B(C6 F5 )3 -Catalyzed Regioselective Ring Opening of Cyclic Amines with Hydrosilanes

Opening the ring of cyclic amines by regioselective fission of one of the carbon-nitrogen bonds greatly expands the repertoire of available nitrogen-containing skeletons. Unlike approaches starting from cyclic tertiary amines, methods that can directly open secondary amines are still scarce. The present work discloses an efficient reductive ring opening of either of these cyclic amines using PhSiH₃ under B(C₆ F₅ )₃ catalysis. By this, the direct transformation of unstrained cyclic amines into the corresponding acyclic amines is achieved in a simple one-pot operation. A stepwise mechanism proceeding through the intermediacy of silylammonium ions followed by reductive cleavage of a carbon-nitrogen bond was experimentally verified.

Selective Biocatalytic Defunctionalization of Raw Materials

Biobased raw materials, such as carbohydrates, amino acids, nucleotides, or lipids contain valuable functional groups with oxygen and nitrogen atoms. An abundance of many functional groups of the same type, such as primary or secondary hydroxy groups in carbohydrates, however, limits the synthetic usefulness if similar reactivities cannot be differentiated. Therefore, selective defunctionalization of highly functionalized biobased starting materials to differentially functionalized compounds can provide a sustainable access to chiral synthons, even in case of products with fewer functional groups. Selective defunctionalization reactions, without affecting other functional groups of the same type, are of fundamental interest for biocatalytic reactions. Controlled biocatalytic defunctionalizations of biobased raw materials are attractive for obtaining valuable platform chemicals and building blocks. The biocatalytic removal of functional groups, an important feature of natural metabolic pathways, can also be utilized in a systemic strategy for sustainable metabolite synthesis.

A Titanium-Catalyzed Reductive α-Desulfonylation

A titanium(III)-catalyzed desulfonylation gives access to functionalized alkyl nitrile building blocks from α-sulfonyl nitriles, circumventing traditional base-mediated α-alkylation conditions and strong single electron donors. The reaction tolerates numerous functional groups including free alcohols, esters, amides, and it can be applied also to the α-desulfonylation of ketones. In addition, a one-pot desulfonylative alkylation is demonstrated. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicate a catalyst-dependent mechanism involving a homolytic C-S cleavage.

Injectable Capsaicin for the Management of Pain Due to Osteoarthritis

Capsaicin is a potent agonist of the TRPV1 channel, a transduction channel that is highly expressed in nociceptive fibers (pain fibers) throughout the peripheral nervous system. Given the importance of TRPV1 as one of several transduction channels in nociceptive fibers, much research has been focused on the potential therapeutic benefits of using TRPV1 antagonists for the management of pain. However, an antagonist has two limitations. First, an antagonist in principle generally only affects one receptor. Secondly, most antagonists must have an ongoing presence on the receptor to have an effect. Capsaicin overcomes both liabilities by disrupting peripheral terminals of nociceptive fibers that express TRPV1, and thereby affects all of the potential means of activating that pain fiber (not just TRPV1 function). This disruptive effect is dependent on the dose and can occur within minutes. Thus, unlike a typical receptor antagonist, continued bioavailability at the level of the receptor is not necessary. By disrupting the entire terminal of the TRPV1-expressing nociceptive fiber, capsaicin blocks all the activation mechanisms within that fiber, and not just TRPV1 function. Topical capsaicin, an FDA approved treatment for neuropathic pain, addresses pain from abnormal nociceptor activity in the superficial layers of the skin. Effects after a single administration are evident over a period of weeks to months, but in time are fully reversible. This review focuses on the rationale for using capsaicin by injection for painful conditions such as osteoarthritis (OA) and provides an update on studies completed to date.

Reductive Deamination with Hydrosilanes Catalyzed by B(C6 F5 )3

The strong boron Lewis acid tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane B(C6 F5 )3 is known to catalyze the dehydrogenative coupling of certain amines and hydrosilanes at elevated temperatures. At higher temperature, the dehydrogenation pathway competes with cleavage of the C-N bond and defunctionalization is obtained. This can be turned into a useful methodology for the transition-metal-free reductive deamination of a broad range of amines as well as heterocumulenes such as an isocyanate and an isothiocyanate.

Shuttle Catalysis-New Strategies in Organic Synthesis

Shuttle catalysis has recently emerged as a powerful new concept that provides a platform for performing both functionalization and defunctionalization reactions. In this concept article, applications of shuttle catalysis as a novel strategy in organic synthesis are discussed. This includes using forward shuttle catalysis reactions for challenging bond-forming processes that avoid the use of hazardous chemicals. Shuttle catalysis also facilitates the transfer of reactive functionality as a route to procure a broad range of compounds using one simple procedure. Reverse shuttle catalysis reactions are also discussed as a method for the valorization of biomass and waste materials. Another area of interest, shuttle-catalysis-assisted reactions, wherein the transfer of a small molecule is utilized in a catalytic cycle, is also described. Possible future directions in this exciting new field are also suggested.

Application of Visible-to-UV Photon Upconversion to Photoredox Catalysis: The Activation of Aryl Bromides

The activation of aryl-Br bonds was achieved by sequential combination of a triplet-triplet annihilation process of the organic dyes, butane-2,3-dione and 2,5-diphenyloxazole, with a single-electron-transfer activation of aryl bromides. The photophysical and chemical steps were studied by time-resolved transient fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy with a pulsed laser, quenching experiments, and DFT calculations.