Aliphatic amines strongly coordinate, and therefore easily inhibit, the activity of transition-metal catalysts, posing a marked challenge to nitrogen-hydrogen (N–H) insertion reactions. Here, we report highly enantioselective carbene insertion into N–H bonds of aliphatic amines using two catalysts in tandem: an achiral copper complex and chiral amino-thiourea. Coordination by a homoscorpionate ligand protects the copper center that activates the carbene precursor. The chiral amino-thiourea catalyst then promotes enantioselective proton transfer to generate the stereocenter of the insertion product. This reaction couples a wide variety of diazo esters and amines to produce chiral α-alkyl α–amino acid derivatives.
AhAREB1 (Arachis hypogaea Abscisic-acid Response Element Binding Protein 1) is a member of the basic domain leucine zipper (bZIP)-type transcription factor in peanut. Previously, we found that expression of AhAREB1 was specifically induced by abscisic acid (ABA), dehydration and drought. To understand the drought defense mechanism regulated by AhAREB1, transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing AhAREB1 was conducted in wild-type (WT), and a complementation experiment was employed to ABA non-sensitivity mutant abi5 (abscisic acid-insensitive 5). Constitutive expression of AhAREB1 confers water stress tolerance and is highly sensitive to exogenous ABA. Microarray and further real-time PCR analysis revealed that drought stress, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, ABA synthesis/metabolism-related genes and others were regulated in transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing AhAREB1. Accordingly, low level of ROS, but higher ABA content was detected in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants’ overexpression of AhAREB1. Taken together, it was concluded that AhAREB1 modulates ROS accumulation and endogenous ABA level to improve drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis.
Pd(II)-catalyzed site-selective β-
and γ-C(sp3)–H arylation of primary aldehydes
is developed by rational
design of L,X-type transient directing groups (TDG). External 2-pyridone
ligands are identified to be crucial for the observed reactivity.
By minimizing the loading of acid additives, the ligand effect is
enhanced to achieve high reactivities of the challenging primary aldehyde
substrates. Site selectivity can be switched from the proximate to
the relatively remote position by changing the bite angle of TDG to
match the desired palladacycle size. Experimental and computational
investigations support this rationale for designing TDG to potentially
achieve remote site-selective C(sp3)–H functionalizations.
Although the transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of aromatic ketones has been extensively explored, the enantioselective hydrogenation of aliphatic ketones remains a challenge because chiral catalysts cannot readily discriminate between the re and si faces of these ketones. Herein, we report a carboxyl-directing strategy for the asymmetric hydrogenation of aliphatic γ-ketoacids. With catalysis by iridium complexes bearing chiral spiro phosphino-oxazoline ligands, hydrogenation of aliphatic γ-ketoacids afforded chiral γ-hydroxylacids with high enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee). Mechanistic studies revealed that the carboxyl group of the substrate directs hydrogen transfer and ensures high enantioselectivity. Density functional theory calculations suggested the occurrence of chiral induction involving a hydrogen−hydrogen interaction between a hydride on the iridium atom and the substituent on the oxazoline ring of the ligand, and on the basis of the calculations, we proposed a catalytic cycle involving only Ir(III), which differs from the Ir(III)/Ir(V) catalytic cycle that operates in the hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids.
Pd(II)-catalyzed γ-C(sp 3 )−H (hetero)arylation of aliphatic ketones is developed using α-amino acids as transient directing groups (TDG). A variety of aliphatic ketones were (hetero)arylated at the γ-position via a 5,6-membered fused cyclopalladation intermediate to afford the remotely arylated products in up to 88% yield. The crucial ligand effect of 2pyridone is further enhanced by reducing the loading of acid additives. Consequentially, the improved reactivity of this catalytic system has also made possible the cyclic γ-methylene C(sp 3 )−H arylation of ketones. Mechanistic investigation and comparison to the γ-C−H arylation of aldehydes revealed a structural insight for designing site-selective TDG.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.