Onchidin B (4) is a cyclic depsipeptide isolated from the pulmonate mollusc Onchidium sp. Its structure was determined by extensive 2D-NMR, FABMS, tandem FAB MS/MS, selective hydrolysis, and synthesis. It contains four R-amino acids [two units of N-methyl valine (MeVal), two units of proline (Pro)], four R-hydroxy acids [two 2-hydroxyisovaleric acids (Hiv), two 2-hydroxy-3-methylpentanoic acid moieties (Hmp)] and two units of the new -hydroxy acid: 3-hydroxy-2-methyloct-7-ynoic acid (Hymo)]. Selective hydrolysis and direct comparison by chiral GC-MS with authentic samples of the R-amino and R-hydroxy acids allowed us the assignment of the entire absolute stereochemistry of onchidin B. In this way, the R-hydroxy acids were found to be (S)-Hiv and (S,S)-Hmp, and the R-amino acids (R)-proline, (S)-proline, and (R)-MeVal. In order to establish the absolute configuration of the new -hydroxy acid, Hymo, its four possible stereoisomers were stereoselectively synthesized using chiral N-propionyl oxazolidinones and hex-5

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.

The total synthesis of the 3S,2S and 3R,2S diastereomers (1a and 1b) of minalemine A and the identification of the natural compound as the 3R,2S isomer is described. The key step in the synthesis is the preparation of the two enantiomers of the beta-amino diacid 3-(N-carboxymethyl)-aminodecanoic acid (Ncma), which were obtained by stereoselective alkylation with allyl bromide of two nonanoic acid imides bearing chiral oxazolidinones as chiral auxiliaries. Natural minalemine A shows identical 1H NMR and very similar 13C NMR spectra compared to the two synthetic diastereomers. Sufficient differences in their chromatographic behavior to allow conclusive identification were not found. However, the corresponding N-2-naphthoyl amides presented quite distinct circular dichroism spectra (CD), and these confirmed the 3R,2S configuration for the natural minalemines and the R configuration for the constituent beta-amino diacid, Ncma.

A remarkable temperature dependence on the 13C NMR and 15N NMR chemical shifts of pyridoxine in water (pH = 7.0) has been observed. C-3, C-6, and N-1 were the most sensitive nuclei to the temperature effect. This dependence has been explained on the basis of an equilibrium shift thermally induced between the neutral and the dipolar form of this molecule. The thermodynamic characterization of tautomeric equilibria that interconvert quickly on the NMR time scale can be carried out from the observed average 13C NMR and 15N NMR chemical shifts at different temperatures (5-90 degrees C). We have developed a new method for the estimation of the thermodynamic parameters of a given equilibrium by fitting the experimental data to a theoretical curve. This new method allows us to improve the fitting results on our previously proposed methodology. We show that there are linear correlations between the average chemical shifts obtained from different nuclei at the same temperature. This indicates that the parameters of the pure forms are related among them. We have carried out a simultaneous multiple function curve fitting of all data obtained from the most sensitive signals together using these linear correlations as restricted conditions in order to diminish the number of independent parameters to fit. To test the new methodology, we have studied the thermodynamics of the tautomeric equilibrium of pyridoxine in water. We have obtained delta H degree values ranging from -23.6 +/- 1.3 to -25.8 +/- 1.7 kJ/mol for this equilibrium depending on the used data set. This kind of methodology has, among others, the following advantages: It allows the use of a great number of experimental points from different signals in the fitting process, it yields very precise and accurate values of the tautomeric process, and it allows the resolution of the problem with only 13C NMR data in some cases saving NMR time.

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