Heterocyclic Steroids .7. Rearrangement Of 1-Diethylamino-5-(Met-Methoxyphenoxy)-Pent-2-Yne

Thermal rearrangement of diethylamino5-(m methoxyphenoxy)-pent-2-yne (3) gives 1-(m-methexyphenoxy)-pent-3,4-diene (14) in about 8% yield. Hydration of the latter yields 1-(m-methoxyphenoxy)-pentan-4-one (6), which has been synthesised by an unambiguous route. A mechanism of formation of the allene (14) from the amine (3) has been suggested.

Quinone Studies—II : Reduction potentials of some 3-substituted phenanthrene quinones

Polarographic reduction potentials of seven 3-substituted phenanthrenequinones have been determined in aqueous dioxan and aqueous ethanol under different pH conditions. The substituent effects on the reduction potentials could be correlated with the Hammett σ- constants (correlation coefficients> 0·995). The possibility of using reduction potentials as an accurate measure of resonance energy has been pointed out.

Enantiospecific synthesis of the tricyclic core structure of lippifolianes

An enantiospecific synthesis of the [6.6.3]-tricyclic carbon framework, 2,6,6,9-tetra-methyltricyclo[5.4.0.02,4]undecane, present in the sesquiterpenes lippifolianes and the diterpenes cyclosclareol, metasequoic acids and parguerols, starting from the readily available monoterpene (R)-carvone, is described.

Enantioselective formal total syntheses of Clavukerin A and isoclavukerin A via a ring-closing metathesis reaction

Enantioselective formal total syntheses of the marine trisnorsesquiterpenes clavukerin A and isoclavukerin A, starting from (R)-limonene employing an RCM reaction as the key step, are described.

Enantiospecific total synthesis of ent-5-senceioyloxy-10,11-epoxythapsan-10-ol

Enantiospecific total synthesis of optical antipode of the sesquiterpene 5-senecioyloxy-10,11-epoxythapsan-10-ol has been described. (R)-Carvone has been employed as the chiral starting material and a combination of intramolecular alkyation and Criegee fragmentation are employed for intramolecular stereospecific transfer of the chirality. An intramolecular diazoketone cyclopropanation and regioselective cyclopropane ring cleavage reactions have been employed or the creation of the three requisite contiguous quaternary carbon atoms.

Structural flexibility in the biocatalyst-mediated functionalization of ring `A' in salannin, a tetranortriterpene from Azadirachta indica

Nocardia sp. quantitatively converts salannin 1 and 3-de-O-acetylsalannin 2 (C-seco limonoids) into 3-deacetoxy-1-de[(E)-2-methylbut-2-enoyloxy]salannin-1-en-3-one 10, a novel and potentially bioactive compound with an alpha,beta-unsaturated ketone moiety in ring `A'. In order to establish the sequence of events involved in this transformation and the structural specificity of this bacterial system, several new derivatives of salannin 1 have been prepared. These studies have indicated that the transformation is initiated by deacetylation at C-3, followed by oxidation of the secondary hydroxy group to 3-keto, which appears to facilitate the elimination of the tigloyloxy/acetoxy group at C-1 with the formation of an olefinic linkage between C-1 and C-2. The organism very efficiently transforms some of the derivatives of salannin into their corresponding compounds possessing an enone systemin ring `A', an essential pre-requisite for various biological activities. Some of the C-seco limonoids prepared in the present study, viz. 10, 1,2-didehydro-1,3-dideoxy-3-oxosalannic acid 18, 3-deacetoxy-1-de[(E)-2-methylbut-2-enoyloxy]-20,21,22,23-tetrahydrosal annin-1-en-3-one 15 and 1,2-didehydro-1,3-dideoxy-3-oxosalannol 23 were hitherto not known.

Syntheses based on cyclohexadienes. Part 2. Convenient synthesis of 6-alkylsalicylates, 6-alkyl 2,4-dihydroxybenzoate, and 2,5-dialkylresorcinols

A one pot synthesis of 6-alkylsalicylates and 6-alkyl-2,4- dihydroxybenzoates is described. Cycloaddition of 1-methoxycyclohexa-1,4- or 1,3-dienes with alkylpropiolic esters results in the regio-specific formation of 2-alkyl-6-methoxybenzoates. Thus, methyl 2-methoxy-6-methyl benzoate, methyl 2,4-dimethoxy-6-methylbenzoate, methyl 2,5-dimethoxy-6-methylbenzoate, methyl 2-methoxy-4,6-dimethylbenzoate, and ethyl 2-butyl-4,6-dimethoxybenzoate, have been prepared. By making use of this method, the synthesis of two dihydroisocoumarins namely (±)-mellein (12) and (±)-6-methoxy- mellein (14) is described. Employing a similar strategy, a novel route to 2,5-dialkylresorcinols has been developed. Stemphol (24b) and the antibiotic DB2073 (24d) have been synthesized.

Aspects of tautomerism. Part 16. Influence of the y-keto function on the reactions of sulphonic acids

Reaction of sodium 2-formylbenzenesulphonate (1) with thionyl chloride or phosphorous pentachloride gives a mixture of pseudo (2) and normal (3) sulphonyl chlorides. Whereas ammonium 2-carboxybenzenesulphonate (6) gives only the normal sulphonyl chloride (7) on reaction with thionyl chloride, a mixture of normal (7) and pseudo (8) isomers are formed on reaction with phosphorous pentachloride. Sodium 2-benzoylbenzenesulphonate (15), on the other hand, gives the corresponding normal sulphonyl chloride (16) on reaction with both of the reagents mentioned above. Based on these observations it is concluded that γ-keto sulphonic acids are amenable to the influence of γ-carbonyl group as in the case of γ-keto carboxylic acids but to a lesser extent. © 1989 Indian Academy of Sciences.