Homo- and heterodimeric bispyrrolidinoindoline diketopiperazine alkaloids have been synthesized following a concise, versatile, and stereoselective route. Highlights of the sequence are a diastereoselective construction of the C3a-bromo-hexahydropyrrolo[2,3-b]indole nucleus, its Co(I)-induced C3a-C3a' dimerization, and the twofold or sequential amide-bond formation before cyclization to the diketopiperazine of the homo- or heterodimeric alkaloids, respectively. Stereochemical diversity is achieved through the choice of the appropriate amino acids combined with the base-induced epimerization of the C2-acyl-hexahydropyrrolo[2,3-b]indole at C2. According to this strategy, the natural products (+)-WIN 64821 1, (+)-WIN 64745 2 and (+)-asperdimin 6 as well as analogues (5, 22, 32, 44) with different relative and absolute configuration have been efficiently synthesized. The flexibility of this synthetic methodology has facilitated the structural revision of the natural product (+)-asperdimin, whose structure has been corrected to diastereomer 6.

A general method to encapsulate gold nanoparticles within thermoresponsive poly(Nisopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) shells is presented and demonstrated. The layer-by-layer (LbL) strategy was used to provide the metal nanoparticles surface with vinyl functional groups, from which pNIPAM can be readily grown. This method can be applied to the encapsulation of gold nanoparticles within a wide range of sizes, shapes and capping agents. We demonstrate here the encapsulation of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) stabilized Au spheres and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) stabilized Au decahedra and nanostars, thereby exemplifying the fabrication of nanocomposites with tailored localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR). Additionally, the total diameter of the Au@pNIPAM microgels, as well as the number of encapsulated metal cores, was varied through controlled addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The optical response could be thus modulated through temperature-induced local changes of the refractive index around the gold cores, as well as by plasmon coupling between metal nanoparticles located within the same microgel.

Carbon dioxide can be used as a convenient carbonylating agent in the synthesis of 2-oxazolidinones, 2-oxazinones, and cyclic ureas. The transient carbamate anion generated by treating a primary or secondary amine group in basic media can be activated with phosphorylating agents such as Diphenylphosphoryl azide (DPPA) and Diphenyl chlorophosphate (DPPCl) but also with other types of electrophiles such as SOCl(2), TsCl, or AcCl. The intramolecular trapping of the activated carbamate by a hydroxyl group leads to the formation of 2-oxazolidinones or 2-oxazinones in good to excellent yields. This methodology was successfully applied to the synthesis of cyclic ureas up to 7-membered rings from the corresponding diamines.

A three-step mechanism involving the formation and rearrangement of an intermediate with indoline-azetidine spirocyclic core structure was shown by DFT computations to account for the electrophilic cyclization of tryptophan derivatives to hexahydropyrrolo[2,3-b]indoles. The corresponding 3a-bromo derivatives have been obtained in high yields and synthetically useful exo/endo ratios.

A convergent synthesis of the proposed structure of (+)-pestalazine B has been achieved in 4 steps using the N-alkylation of an unprotected tryptophan diketopiperazine with a 3a-bromopyrrolidinoindoline as the key step. Although its structure was confirmed by X-ray analysis, the spectroscopic data did not match those of the natural product. The versatility of the methodology allowed the preparation of several diastereomers, and the database generated led to the proposal of an isomeric structure for the natural alkaloid where the d-leucine and d-phenylalanine residues exchanged positions, which was corroborated by total synthesis.