Optical activity, mechanism studies

Studies of reaction mechanisms ia O-enriched water show the foUowiag cleavage of dialkyl sulfates is primarily at the C—O bond under alkaline and acid conditions, and monoalkyl sulfates cleave at the C—O bond under alkaline conditions and at the S—O bond under acid conditions (45,54). An optically active half ester (j -butyl sulfate [3004-76-0]) hydroly2es at 100°C with iaversion under alkaline conditions and with retention plus some racemization under acid conditions (55). Effects of solvent and substituted stmcture have been studied, with moist dioxane giving marked rate enhancement (44,56,57). Hydrolysis of monophenyl sulfate [4074-56-0] has been similarly examined (58). 

The ion pair mechanism initially suggested by Darwish and McLaren28 (equation 2) has received further support from related studies conducted by several other investigators38-42. For example, Fava and coworkers38 have reported that during isomerization in acetic acid, optically active benzhydryl p-toluenesulfmate loses optical activity at a rate which is about two and a half times faster than the rate of sulfone formation, thus indicating that return from an ion-pair species is occurring (equation 3). 

The d5Tiamic stereochemistries of M(dtc)3 and [M(dtc)3] (M = Fe, Co, or Rh) complexes have been studied (315). The cobalt complex is non-rigid, but the mechanism of optical inversion could not be determined. The Rh complex is stereochemically rigid up to 200°. The optical inversion of (-l-)546 [Colpyr-dtcla] in chloroform has been studied, by loss of optical activity, by polarimetry (316). 

Application of this technique to a study of the photoelimination of azo compounds has been reported by Porter, Landis, and Marrett.aw Photolysis of the unsymmetrically substituted azo compound (1) in solvents of varying viscosity revealed a dependence of on solvent viscosity as shown in Table 11.2. Photolysis of optically active (1) (40% completion) and examination of the remaining azo compound indicated that 26% of the original optical activity had been lost. This is explained by the following mechanism involving stepwise homolysis ... 

Prototropic interconversions have been the subject of much detailed study, as they lend themselves particularly well to investigation by deuterium labelling, both in solvent and substrate, and by charting the stereochemical fate of optically active substrates having a chiral centre at the site of proton departure. Possible limiting mechanisms (cf. SNl/SN2) are those (a) in which proton removal and proton acceptance (from the solvent) are separate operations, and a carbanion intermediate is involved, i.e. an intermolecular pathway and (b) in which one and the same proton is transferred intramolecularly ... 

On the other hand, optically active telluroxides have not been isolated until recently, although it has been surmised that they are key intermediates in asymmetric synthesis.3,4 In 1997, optically active telluroxides 3, stabilized by bulky substituents toward racemization, were isolated for the first time by liquid chromatography on optically active columns.13,14 The stereochemistry was determined by comparing their chiroptical properties with those of chiral selenoxides with known absolute configurations. The stability of the chiral telluroxides toward racemization was found to be lower than that of the corresponding selenoxides, and the racemization mechanism that involved formation of the achiral hydrate by reaction of water was also clarified. Telluroxides 4 and 5, which were thermodynamically stabilized by nitrogen-tellurium interactions, were also optically resolved and their absolute configurations and stability were studied (Scheme 2).12,14... 

Optically active sulfonium and selenonium salts are well known and the stereochemistry of the isomers has been studied.1 3 Optically active cyclic diaryl(alkoxy)-sulfonium salts 14, 15, and 16, stabilized by intramolecular sulfur-oxygen interaction, were synthesized in 2000 by reacting optically active spirosulfuranes with trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate.29 The absolute configurations were assigned on the basis of the reaction mechanism. The sulfonium salts were hydrolyzed in KHC03aq. to yield optically active sulfoxides in over 86% ee (Scheme 7). 

Kinetic studies on racemization, oxygen exchange reaction using H2lsO, and theoretical studies clarified the mechanism for racemization of optically active chalcogenic acids.34,37 The mechanism of racemization of tellurinic acids is different from that of the corresponding seleninic acids. In fact, the mechanism for racemization of optically active tellurinic acids was found to involve an... 

This reaction was discovered while studying the mechanism of racemisation of optically active of aryl sulphoxides. 

Japanese workers (50,51) were the first to observe optical activity in the addition of thiols to electron-poor olefins (eq. [9]) The e.e. was not determined, but these observations led us to attempt using a cinchona alkaloid as the catalyst in the addition of thiophenol to cyclohexenone. The reaction lends itself admirably to a scope, limitations, and mechanism study, and the results have been published in detail (19). An important mechanistic difference between the addition of the dodecanethiol to isopropenyl methyl ketone and the addition of thiophenol to a cyclohexenone (eq. [1]) lies in the sequence of chirality-producing steps. In the former case, chirality is produced when the proton adds to the a-caibon atom of the ketone—after thiol addition has taken place. In the latter... 

Another type of diradical intermediate species (27) in Cope rearrangement is formed during thermolysis of optically active frans-4,9-dimethyl-1,2,6,7-cyclodecatetraene 2425 which was studied in order to distinguish between concerted and stepwise mechanisms of Cope rearrangement. The transformation of optically active trans-24 via a concerted mechanism would lead to optically active tetraenes 25 and 26, while the participation... 

As a result of recent extensive studies, especially that of Mislow (247) on the stereomutation of sulfoxides, it is recognized that racemization of optically active organosulfur compounds occurs under various conditions and according to different mechanisms. 

Biocatalytk decarboxylation is a imique reaction, in the sense that it can be considered to be a protonation reaction to a carbanion equivalent intermediate in aqueous medimn. Thus, if optically active compoimds can be prepared via this type of reaction, it would be a very characteristic biotransformation, as compared to ordinary organic reactions. An enzyme isolated from a specific strain of Alcaligenes bronchisepticus catalyzes the asymmetric decarboxylation of a-aryl-a-methyhnalonic acid to give optically active a-arylpropionic acids. The effect of additives revealed that this enzyme requires no biotin, no co-enzyme A, and no ATP, as ordinary decarboxylases and transcarboxylases do. Studies on inhibitors of this enzyme and spectroscopic analysis made it clear that the Cys residue plays an essential role in the present reaction. The imique reaction mechanism based on these results and kinetic data in its support are presented. 

The functions of phenylpropanoid derivatives are as diverse as their structural variations. Phenylpropanoids serve as phytoalexins, UV protectants, insect repellents, flower pigments, and signal molecules for plant-microbe interactions. They also function as polymeric constituents of support and surface structures such as lignins and suberins [1]. Therefore, biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids has received much interest in relation to these functions. In addition, the biosynthesis of these compounds has been intensively studied because they are often chiral, and naturally occurring samples of these compounds are usually optically active. Elucidation of these enantioselective mechanisms may contribute to the development of novel biomimetic systems for enantioselective organic synthesis. 

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