Conformational insights into furo- and thieno[2,3-b]indolines derived from coupling constants and molecular modeling

The extent to which conformational preferences of fused heterocyclic five-membered rings change with the nature of the heteroatom (O and S) was investigated in furo- (1, 2) and thieno[2,3-b]indolines (3, 4) by the combined use of 1H NMR spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In contrast to the behavior observed for pyrroloindolines, the furo- and thienoindolines exist in solution in only one conformer, with structures in the 2E-2T3 (1,2) and 2T3-E (3,4) North/West region of the pseudorotational wheel, and with pseudorotation phase angles (P) of 315.8, 311.6, 337.2 and 331.6 degrees, respectively.

A procedure for preparing oxazolines of highly unsaturated fatty acids to determine double bond positions by mass spectrometry

A convenient, mild, reliable method has been developed for preparing oxazolines of fatty acids and for using these derivatives to determine double bond locations in long-chain polyunsaturated and polyconjugated fatty acids. Fatty acyl mixed anhydrides are prepared using isobutylchloroformate and then converted to their ethanolamides by treatment with ethanolamine. Ethanolamides are subsequently cyclized to the corresponding oxazolines in >or=85% yields by treatment with trifluoroacetic anhydride under mild conditions (>50 degrees for 30-60 min). This general protocol can also be used to synthesize 4,4-dimethyloxazoline and benzoxazole derivatives of fatty acids. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of oxazoline derivatives of fatty acids yields prominent ions diagnostic of the structures of the parent fatty acids and, in the case of unsaturated fatty acids, indicating the positions of the double bonds. The utility of the method is illustrated with several fatty acids, including the conjugated 4E,6E,8E,10E,13Z,16Z,19Z-docosaheptaenoic acid.