Azologization of serotonin 5-HT₃ receptor antagonists

• Karin Rustler,
• Galyna Maleeva,
• Piotr Bregestovski and
• Burkhard König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 780–788, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.74

• atmosphere afforded the quinoxaline azobenzene derivative 11 [68]. Subsequent methylation using methyl iodide [69] mainly resulted in the formation of the N-methylated non-photochromic product 12b but in low yields also the desired photochromic methoxy-substituted quinoxaline azobenzene derivative 12a

Synthesis of the polyketide section of seragamide A and related cyclodepsipeptides via Negishi cross coupling

• Jan Hendrik Lang and
• Thomas Lindel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 577–583, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.53

• [39] proved to be superior to the more commonly employed n-BuLi/MeI reagent combination that led to the formation of a series of side products. We also attempted a Bestmann–Ohira reaction with in situ formation of the diazo phosphonate [40] that gave a slightly inferior yield after methylation of the

• . Boc protection yielded N-Boc-D-3-iodotyrosine (21), which underwent three-fold methylation to N-methyl-O-methyliodotyrosine methyl ester 22 (82% yield, er 4:1, CHIRALPAK® IA, hexane/iPrOH 9:1). Partial racemization of 21 could not be suppressed since a slight excess of base was always necessary

• , whereas the use of exactly stoichiometric amounts resulted in incomplete N-methylation. Treating the Boc-protected methyl ester of iodotyrosine 21 with a larger excess of base and methyl iodide (10 equiv each) led to the formation of the α-quaternary amino acid 23 (Scheme 4). An alternative route to the N

Synthesis and biological investigation of (+)-3-hydroxymethylartemisinin

• Toni Smeilus,
• Farnoush Mousavizadeh,
• Johannes Krieger,
• Xingzhao Tu,
• Marcel Kaiser and
• Athanassios Giannis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 567–570, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.51

• 24% and 16% yield, respectively. Protection of the free hydroxy group of 16 as a silyl ether and methylation of the obtained lactone in α-position (LDA/MeI/HMPA) afforded derivative 17. After removal of the TES protecting group (+)-3-hydroxymethyl-9-epi-artemisinin (18, Scheme 3) was obtained

Synthesis and SAR of the antistaphylococcal natural product nematophin from Xenorhabdus nematophila

• Frank Wesche,
• Hélène Adihou,
• Thomas A. Wichelhaus and
• Helge B. Bode

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 535–541, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.47

• phthalimides 16 and 23 [29]. These intermediary compounds 16 and 23 also allowed an N-methylation of the azaindole moiety with sodium hydride (NaH) and methyl iodide (MeI) to yield 17 and 24. By ethanolic hydrazinolysis and microwave irradiation the phthalimides (16, 17, 23, and 24) were deprotected yielding

Synthesis and selected transformations of 2-unsubstituted 1-(adamantyloxy)imidazole 3-oxides: straightforward access to non-symmetric 1,3-dialkoxyimidazolium salts

• Grzegorz Mlostoń,
• Małgorzata Celeda,
• Katarzyna Urbaniak,
• Marcin Jasiński,
• Vladyslav Bakhonsky,
• Peter R. Schreiner and
• Heinz Heimgartner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 497–505, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.43

• approach to these products comprises the alkylation (in most cases methylation) of 1-hydroxyimidazole N-oxides. However, the products of the monomethylation could not be obtained, but symmetric N,N-disubstituted imidazolium salts resulting from double O-alkylation were isolated [18]. On the other hand

• reported earlier for their synthesis comprises the two-fold alkylation (methylation with Me2SO4 or benzylation using benzyl bromide) of some 1-hydroxyimidazole 3-oxides leading to symmetric 1,3-dialkoxyimidazolium salts [18]. In a recent publication, however, sequential alkylation of 1-hydroxyimidazole 3

Synthesis of nonracemic hydroxyglutamic acids

• Dorota G. Piotrowska,
• Iwona E. Głowacka,
• Andrzej E. Wróblewski and
• Liwia Lubowiecka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 236–255, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.22

• give dimethyl ester 98 (Scheme 25). Silver oxide-promoted methylation introduces a MeO-C4 unit. Regioselective aziridine ring opening in 99 was then carried out in the known way with benzyl alcohol or methanol to produce substituted dimethyl L-glutamates 100 and 101. To ensure clean deprotection in the

• a few steps into (2S,5'S)-tricholomic acid [47]. The absolute configuration of (R)-(−)-carnitine was established by enzymatic decarboxylation of (2S,3R)-3-hydroxyglutamic acid followed by exhaustive methylation [121]. Fluoroglutamic acids are of special interest for PET imaging [122] and among other

Synthesis and biological activity of methylated derivatives of the Pseudomonas metabolites HHQ, HQNO and PQS

• Sven Thierbach,
• Max Wienhold,
• Susanne Fetzner and
• Ulrich Hennecke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 187–193, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.18

• are associated with quorum sensing and virulence of the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, have been prepared. While the synthesis by direct methylation was successful for 3-unsubstituted 2-heptyl-4(1H)-quinolones, methylated derivatives of the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) were synthesized

• from 3-iodinated quinolones by methylation and iodine–metal exchange/oxidation. The two N- and O-methylated derivatives of the PQS showed strong quorum sensing activity comparable to that of PQS itself. Staphylococcus aureus, another pathogenic bacterium often co-occurring with P. aeruginosa especially

• in the lung of cystic fibrosis patients, was inhibited in planktonic growth and cellular respiration by the 4-O-methylated derivatives of HQNO and HHQ, respectively. Keywords: antibiotic acitivity; methylation; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; quinolones; quorum sensing; Introduction 2-Alkyl-4(1H

A simple and effective preparation of quercetin pentamethyl ether from quercetin

• Jin Tatsuzaki,
• Tomohiko Ohwada,
• Yuko Otani,
• Reiko Inagi and
• Tsutomu Ishikawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 3112–3121, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.291

• University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0013, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.14.291 Abstract Among the five hydroxy (OH) groups of quercetin (3,5,7,3',4'-pentahydroxyflavone), the OH group at 5 position is the most resistant to methylation due to its strong intramolecular hydrogen bonding with the

• carbonyl group at 4 position. Thus, it is generally difficult to synthesize the pentamethyl ether efficiently by conventional methylation. Here, we describe a simple and effective per-O-methylation of quercetin with dimethyl sulfate in potassium (or sodium) hydroxide/dimethyl sulfoxide at room temperature

• for about 2 hours, affording quercetin pentamethyl ether (QPE) quantitatively as a single product. When methyl iodide was used in place of dimethyl sulfate, the C-methylation product 6-methylquercetin pentamethyl ether was also formed. A computational study provided a rationale for the experimental

Volatiles from the hypoxylaceous fungi Hypoxylon griseobrunneum and Hypoxylon macrocarpum

• Jan Rinkel,
• Alexander Babczyk,
• Tao Wang,
• Marc Stadler and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2974–2990, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.277

• other two isomers 2,3,4-trimethylanisole (24d) and 2,4,5-trimethylanisole (24) were obtained by ortho-methylation of 3,4-dimethylphenol (28) via a known procedure [33], followed by HPLC purification of the products 2,4,5-trimethylphenol (29a) and 2,3,4-trimethylphenol (29b) and subsequent O-methylation

• (methyl-2H3)methionine. While the methylation pattern of the alternative structure 24c is difficult to understand via a polyketide biosynthesis mechanism, the formation of the assigned structure of 24 by a polyketide synthase (PKS) can be easily rationalised (Scheme 2). The acetate starter unit, bound to

• the acyl carrier protein (ACP) of an iterative fungal PKS, can be elongated with malonyl-SCoA (mal-SCoA) followed by C-methylation with S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM). Two more rounds of elongation with mal-SCoA, the first extension with C-methylation and action of a ketoreductase (KR), result in a

Synthesis of unnatural α-amino esters using ethyl nitroacetate and condensation or cycloaddition reactions

• Glwadys Gagnot,
• Vincent Hervin,
• Eloi P. Coutant,
• Sarah Desmons,
• Racha Baatallah,
• Victor Monnot and
• Yves L. Janin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2846–2852, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.263

• -amino esters, we tried their preparation via a C-methylation of α-nitroester 6a in DMF using sodium hydride and methyl iodide. Upon purification, this gave 46% of the nitro compound 9 with 94% purity (as assessed by 1H NMR). Despite this modest yield, the ensuing reduction using zinc and hydrochloric

Synthesis of pyrrolidine-based hamamelitannin analogues as quorum sensing inhibitors in Staphylococcus aureus

• Jakob Bouton,
• Kristof Van Hecke,
• Reuven Rasooly and
• Serge Van Calenbergh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2822–2828, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.260

• % yield in 17 steps from 16. The pyrrolidine nitrogen was then further derivatized with several small substituents (Scheme 7). Reductive amination with several aldehydes resulted in 3a–c. The N-methyl analogue 3d was synthesized via methylation with MeI. The methanesulfonamide 3e and acetamide 3f, in

Learning from B₁₂ enzymes: biomimetic and bioinspired catalysts for eco-friendly organic synthesis

• Keishiro Tahara,
• Ling Pan,
• Toshikazu Ono and
• Yoshio Hisaeda

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2553–2567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.232

• ]. Constructing the methyl transfer cycle under non-enzymatic conditions is a challenging issue for chemists. Here, we describe model studies of the methylation of B12 derivatives and methyl transfer from methylated B12 derivatives. Zn2+ ions were considered as the essential cofactors in the enzymatic reactions

• ) species readily react with various methyl halides such as methyl iodide to form a methyl–cobalt complex. Moreover, methanol could also serve as a methyl donor after the activation of the OH group by a Lewis acid such as Zn2+ [70][71]. Thiols could also mediate the methylation of 1 with methyl iodide or

Cobalt- and rhodium-catalyzed carboxylation using carbon dioxide as the C1 source

• Tetsuaki Fujihara and
• Yasushi Tsuji

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2435–2460, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.221

• , respectively. The reaction of unsymmetrical 1-phenyl-1-hexyne with 18a afforded 19d-H and 19d-Et regioselectively. In addition, an alkyne with a thiophene ring regioselectively produced the desired product 19e-Me after methylation with MeI. It is noteworthy that an alkynoate was also converted into the

A novel and practical asymmetric synthesis of eptazocine hydrobromide

• Ruipeng Li,
• Zhenren Liu,
• Liang Chen,
• Jing Pan,
• Kuaile Lin and
• Weicheng Zhou

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2340–2347, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.209

• improved the reaction yield (Table 3, entries 4 and 5). The reductive methylation of 14 under Eschweiler–Clarke conditions (HCOOH/formalin/reflux) furnished 15 in quantitative yield. The latter was reduced by NaBH4 in methanol at room temperature, and then dehydration and hydrogenation with H2/Pd/C in

Studies towards the synthesis of hyperireflexolide A

• G. Hari Mangeswara Rao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2106–2111, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.185

• cyclopentane 5, a functionalized key intermediate, is presented. Compound 5 is involved in hydrolysis, α-allylation at C-8 and α-methylation at C-10 stereoselectively from the convex face. Then it is subjected to cross metathesis to give α,β-unsaturated ketone 11 as precursor in the total synthesis of

• subjected to methylation using 1.1 equiv of K2CO3 in the presence of methyl iodide (MeI). The α-methylated β-ketoester 8 was obtained in good yield. In the 1H NMR, 8 showed a signal at 3.70 ppm as doublet for C-10 (ring junction) proton confirming the selective methylation at C-8. Further, installation of

• afforded α-allylated γ-lactone-fused β-ketoester 4 in 88% yield. In the 1H NMR a signal appeared at 3.64 ppm as doublet for ring junction (C-10) proton confirmed that selective allylation occurred at C-8. Compound 4 was then subjected to methylation at C-10 using K2CO3 and MeI to obtain the requisite γ

Phosphodiester models for cleavage of nucleic acids

• Satu Mikkola,
• Tuomas Lönnberg and
• Harri Lönnberg

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 803–837, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.68

Volatiles from the xylarialean fungus Hypoxylon invadens

• Jeroen S. Dickschat,
• Tao Wang and
• Marc Stadler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 734–746, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.62

• hydroxy-methylbenzaldehydes were converted into the corresponding methoxy derivatives by methylation with potassium carbonate and methyl iodide. The GC–MS analysis of all the obtained methylation products unequivocally established the identity of 17 and 2-methoxy-4-methylbenzaldehyde by the same retention

• derivative to the corresponding aldehyde 12 that upon O-methylation (green), likely with S-adenosylmethionine, would result in 17. The alternative oxidation of 12 by a Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenase could result in the insertion of an oxygen (blue) to yield the formate ester 21, followed by ester hydrolysis

• reported from the fungi Nodulisporium sp. [18][28], Sporothrix sp. [31], and Leptographium wageneri [32]. The compound comprises the bis-methylation product of 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene, an important precursor of melanin-type pigments in fungi [33], while 20 has been reported to inhibit melanin biosynthesis

An air-stable bisboron complex: a practical bidentate Lewis acid catalyst

• Longcheng Hong,
• Sebastian Ahles,
• Andreas H. Heindl,
• Gastelle Tiétcha,
• Andrey Petrov,
• Zhenpin Lu,
• Christian Logemann and
• Hermann A. Wegner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 618–625, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.48

• optimized procedure, BBr3 was used to replace BCl3 and the dimerization reaction can be carried out in a normal Schlenk tube without any solvent. The methylation reagent, AlMe3 can be added in situ followed by the complexation with pyridazine. The one-pot procedure is also applicable to the synthesis of

Diastereoselective auxiliary- and catalyst-controlled intramolecular aza-Michael reaction for the elaboration of enantioenriched 3-substituted isoindolinones. Application to the synthesis of a new pazinaclone analogue

• Romain Sallio,
• Stéphane Lebrun,
• Frédéric Capet,
• Francine Agbossou-Niedercorn,
• Christophe Michon and
• Eric Deniau

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 593–602, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.46

• with a tert-butyl increased significantly the diastereoselectivity of the reaction with 62% de (Table 2, entry 3). No de improvements resulted from the use of catalysts 18d,e which were modified by methylation or allylation of the cinchoninium alcohol fragment (Table 2, entries 4 and 5). While using

Copper-catalyzed asymmetric methylation of fluoroalkylated pyruvates with dimethylzinc

• Kohsuke Aikawa,
• Kohei Yabuuchi,
• Kota Torii and
• Koichi Mikami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 576–582, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.44

• Kohsuke Aikawa Kohei Yabuuchi Kota Torii Koichi Mikami Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.14.44 Abstract The catalytic asymmetric methylation of

• fluoroalkylated pyruvates is shown with dimethylzinc as a methylating reagent in the presence of a copper catalyst bearing a chiral phosphine ligand. This is the first catalytic asymmetric methylation to synthesize various α-fluoroalkylated tertiary alcohols with CF3, CF2H, CF2Br, and n-CnF2n+1 (n = 2, 3, 8

• ) groups in good-to-high yields and enantioselectivities. Axial backbones and substituents on phosphorus atoms of chiral phosphine ligands critically influence the enantioselectivity. Moreover, the methylation of simple perfluoroalkylated ketones is found to be facilitated by only chiral phosphines without

Investigations towards the stereoselective organocatalyzed Michael addition of dimethyl malonate to a racemic nitroalkene: possible route to the 4-methylpregabalin core structure

• Denisa Vargová,
• Rastislav Baran and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 553–559, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.42

• 4-methylpregabalin from ethyl 3-methylbutanoate using an organocatalytic Michael addition as the stereoinduction step. Results and Discussion The starting material for the Michael addition was synthesized from ethyl 3-methylbutanoate (2). This straightforward sequence comprised methylation

• , reduction, nitro-aldol reaction, and dehydration (Scheme 1). Methylation of the ester 2 in the alpha position proceeded easily with LDA as a base and methyl iodide as an alkylating agent. The ester functionality was then reduced with DIBAL in dichloromethane to afford aldehyde 4 in 90% yield. A base

Volatiles from the tropical ascomycete Daldinia clavata (Hypoxylaceae, Xylariales)

• Tao Wang,
• Kathrin I. Mohr,
• Marc Stadler and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 135–147, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.9

• -SACP. This may be followed by SAM-dependent C-methylation by a methyl transferase domain (MT). The stereochemical course for this reaction can be inferred from the 4R-configuration of the final product 11a, if indeed an iterative PKS is involved that should have the same stereochemical course for the

• installation of the stereocentre in intermediate A corresponding to C-6 of 11a. The next chain extension with malonyl-SCoA and methylation proceeds with the same stereochemical courses as discussed above, but stops after action of the KR to yield intermediate B in which all the stereocentres that occur in 11a

• are already defined. A third extension with malonyl-SCoA and methylation gives rise to intermediate C that can be released, e.g., by a thioesterase to the β-keto acid D, followed by spontaneous decarboxylation to 11a. Two structurally related molecules to 11a have been reported from endophytic

Aminomethylation/hydrogenolysis as an alternative to direct methylation of metalated isoquinolines – a novel total synthesis of the alkaloid 7-hydroxy-6-methoxy-1-methylisoquinoline

• Benedikt C. Melzer,
• Jan G. Felber and
• Franz Bracher

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 130–134, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.8

• 7-benzyloxy-6-methoxyisoquinoline with Knochel–Hauser base, followed by cuprate-mediated methylation gives the target alkaloid directly, but separation from the educt is cumbersome. Quenching the metalated intermediate with Eschenmoser’s reagent gives an easy to clean tertiary benzylamine, which

• , after quaternization with iodomethane, is easily converted into the desired 1-methylisoquinoline by hydrogenolysis of both the benzylamine and benzyl ether groups. Keywords: alkaloid; aminomethylation; hydrogenolysis; isoquinoline; metalation; methylation; Introduction The isoquinoline ring system has

• of the direct methylation of electron-deficient N-heterocycles have been reviewed [9]. In a project aimed at the synthesis of tri- and tetracylic alkaloids containing the isoquinoline scaffold, we were interested in isoquinoline building blocks which bear a methyl group at C1, since this group should

Fluorescent nucleobase analogues for base–base FRET in nucleic acids: synthesis, photophysics and applications

• Mattias Bood,
• Sangamesh Sarangamath,
• Moa S. Wranne,
• Morten Grøtli and
• L. Marcus Wilhelmsson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 114–129, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.7

• conformations depending on conditions. Z-DNA, a GC-repeat rich, thermodynamically less preferred, left-handed helical conformation that is favored by cytosine methylation is known to form in vivo under negative supercoiling or high salt concentrations [64][65][66][67][68]. Circular dichroism is traditionally

Synthetic mRNA capping

• Fabian Muttach,
• Nils Muthmann and
• Andrea Rentmeister

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 2819–2832, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.274

• triphosphorylated viral RNAs from cellular RNAs [12]. The antiviral response is among others mediated by the cytosolic receptor RIG-I which is activated by short single and double-stranded triphosphorylated RNAs and MDA-5. MDA-5 recognizes long triphosphorylated RNAs and RNAs lacking the 2′-OH methylation at the

• subsequent methylation of the 2′-hydroxy group of the adjacent second and third ribose, respectively [34]. These capping enzymes – e.g., from Vaccinia virus – can be harnessed for the production of capped RNA in vitro by adding them and their respective cosubstrates to the IVT reaction, as described by

• diphosphate (GDP, 15) and guanosine monophosphate (GMP, 16, Figure 4B), which are both accessible by phosphorylation of guanosine [54]. Methylation of GDP gives m7GDP (17) with high yield and regioselectivity [55]. The key step in cap analogue synthesis is the formation of the triphosphate linkage. Multiple