Electrophilic species, quinone methides

The prototype o-quinone methide (o-QM) and / -quinone methide (p-QM) are reactive intermediates. In fact, they have only been detected spectroscopically at low temperatures (10 K) in an argon matrix,1 or as a transient species by laser flash photolysis.2 Such a reactivity is mainly due to their electrophilic nature, which is remarkable in comparison to that of other neutral electrophiles. In fact, QMs are excellent Michael acceptors, and nucleophiles add very fast under mild conditions at the QM exocyclic methylene group to form benzylic adducts, according to Scheme 2.1.2a 3... 

Given their extraordinary reactivity, one might assume that o-QMs offer plentiful applications as electrophiles in synthetic chemistry. However, unlike their more stable /tora-quinone methide (p-QM) cousin, the potential of o-QMs remains largely untapped. The reason resides with the propensity of these species to participate in undesired addition of the closest available nucleophile, which can be solvent or the o-QM itself. Methods for o-QM generation have therefore required a combination of low concentrations and high temperatures to mitigate and reverse undesired pathways and enable the redistribution into thermodynamically preferred and desired products. Hence, the principal uses for o-QMs have been as electrophilic heterodienes either in intramolecular cycloaddition reactions with nucleophilic alkenes under thermodynamic control or in intermolecular reactions under thermodynamic control where a large excess of a reactive nucleophile thwarts unwanted side reactions by its sheer vast presence. 

For over 35 years, the quinone methide species has been invoked as a reactive intermediate in bioreductive alkylation and in other biological processes.8 29 Generally, there is only circumstantial evidence that the quinone methide species forms in solution. Conceivably, the O-protonated quinone methide (i.e., the hydroquinone carbocation) could be the electrophilic species. If so, bioreductive alkylation may simply be an SN1 reaction. Also, there are questions concerning the mechanism of quinone methide... 

The most important conclusion of this research program is that quinone methide O-protonation is required for alkylation to occur. The quinone methide species is often referred to in the literature as an electrophilic species. Actually, the quinone methides obtained from reductive activation possess a slightly electron-rich methide center. There is electron release to the methide center by the hydroxyl, which is balanced by electron... 

The starting point for much of the work described in this article is the idea that quinone methides (QMs) are the electrophilic species that are generated from ortho-hydro-xybenzyl halides during the relatively selective modification of tryptophan residues in proteins. Therefore, a series of suicide substrates (a subtype of mechanism-based inhibitors) that produce quinone or quinonimine methides (QIMs) have been designed to inhibit enzymes. The concept of mechanism-based inhibitors was very appealing and has been widely applied. The present review will be focused on the inhibition of mammalian serine proteases and bacterial serine (3-lactamases by suicide inhibitors. These very different classes of enzymes have however an analogous step in their catalytic mechanism, the formation of an acyl-enzyme intermediate. Several studies have examined the possible use of quinone or quinonimine methides as the latent... 

The studies described above show that a quinone methide or its aza-analogue quinonimine methide incorporated as a latent electrophilic species into a cyclic lactone or lactam precursor can modify a second nucleophilic residue within the enzyme active site after formation of the acyl-enzyme. Very efficient suicide... 

Absorption of a photon in the UV spectral region may lead to generation of electrophilic species by fast heterolytic bond cleavage at the photochemically excited state.10 Quinone methides are readily accessible through reactions of such photochemical excited states.11,12 This section outlines photochemical pathways for the generation of quinone methides. 

W(Tp)(NO)(PMe3)(r]2-benzene)] reacted with an excess of phenol to yield the two steroisomers of [W(Tp)(NO)(PMe3)(r]2-2H-phenol)] (Fig. 2.44), which in the presence of base and electrophilic species such as benzaldehyde, alkyl iodides, and Michael acceptors, is able to form new C-C bonds. Methyl and ethyl iodide react at C2 to form 2-alkyl-2H-phenol complexes, whereas the Michael acceptors react at C4 to give 4-alkyl-4H-phenol complexes. The crystal and molecular structures of the 2-ethyl-2H-phenol and of the phenyl o-quinone methide complexes have been reported.190... 

The structural design of 68 seems to be the key to the problem. In fact, an electrochemical study has shown that the biological effect seems triggered by the reversible oxidation of the ferrocene entity, which could then be followed by a premature transformation of the phenol via generation of an intermediate carbenium ion, leading to a fairly stable quinone methide 70 [94], It is well documented that electrophilic species such as quinone methides have the potential to alkylate cellular macromolecules to produce a cytotoxic effect [151-153]. Complex 69, however, which is isolated in the form of the stable trans isomer, cannot produce a stabilized quinone methide. It is thus clear that for targeted organometaUic products such as 68 and 69, structural considerations come to the fore. 

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