Palladium-catalyzed N-allylation of unprotected amino acids with 1,1-dimethylallyl alcohol were carried out. The reaction in the presence of Pd(OAc)(2) (5 mol%), sodium diphenylphosphinobenzene-3-sulfonate (TPPMS, 10 mol%), and AcONa (2 equiv) in water at 120 °C for 16 h in a sealed tube gave only mono-N-allylated amino acids in good yield.

Isolates of Paecilomyces, Verticillium, Beauveria, and Penicillium species were tested for ability to metabolize a variety of n-alkylbenzenes. Minimum side chain lengths were required for metabolism of these substrates. These were C(4) for the Paecilomyces sp., C(8) for the Verticillium sp., and C(9) for the other two isolates. Growth on dodecylbenzene yielded benzoic and phenylacetic acids as ...