Nitrone traps

The prime drawback with the nitrone traps, is the relative paucity of information immediately available from the spectra of the derived spin adducts. For example, with few exceptions the spin adducts of PBN [7] give six-line spectra with resolved splittings only from nitrogen and from the / proton. Identification of spin adducts must then be by careful comparison of the magnitude of the hyperfine splittings with those found for reference nitroxides... 

Reactive free radicals also react with the nitrogen of nitroso groups, forming a nitroxide one atom closer to the trapped radical than is the case with nitrone spin traps. This results in ESR spectra containing more chemical structural information. While nitroso spin traps provide radical identification, the resultant adducts are often less stable than those derived from nitrone traps. In particular, nitroso traps are unreliable for oxygen-centered radicals even in vitro. 

New Acyclic Nitrone Spin Traps. - The range of new acyclic nitrone traps that have been synthesised is more limited than that of the related cyclic materials. Examples of some of these new materials are given in Scheme 3. This is due, at least in part, to the perception that these traps provide more limited data in terms of the range of hyperfine coupling constants than the cyclic nitrones, and hence decreased opportunities for definitive identification of radical adducts. Nonetheless these traps can have considerable advantages in that they often yield very persistent adducts, which can be of major benefit in determining whether a process is radical-mediated or not, before more intensive study to determine the exact nature of the species involved. This persistence is of major importance when the separation and subsequent identification (by other... 

Since the rate constant for hydrogen atom abstraction from cyclohexane by t -butoxy radicals has been estimated W (namely 1x10 sec ll at ambient temperatures) a rate constant of 5.5x10 sec for the trapping of t-butoxy radicals can be determined. (Actually a cyclic nitrone trap, 5,5-dimethylpyrroline-l-oxide (DMPO) was used for this study since a serious peak overlap problem was encountered with the two spin adducts of PBN (j6). 

Accordingly, cyclic nitronates can be a useful synthetic equivalent of functionalized nitrile oxides, while reaction examples are quite limited. Thus, 2-isoxazoline N-oxide and 5,6-dihydro-4H-l,2-oxazine N-oxide, as five- and six-membered cyclic nitronates, were generated in-situ by dehydroiodination of 3-iodo-l-nitropropane and 4-iodo-l-nitrobutane with triethylamine and trapped with monosubstituted alkenes to give 5-substituted 3-(2-hydroxyethyl)isoxazolines and 2-phenylperhydro-l,2-oxazino[2,3-fe]isoxazole, respectively (Scheme 7.26) [72b]. Upon treatment with a catalytic amount of trifluoroacetic acid, the perhydro-l,2-oxazino[2,3-fe]isoxazole was quantitatively converted into the corresponding 2-isoxazoline. Since a method for catalyzed enantioselective nitrone cycloadditions was established and cyclic nitronates should behave like cyclic nitrones in reactivity, there would be a good chance to attain catalyzed enantioselective formation of 2-isoxazolines via nitronate cycloadditions. 

Florio and coworkers have also reported the use of oxazolinyl groups as anion-stabilizing substituents. Lithiation/electrophile trapping of oxazolinylepoxide 202 provided access to acyloxiranes 205 [72], while deprotonation/electrophile trapping of oxazolinylepoxide 206 with nitrones gave access to enantiopure a-epoxy- 3-amino acids 208 (Scheme 5.48) [73],... 

Nitrones arc generally more stable than nitroso-compounds and arc therefore easier to handle. However, the nitroxides formed by reaction with nitrones [e.g. phenyl /-butyl nitrone (109)]483 484 have the radical center one carbon removed from the trapped radical (Scheme 3.86). The LPR spectra are therefore less sensitive to the nature of that radical and there is greater difficulty in resolving and assigning signals. Nitrones are generally less efficient traps than nitroso-compounds.476... 

Many nitrones and nitroso-compounds have been exploited as spin traps in elucidating radical reaction mechanisms by EPR spectroscopy (Section 3.5.2.1). The initial adducts are nitroxides which can trap further radicals (Scheme 5.17). 

Continuing his studies on the metallation of tetrahydro-2-benzazepine formamidines, Meyers has now shown that the previously unsuccessful deprotonation of 1-alkyl derivatives can be achieved with sec-butyllithium at -40 °C <96H(42)475>. In this way 1,1-dialkylated derivatives are now accessible. The preparation of 3//-benzazepines by chemical oxidation of 2,5- and 2,3-dihydro-l/f-l-benzazepines has been reported <96T4423>. 3Af-Diazepines are also formed by rearrangement of the 5//-tautomers which had been previously reported to be the products of electrochemical oxidation of 2,5-dihydro-lAf-l-benzazepine <95T9611>. The synthesis and radical trapping activities of a number of benzazepine derived nitrones have been reported <96T6519, 96JBC3097>. 

One-pot tandem sequences involving 1,4-addition and ISOC as the key steps have been developed for the construction of N and 0 heterocycles as well as of carbocycles [44]. In this sequence, the nitronate arising from 1,4-addition to an a, -unsaturated nitro alkene is trapped kinetically using trimethyl silyl chloride (TMSCl). The resulting silyl nitronate underwent a facile intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with the unsaturated tether (e.g.. Schemes 20-22). 

In the case of nitronates possessing ester or nitrile moieties as terminal olefin substituents, tandem Michael addition to produce substituted furans 174,175 occurred faster than trapping of the nitronate anion by TMSCl (Eq. 17). 

It is unfortunate that typical concentrations of free-radical species present in biological systems are only at the limit of e.s.r. detection sensitivity and, of course, there are major technical difficulties in studying whole animals in this manner. Therefore, the most successful e.s.r. experiments have adopted the approach of spin trapping in which very reactive and thus transient radical species are converted to long-lived adducts via reaction with a trap such as a nitrone, e.g. Equation 1.1 ... 

Kalyanaraman, B., Joseph, J. and Parthasarthy, S. (1991). The spin trap, a-phenyl N-test butyl nitrone inhibits the oxidative modication of low density lipoprotein. FEBS Lett. 280,17-20. 

Parratt, J.R. and Wainwright, C.L. (1987). Failure of allopurinol and a spin trapping agent N- -butyl-alpha-phenyl nitrone to modify significantly ischaemia and tepcrfiision-induced arrhythmias. Br. J. Pharmacol. 91, 49-59. 

Despite their short half-lives, it is possible to detect free radicals in biological tissues by the addition of nonradicals such as nitrones or nitroso compounds, which act as spin traps by forming relatively stable free radicals on reaction with the endogenous radical species. Utilizing the technique of electron spin resonance (e.s.r.) spectroscopy, we have demonstrated ROM generation by human rheumatoid synovium when subjected to cycles of hypoxia/normoxia in vitro. Using 3,5-dibromo-4-nitroso-benzenesulphonate (DBNBS) as a spin trap, a... 

Ohnishi (Sakamoto etal., 1991) has described an oligomeric derivative of prostaglandin Bi (PGB2) and ascorbic acid. In a rat bilateral carotid occlusion-reperfiision injury complicated by haemorrhagic hypotension, this compound reduced a-phenyl-r-butyl nitrone (PBN) spin-trapped radicals and thiobarbituric acid-reactive products (TBARs) (a measure of lipid peroxidation) in isolated... 

Recendy, PEN, a-4-pyridyl-oxide-N-t-butyl nitrone (POEN) or 5-5,dimethyl-1, pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) were evaluated in models of experimental shock (endo-toxic, traumatic and mesenteric artery occlusion in rats). All three nitrones, when given prior to the insult intraperitoneally, were protective. When the nitrone s spin trapping ability was inactivated by exposure to solar light and air, they were no longer efficacious (Novelli, 1992). 

Bolli, R, Patel, B.S., Jeroudi, M.O., Lai, E.K. and McCay, P.B. (1988). Demonstration of free radical generation in stunned myocardium of intact dogs with the use of the spin trap a-phenyl-N-ferr-butyl nitrone. J. Clin. Invest. 82, 476-485. 

Novelli, G.P. (1992). Oxygen radicals in experimental shock. Effects of spin-trapping nitrones in ameliorating shock pathophysiology. Grit. Care Med. 20, 499-507. 

The presence of /3-hydrogen in the nitroxide radical may lead to disproportionation reactions. In spin-trapping experiments, N-t-butyl-a-phenyl nitrone yields rather unstable spin adducts. This type of radical can be stabilized by coordination to Nin. The Ni11 complex with N-oxy-A-r-butyl-(2-pyridyl)phenylmethanamine (923) reveals a distorted octahedral geometry with antiferromagnetic interactions between the unpaired electrons of the metal ion and the radical spins.00... 

The process of trapping and adduct formation is shown below for a nitrone spin trap. 

A convenient and general method has been developed for the synthesis of alkylpyrroles starting from ketones and nitroalkenes via reduction of the intermediate acetic nitronic anhydride as shown in Eq. 10.1. Ketone enolates react with a variety of nitroalkenes to yield the Michael adducts, lithium nitronates, which are trapped with acetic anhydride to give the corresponding acetic nitronic anhydrides. The acetic nitronic anhydrides are easily converted into alkylpyrroles by reduction with Zn(Cu).3... 

A spin trap is a diamagnetic compound that reacts with a radical by addition of the radical functionality typically to a double bond in the trap, thus forming a new radical that is more stable (better, less unstable) than the original radical. By far the most common class of spin traps are nitrone compounds that, upon addition of the primary radical, produce a stable aminoxyl radical (Figure 10.1). The compound DMPO is the paradigmatic spin trap it is readily available, widely used, and its EPR spectra are relatively easy to interpret. Some of its radical adducts have unpractically short lifetimes. 

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