Acid-catalyzed cyclization of terpenoids in a micellar system. Selectivity and rate enhancement in the cyclization of citronellal

Distinct selectivity inside self-assembled coordination cages

Supramolecular containers have long been applied to regulate organic reactions with distinct selectivity, owing to their diverse functions such as the ability to pose a guest molecule(s) with a certain orientation and conformation. In this review, we try to illustrate how self-assembled coordination cages could achieve this goal. Two representative cage hosts, namely, self-assembled Pd(II)-ligand octahedral coordination cages ([Pd6L4]12+) and self-assembled Ga(III)-ligand tetrahedral coordination cages ([Ga4L6]12-) are selected as the pilot hosts that this mini review covers. Representative works in this area are presented here in brief.

Effect of the Stereoselectivity of para-Menthane-3,8-diol Isomers on Repulsion toward Aedes albopictus

Vector-borne diseases cause around 700,000 deaths every year. Insect repellents are one of the strategies to limit them. Para-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD), a natural compound, is one of the most promising alternatives to conventional synthetic repellents. This work describes a diastereodivergent method to synthesize each diastereoisomer of PMD from enantiopure citronellal and studies their repellence activity against Aedes albopictus. We found that cis-PMD is the kinetic control product of the cyclization of citronellal, while trans-PMD is the thermodynamic control product. X-ray diffraction analysis of crystals highlighted some differences in hydrogen-bond patterns between cis or trans isomers. The present paper demonstrates that (1R)-(+)-cis-PMD has the highest repellency index using a new evaluation system for 24 h. (1S)-(-)-cis-PMD has somewhat lower and (1S)-(+)-trans-PMD and (1R)-(-)-trans-PMD have a slight effect. Volunteer tests show that (1R)-(+)-cis-PMD is the most efficient. This effect could be ascribed to the interaction of PMD/insect odorant receptors and their physical properties, that is, the evaporation rate.

The effect of host structure on the selectivity and mechanism of supramolecular catalysis of Prins cyclizations

The effect of host structure on the selectivity and mechanism of intramolecular Prins reactions is evaluated using K12Ga4L6 tetrahedral catalysts. The host structure was varied by modifying the structure of the chelating moieties and the size of the aromatic spacers. While variation in chelator substituents was generally observed to affect changes in rate but not selectivity, changing the host spacer afforded differences in efficiency and product diastereoselectivity. An extremely high number of turnovers (up to 840) was observed. Maximum rate accelerations were measured to be on the order of 105, which numbers among the largest magnitudes of transition state stabilization measured with a synthetic host-catalyst. Host/guest size effects were observed to play an important role in host-mediated enantioselectivity.

New Lewis-Acidic Molybdenum(II) and Tungsten(II) Catalysts for Intramolecular Carbonyl Ene and Prins Reactions. Reversal of the Stereoselectivity of Cyclization of Citronellal

New Mo(II) complexes BnEt(3)N(+)[Mo(CO)(4)ClBr(2)](-) (A) and Mo(CO)(5)(OTf)(2) (B) and their W(II) congeners D and E have been developed as catalysts for the title reactions. Unlike other Lewis acids, the latter catalysts exhibit cis-stereoselectivity in the cyclization of citronellal (1 --> 3 with A and 1 --> 5 with B). Isotopic labeling allowed formulation of the reaction mechanism, according to which these complexes act as bulky Lewis acids, eta(1)-coordinated to the carbonyl oxygen. The stereochemistry appears to be controlled by the protruding ligand L(p), which dictates the boatlike transition state III. The kinetically formed cis-alkenol 3 can be equilibrated by [Mo(CO)(4)Br(2)](2) (C) or ZnCl(2) to its trans-epimer 2 via a retro-ene reaction.

Terpenoid biotransformation in mammals. V. Metabolism of (+)-citronellal, (+-)-7-hydroxycitronellal, citral, (-)-perillaldehyde, (-)-myrtenal, cuminaldehyde, thujone, and (+-)-carvone in rabbits

1. The metabolism of (+)-citronellal, (+-)-7-hydroxycitronellal, citral, (-)-perillaldehyde, (-)-myrtenal, cuminaldehyde, thujone, and (+-)-carvone was studied in rabbits. 2. In (+-)-7-hydroxycitronellal, (-)-perillaldehyde, (-)-myrtenal and cuminaldehydes, both primary alcohols and carboxylic acids were formed. 3. In (-)-citronellal and citral, regioselective oxidation was found and a trans-positioned methyl group was carboxylated in each case. 4. In o-cuminaldehyde, reduction but not oxidation, was found.