Dienophile twisting and substituent effects influence reaction rates of intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloadditions: a DFT study

Total Synthesis of Vilmoraconitine

Vilmoraconitine belongs to one of the most complex skeleton types in the C19-diterpenoid alkaloids, which architecturally features an unprecedented heptacyclic core possessing a rigid cyclopropane unit. Here, we report the first total synthesis of vilmoraconitine relying on strategic use of efficient ring-forming reactions. Key steps include an oxidative dearomatization-induced Diels-Alder cycloaddition, a hydrodealkenylative fragmentation/Mannich sequence, and an intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloaddition.

Biomimetic Total Synthesis of (±)-Carbocyclinone-534 Reveals Its Biosynthetic Pathway

Carbocyclinone-534 is a new antibiotic produced after the metabolism of tapinarof. We identify a biomimetic total synthesis of carbocyclinone-534 in eight steps by taking advantage of an intermolecular Diels-Alder homodimerization/dehydrogenation/intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloaddition cascade. This synthetic sequence provides direct experimental evidence for revealing the biosynthetic pathway of carbocyclinone-534.

Synthesis of (-)-Mitrephorone A via a Bioinspired Late Stage C-H Oxidation of (-)-Mitrephorone B

We present a bioinspired late-stage C-H oxidation of the ent-trachylobane natural product mitrephorone B to mitrephorone A. The realization of this unprecedented transformation was accomplished by either an iron-catalyzed or electrochemical oxidation and enabled access to the densely substituted oxetane in one step. Formation of mitrephorone C, which is lacking the central oxetane unit but features a keto-function at C2, was not formed under these conditions.

The Intramolecular Diels-Alder Reaction of Tryptamine-Derived Zincke Aldehydes Is a Stepwise Process

Computational studies show that the base-mediated intramolecular Diels-Alder of tryptamine-derived Zincke aldehydes, used as a key step in the synthesis of the Strychnos alkaloids norfluorocurarine and strychnine, proceeds via a stepwise pathway. The experimentally determined importance of a potassium counterion in the base is explained by its ability to preorganize the Zincke aldehyde diene in an s-cis conformation suitable to bicyclization. Computation also supports the thermodynamic importance of the generation of a stable enolate in the final reaction step. The thermal cycloreversion reaction of the Diels-Alder products is also found to proceed in a stepwise manner.

Photophysical and theoretical investigations of oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)s: effect of alkoxy substitution and alkyne-aryl bond rotations

The unique photophysical, conformational, and electronic properties of two model phenyleneethynylene-based rigid rod molecular systems, possessing dialkoxy substitutions, are reported in comparison with an unsubstituted system. Twisting of the phenyl rings along the carbon-carbon triple bond is almost frictionless in these systems giving rise to planar as well as several twisted ground-state conformations, and this results in broad structureless absorption in the spectral region of 250-450 nm. In the case of 1,4-bis(phenylethynyl)benzene, a broad absorption band was observed due to the HOMO-LUMO transition, whereas dialkoxy-substituted compounds possess two well-separated bands. Dialkoxy substitution in the 2,5-position of the phenyl ring in phenyleneethynylenes alters its central arene pi-orbitals through the resonance interaction with oxygen lone pairs resulting in similar orbital features for HOMO and HOMO-1/HOMO-2. Electronic transition from the low-lying HOMO-1/HOMO-2 orbital to LUMO results in the high-energy band, and the red-shifted band originates from the HOMO-LUMO transition. The first excited-state transition energies at different dihedral angles, calculated by the TDDFT method, indicate that the orthogonal conformation has the highest excitation energy with an energy difference of 15 kcal/mol higher than the low-lying planar conformation. The emission of these compounds originates preferentially from the more relaxed planar conformation resulting in well-defined vibronic features. The fluorescence spectral profile and lifetimes were found to be independent of excitation wavelengths, confirming the existence of a single emitting species.

Sulfonyl vs. carbonyl group: which is the more electron-withdrawing?

Unexpectedly high reactivity of nitrogenated aromatics protected as amides or carbamates, when compared to sulfonamides, can be explained by a decrease of the aromaticity due to a greater ability of the carbon-centered groups to achieve delocalisation of the nitrogen lone pair, resulting in stronger global withdrawing effects.

Density functional theory and atoms-in-molecule study on the role of two-electron stabilizing interactions in retro Diels–Alder reaction of cycloadducts derived from substituted cyclopentadiene and p-benzoquinone

A systematic investigation on the cycloreversion reaction of the cycloadduct formed between substituted cyclopentadiene and p-benzoquinone (1-19) is reported at the B3LYP/6-311+G**//B3LYP/6-31G* level of theory. The computed activation barrier exhibits a fairly high sensitivity to the nature of substituents at the C7-position. Gibbs free energy of activation for 1 and 19 are found to be 20.3 and 30.1 kcal mol(-1), respectively, compared to 7, which is estimated to be 24.7 kcal mol(-1). Quantitative analysis of the electronic effects operating in both the cycloadduct as well as the corresponding transition state for the retro Diels-Alder (rDA) reaction performed using the natural bond orbital (NBO) and atoms in molecule (AIM) methods have identified important two-electron stabilizing interactions. Among four major delocalizations, sigma(C7-X) to sigma*(C1-C5) [and to sigma*(C2-C6)] is identified as the key contributing factor responsible for ground state C1-C5 bond elongation, which in turn is found to be crucial in promoting the rDA reaction. A good correlation between the population of antibonding orbital [sigma*(C1-C5)] of the ground state cycloadduct and Gibbs free energy of activation is observed. The importance of factors that modulate ground state structural features in controlling the energetics of rDA reaction is described.