Rhodium catalysed hydrogenation of 3-methylene-1,2-diazetidines with a range of chiral ligands is reported. Using Mandyphos, excellent levels of chemo- and enantioselectivity (up to 89% ee) can be achieved. Reductive cleavage of the derived 3-substituted 1,2-diazetidine with LiDBB provides the enantioenriched biscarbamate protected 1,2-diamine.

A practical synthetic route to enantiopure 5-substituted cis-decahydroquinolines has been developed, the key steps being a stereoselective cyclocondensation of 2-substituted 6-oxocyclohexenepropionates 2 with (R)-phenylglycinol, the stereoselective hydrogenation of the resulting unsaturated tricyclic lactams, and the stereoselective reductive cleavage of the oxazolidine ring.

Biopolymers and their derivatives are being actively investigated as substitutes for petroleum-based polymers. This has generated an intense interest in investigating new solvents, in particular for cellulose, chitin/chitosan, and starch. This overview focuses on recent advances in the dissolution and derivatization of these polysaccharides in solutions of strong electrolytes in dipolar aprotic...

Reduction and carboxymethylation of mouse submaxillary gland renin produced two polypeptide chains which were readily separated by gel filtration or sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weights of the two chains, termed heavy chain and light chain, were determined to be 30,000 and 5,458, respectively. Carboxymethylation of renin with radiolabeled iodoacetic a...

Orthogonally protected monosaccharide building blocks have been prepared using TCT in a one-pot multicomponent transformation. The process involves successive steps of arylidene acetalation, esterification and regioselective reductive acetal cleavage. High regioselectivity, scope for using a broad range of substrates, functional group tolerance, mild reaction conditions, easy handling process a...

Z. Naturforsch. 61b, 431 – 436 (2006); received January 17, 2006 The 3,4-substituted 2-oxo-piperazines 5 – 9 are obtained by [3+2] cycloaddition from nitrone 1 and a variety of alkenes. Subsequent functionalization of the bicyclic adducts involves reductive N-O bond cleavage. A route towards libraries of immobilized 1,3-aminoalcohols with a 3,4-substituted 2-oxo-piperazine scaffold is briefly d...