining the right balance of intermediates needed to afford the cyclopropane product.

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A kinetic analysis of coupled sequential enzyme reactions

10.26434/chemrxiv.5746065.v2 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Justin Eilertsen ◽

Santiago Schnell

Keyword(s):

Enzyme Assay ◽

Sequential Reaction ◽

Enzyme Reactions ◽

Indicator Reaction ◽

Single Substrate ◽

Complex Sequences ◽

Catalyzed Reactions ◽

Enzyme Catalyzed Reactions ◽

Single Enzyme

<div>As a case study, we consider a coupled enzyme assay of sequential enzyme reactions obeying the Michaelis--Menten reaction mechanism. The sequential reaction consists of a single-substrate, single-enzyme non-observable reaction followed by another single-substrate, single-enzyme observable reaction (indicator reaction). In this assay, the product of the non-observable reaction becomes the substrate of the indicator reaction. A mathematical analysis of the reaction kinetics is performed, and it is found that after an initial fast transient, the sequential reaction is described by a pair of interacting Michaelis--Menten equations. Timescales that approximate the respective lengths of the indicator and non-observable reactions, as well as conditions for the validity of the Michaelis--Menten equations are derived. The theory can be extended to deal with more complex sequences of enzyme catalyzed reactions.</div>

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A kinetic analysis of coupled sequential enzyme reactions

10.26434/chemrxiv.5746065.v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Justin Eilertsen ◽

Santiago Schnell

Keyword(s):

Enzyme Assay ◽

Sequential Reaction ◽

Enzyme Reactions ◽

Indicator Reaction ◽

Single Substrate ◽

Complex Sequences ◽

Catalyzed Reactions ◽

Enzyme Catalyzed Reactions ◽

Single Enzyme

<div>As a case study, we consider a coupled enzyme assay of sequential enzyme reactions obeying the Michaelis-Menten reaction mechanism. The sequential reaction consists of a single-substrate, single enzyme non-observable reaction followed by another single-substrate, single enzyme observable reaction (indicator reaction). In this assay, the product of the non-observable reaction becomes the substrate of the indicator reaction. A mathematical analysis of the reaction kinetics is performed, and it is found that after an initial fast transient, the sequential reaction is described by a pair of interacting Michaelis-Menten equations. Timescales that approximate the respective lengths of the indicator and non-observable reactions, as well as conditions for the validity of the Michaelis-Menten equations are derived. The theory can be extended to deal with more complex sequences of enzyme catalyzed reactions.</div>

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Visible Light-Induced Sulfonylation/Arylation of Styrenes in a Double Radical Three-Component Photoredox Reaction

10.26434/chemrxiv.7722020.v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Benjamin Lipp ◽

Lisa Marie Kammer ◽

Murat Kucukdisli ◽

Adriana Luque ◽

Jonas Kühlborn ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visible Light ◽

Radical Formation ◽

Three Component Reaction ◽

Broad Variety ◽

Styrene Derivatives ◽

Mechanistic Investigations

Simultaneous sulfonylation/arylation of styrene derivatives is achieved in a photoredox-catalyzed three-component reaction using visible light. A broad variety of difunctionalized products is accessible in mostly excellent yields and high diastereoselectivity. The developed reaction is scalable and suitable for the modification of styrene-functionalized biomolecules. Mechanistic investigations suggest the transformation to be operating through a designed sequence of radical formation and radical combination.<br>

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Computationally Augmented Retrosynthesis: Total Synthesis of Paspaline A and Emindole PB

10.26434/chemrxiv.7322330.v1 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy Newhouse ◽

Daria E. Kim ◽

Joshua E. Zweig

Keyword(s):

Chemical Synthesis ◽

Total Synthesis ◽

Small Molecules ◽

First Principles ◽

Quantum Chemical ◽

Computational Analysis ◽

Empirical Evaluation ◽

Synthetic Strategy ◽

Catalyzed Reactions ◽

Enzyme Catalyzed Reactions

The diverse molecular architectures of terpene natural products are assembled by exquisite enzyme-catalyzed reactions. Successful recapitulation of these transformations using chemical synthesis is hard to predict from first principles and therefore challenging to execute. A means of evaluating the feasibility of such chemical reactions would greatly enable the development of concise syntheses of complex small molecules. Herein, we report the computational analysis of the energetic favorability of a key bio-inspired transformation, which we use to inform our synthetic strategy. This approach was applied to synthesize two constituents of the historically challenging indole diterpenoid class, resulting in a concise route to (–)-paspaline A in 9 steps from commercially available materials and the first pathway to and structural confirmation of emindole PB in 13 steps. This work highlights how traditional retrosynthetic design can be augmented with quantum chemical calculations to reveal energetically feasible synthetic disconnections, minimizing time-consuming and expensive empirical evaluation.

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