Carbon asymmetric atom

C, b.p. 156 C. The most important of the terpene hydrocarbons. It is found in most essential oils derived from the Coniferae, and is the main constituent of turpentine oil. Contains two asymmetric carbon atoms. The (- -)-form is easily obtained in a pure state by fractionation of Greek turpentine oil, of which it constitutes 95%. Pinene may be separated from turpentine oil in the form of its crystalline nitrosochloride, CioHigClNO, from which the ( + )-form may be recovered by boiling with aniline in alcoholic solution. When heated under pressure at 250-270 C, a-pinene is converted into dipentene. It can be reduced by hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst to form... 

A simpler representation of molecules containing asymmetric carbon atoms is the Fischer projection, which is shown here for the same lactic acid configurations. A Fischer projection involves... 

When the asymmetric carbon atoms in a chiral compound are part of a ring, the isomerism is more complex than in acyclic compounds. A cyclic compound which has two different asymmetric carbons with different sets of substituent groups attached has a total of 2 = 4 optical isomers an enantiometric pair of cis isomers and an enantiometric pair of trans isomers. However, when the two asymmetric centers have the same set of substituent groups attached, the cis isomer is a meso compound and only the trans isomer is chiral. (See Fig. 1.15.)... 

Structures [VIII] and [IX] are not equivalent they would not superimpose if the extended chains were overlaid. The difference has to do with the stereochemical configuration at the asymmetric carbon atom. Note that the asymmetry is more accurately described as pseudoasymmetry, since two sections of chain are bonded to these centers. Except near chain ends, which we ignore for high polymers, these chains provide local symmetry in the neighborhood of the carbon under consideration. The designations D and L or R and S are used to distinguish these structures, even though true asymmetry is absent. 

In the early days following the discovery of chirality it was thought that only molecules of the type CWXYZ, multiply substituted methanes, were important in this respect and it was said that a molecule with an asymmetric carbon atom forms enantiomers. Nowadays, this definition is totally inadequate, for two reasons. The first is that the existence of enantiomers is not confined to molecules with a central carbon atom (it is not even confined to organic molecules), and the second is that, knowing what we do about the various possible elements of symmetry, the phrase asymmetric carbon atom has no real meaning. 

Any of the four monomer residues can be arranged in a polymer chain in either head-to-head, head-to-tail, or tail-to-tail configurations. Each of the two head-to-tail vinyl forms can exist as syndiotactic or isotactic stmctures because of the presence of an asymmetric carbon atom (marked with an asterisk) in the monomer unit. Of course, the random mix of syndiotactic and isotactic, ie, atactic stmctures also exists. Of these possible stmctures, only... 

In the propylene polymer the pendent methyl group is attached to an asymmetric carbon atom. 

In the esterification of organic acids with alcohols, it has been shown that in most cases under acid catalysis, the union is between acyl and alkoxy groups. Acid hydrolysis of acetoxysuccinic acid gives malic acid with retention of configuration at the asymmetric carbon atom (11) ... 

Compounds in which one or more carbon atoms have four nonidentical substituents are the largest class of chiral molecules. Carbon atoms with four nonidentical ligands are referred to as asymmetric carbon atoms because the molecular environment at such a carbon atom possesses no element of symmetry. Asymmetric carbons are a specific example of a stereogenic center. A stereogenic center is any structural feature that gives rise to chirality in a molecule. 2-Butanol is an example of a chiral molecule and exists as two nonsuperimposable mirror images. Carbon-2 is a stereogenic center. 

There are a number of important kinds of stereogenic centers besides asymmetric carbon atoms. One example is furnished by sulfoxides with nonidentical substituents on sulfur. Sulfoxides are pyramidal and maintain dieir configuration at room temperature. Unsymmetrical sulfoxides are therefore chiral and exist as enantiomers. Sulfonium salts with three nonidentical ligands are also chiral as a result of their pyramidal shape. Some examples of chiral derivatives of sulfur are given in Scheme 2.1. 

LELOBINE AND LOBININE GROUPS. These include the minor alkaloids of lobelia isolated from factory residues accumulated during the manufacture of lobeline. Their isolation and separation involve complicated processes of fractionation for which the original paper should be consulted. Their inter-relationships (Table A, p. 23 and general formula, I, p. 24) are similar to those among members of the lobeline group, but the effect of the presence of three or more asymmetric carbon atoms is more evident, thus there are already known six forms of the basic dihydric alcohol, lelobaiiidine. 

Tropic acid crystallises in prisms and melts at 117°. It contains an asymmetric carbon atom and can be resolved into d- and Z-forms, which, according to King, melt at 128-9°, and have [ajj, + 81-6° and — 81-2° (HjO) respectively. 

Several of these cocaine substitutes contain asymmetric carbon atoms, and King has sho-wn that in the case of benzamine (III) there is no difference in the anaesthetic action of the d- and Z- forms, but that the Z-fonn is twice as toxic as the [Pg.111]

Although lupinine is thus a comparatively simple alkaloid its detailed chemistry has been difficult to unravel owing (a) to the presence in its molecule of two asymmetric carbon atoms as asterisked in (XI), and (6) the possibility of cis-trans isomerism in certain of its proximate (ieriva-tives. Winterfeld and Holschneider have pointed out that a further complexity arises from the presence in natural Z-lupinine of a structural isomeride, aZZolupinine for which formula (XII) is suggested. They also quote Kreig s observation that by the action of sodium on a benzene solution of Z-lupinine (m.p. 68-9° [ajo — 23-52°), the latter is converted... 

Stereoisomerism in the Cinchona Bases It was at first common practice to number the four asymmetric carbon atoms indicated in the general formula (I), 1, 2, 3 and 4, but this is now replaced by the more general system introduced by Rabe, who suggested the name ruban for (HI), which can be regarded as the parent substance of the natural cinchona alkaloids, and rubatoxan (IV) for that of the quinicines (quinatoxines). The formifiae, with notation, for ruban (III) and rubatoxan (IV) are shown below, and the general formula (I) for cinchona bases has been numbered in accordance with that scheme. 

On this basis cinchonine and einchonidine are named 3-vinylruban-9-ol, quinine and quinidine become 6 -methoxy-3-vinylruban-9-ol, cinchoninone is 3-vinylruban-9-one and quinieine is 6 -methoxy-3-vinylrubatoxan-9-one. The four asymmetric carbon atoms become 3, 4, 8 and 9 respectively. 

Br. CHa. CHa. CHa. CH(NHa). CH(CHa). CHa. CHjBr HBr. which on treatment with dilute alkali gives di-heliotridane (II). As the latter contains two asymmetric carbon atoms, two diastereoisomeric racemates might be produced in this reaction but only one was formed. It had density and refractive index in general agreement with those recorded for Z-heliotridane, as were also the melting points of characteristic derivatives. Density Df °0-902, refractive index wf, 1-4638 (<. with Adams and Rogers,3i Df ° 0-935, iijf° 1-4641), picrate, m.p. 234-6° (literature 232-6°), picrolonate, m.p. 162-3°, aurichloride, m.p. 200-1° (Konovalova and Orekhov give for these two constants 152-3° and 199-200° respectively). 

The ( (inversion of active tartaric acid into the inactive forms is known. s nwe mi Million, Aw< according to Winther is effected by the uiU uhangc ol the gi-oujis round each asymmetric carbon atom successively so that p.art of the active acid is fiisl con-wiled into luesotiut.nit acid, uliidi then passes into the laevo ariety,... 

The structure of biotin was determined in the early 1940s by Kogl in Europe and by dn Vigneand and coworkers in the United States. Interestingly, the biotin molecule contains three asymmetric carbon atoms, and biotin could thus exist as eight different stereoisomers. Only one of these shows biological activity. 

Two pieces of chemical evidence support the three-membered ring formulation. The bifunctional oxazirane prepared from glyoxal, tert-butylamine, and peracetic acid (6) can be obtained in two crystalline isomeric forms. According to the three-membered ring formula there should be two asymmetric carbon atoms which should allow the existence of meso and racemic forms. A partial optical resolution was carried out with 2-7i-propyl-3-methyl-3-isobutyloxazirane. Brucine was oxidized to the N-oxide with excess of the oxazirane. It was found that the unused oxazirane was optically active. 

No aldehyde or ketone has been obtained from it by oxidation. Its constitution is probably allied to those of citronellol and rhodinol, but, since it contains an asymmetric carbon atom, as shown by its optical activity, the three formulae given under bupleurol obviously cannot represent androl. 

The polarimeter is an instrument with which the essential oil chemist cannot possibly dispense. The hypothesis, first seriously enunciated by Le Bel and van t Hoff, that substances which contained an asymmetric carbon atom i.e. a carbon atom directly united to four different atoms or radicles) were capable of rotating the plane of polarisation of a beam of polarised light, has now become a fundamental theory of organic chemistry-. The majority of essential oils contain one or more components containing such a carbon atom, and so possess the power of effecting this rotation. In general, the extent to which a given oil can produce this effect is fairly constant, so that it can be used, within limits, as a criterion of the purity or otherwise of the oil. 

Kjj = number of structurally isomeric paraffins of molecular formula without asymmetric carbon atoms ... 

In this paper, asymmetric carbon atoms are considered only in paraffins and substituted paraffins, and the following definition will be retained (cf. Sec. 36(b)) A carbon atom is called asymmetric if the four bonded radicals arc pairwise structurally different. (Thus, it is not sufficient to require that the four radicals are not stereoisomers in order to declare a carbon atom asymmetric. One could envisage other, possibly useful, definitions.)... 

Inequality (3.12) ensues from the well-known fact that a given structure which contains a asymmetric carbon atoms gives rise to 2 in general distinct, stereoisomers and in some exceptional cases to fewer than 2 stereoisomers. Nevertheless, the purely analytical deduction of inequality (3.12) from (7) and (2.22) corroborates the observation. The exception, that is the case in which there are fewer than 2 stereoisomers in the presence of a asymmetric carbon atoms, involves compensation of asymmetries. The corollary of (3.12) indicates that compensation of asymmetries in cannot occur... 

The number of asymmetric carbon atoms in this formula is a 3 the number of distinct stereoisomers is 4, not 8 the difference 8-4 appears in (3.1) as the first coefficient.]... 

In the realm of chemical enumeration we note Polya s equation (4.4) which gives the generating function for stereoisomers of the alkyl radicals, or equivalently, alcohols — that is, equation (5.2) of this article. His equation (4.3) gives the corresponding result for the structural isomers of these compounds. His equations (4.2) and (4.5) correspond, respectively, to the cases of alcohols without any asymmetric carbon atoms and the number of embeddings in the plane of structural formulae for alcohols in general. The latter problem is not chemically very significant. 

Strychnine, the most celebrated member of the Strychnos alkaloids, possesses a complex polycyclic structure which is assembled from only twenty-four skeletal atoms. In addition to its obvious architectural complexity, strychnine s structure contains a contiguous array of six unsymmetrically substituted tetrahedral (asymmetric) carbon atoms of which five are included within one saturated six-membered ring. The intimidating structure of the strychnine molecule elicited the following remark by Sir Robert Robinson in 1952 For its molecular size it is the most complex substance known. 5... 

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