Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Guy Bertrand.
In contrast with most of their congeners, acyclic and cyclic C-amino phosphorus ylides behave as genuine carbene and phosphine transfer agents for transition metal centers. They allow the facile synthesis of a variety of metal complexes that feature heteroditopic ligands, such as 1,6-(phosphine)(aminocarbene) systems with a biphenyl backbone.
Addition of two equivalents of (Me(3)Si)(2)CLiCl to the C-[(diphenyl) (diisopropylamino)phosphonio]-P-(diisopropylamino)phosphaalkene 2 affords the 1sigma(4),3sigma(3)-diphosphabuta-1,2,3-triene E1 in 55 % yield. Derivative E1 was fully characterized, including a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. Alkylation of E1 with methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate gives rise to the first C-phosphonio-bis(methylene)phosphorane 5, which was isolated in 84 % yield. Because the second carbon center is also nucleophilic, cumulene E1 reacts as a "pincer" with BF(3)OEt(2), leading to the formation of a novel four-membered PCBC heterocycle 6 with a betaine-like structure. Addition of three equivalents of P-[diphenyl(diisopropylamino)]methylene phosphorane to (diisopropylamino)dichlorophosphane, followed by addition of one equivalent of CCl(4), and subsequent deprotonation with lithium hexamethyldisilazide gave rise to 1sigma(4),3sigma(3),5sigma(4)-triphosphapenta-1,2,3,4-tetraene F1, which was isolated in 62 % yield.
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Replacement of halide from N-(haloboryl)formamidines for the weakly coordinating anion [B(C(6)F(5))(4)](-), using [Et(3)Si(toluene)](+)[B(C(6)F(5))(4)](-), induces a ring closure leading to the cationic four-pi-electron four-membered heterocycles [HC(N-2,6-diisopropylphenyl)(2)BR](+) [R = N(i-Pr)(2), Ph]. Subsequent deprotonation of the B-amino derivative affords the corresponding N-heterocyclic carbene, which has been isolated as yellow crystals. According to single-crystal x-ray diffraction studies, both the carbene and its conjugate acid precursor have a planar structure, with no pyramidalization of the ring atoms. The structural parameters indicate that the four pi electrons are mostly distributed over the N-C-N fragment with little involvement of the boron center, and therefore both types of heterocycles escape from antiaromaticity. However, considering the ring strain and the presence of the Lewis acid center, the thermal stability of the carbene (mp 98 degrees C without decomposition) is rather surprising. These results clearly suggest that the backbone of N-heterocyclic carbenes can be modified at will, without preventing their isolation.
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Like many of the molecular species that have been detected in the interstellar medium, the singlet carbene cyclopropenylidene (C3H2) has been presumed to be too unstable to isolate in the laboratory. However, by appending pi-electron-donating amino groups to the triangular skeleton, we prepared a cyclopropenylidene derivative that is stable at room temperature. In contrast to previously isolated carbenes, this compound does not require a heteroatom adjacent to the electron-deficient carbon to confer stability. Despite the presence of amino groups, the geometric parameters of the cyclic skeleton, revealed by x-ray crystallography, are only slightly perturbed relative to those of the calculated structure of unsubstituted cyclopropenylidene. Stable cyclopropenylidene derivatives might thus serve as models for a better understanding of the formation of carbon-bearing molecules in the interstellar medium.
Only basic phosphines, such as tris(dimethylamino)phosphine, allow for the synthesis of a stable acyclic beta-amino phosphonium salt 1c, which upon deprotonation with butyllithium affords the corresponding stable C-amino phosphorus ylide 2c. In contrast, cyclic beta-amino phosphonium salts 5a and 5b are stable despite the presence of weakly basic triarylphosphine fragments. They are prepared by intramolecular insertion of the carbene center of (amino)(phosphonio)carbenes into the CH bond of a phosphorus substituent. Deprotonation of 5a leads to the corresponding cyclic C-amino phosphorus ylide 6a, which has been fully characterized including an X-ray diffraction study. Deprotonation of 5b affords enamine 8, probably via fragmentation of ylide 6b into transient carbene 7b and a subsequent 1,2-hydrogen shift. Transient cyclic C-amino phosphorus ylides 6c and 6d have been prepared by intramolecular addition of a carbanion generated by deprotonation of a phosphorus substituent. Three-membered heterocycle 6c rearranges into alkene 9, whereas the four-membered ring system undergoes a ring opening affording the stable carbene 7d. The latter results pave the route for the synthesis of various mixed carbene-phosphine bidentate ligands.
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Carbene analogues of borazines are highly thermally stable. Keeping quasi-identical steric demands, the electronic properties of the carbene can be precisely tuned by varying the nature of the substituents at the boron centers.
[reaction: see text] The reactivity of phosphino(trimethylsilyl)carbenes 1 with several organic acids has been examined in order to evaluate the pKa values of the conjugate acids. Carbenes 1 react efficiently with C-organic acids such as 1,3-dimesitylimidazolium chloride, phenylacetylene, acetonitrile, and acetyltrimethylsilane, which have pKa's in DMSO in the range 18-31. However, the reaction of the conjugate acids 1H+ with the anion perturbs the determination of the genuine basicity of 1. Theoretical calculations have been performed in order to quantify the basicity of phosphino(trimethylsilyl)carbenes 1 and to compare them with that of N-heterocyclic carbenes 2. The pKa of 1H+ in DMSO has been computed to be in the 23.0-23.4 range, so that 1 is not strong enough as a base to spontaneously deprotonate organic acids such as phenylacetylene, acetonitrile, or acetyltrimethylsilane. However, its conjugate acid 1H+ is a strong electrophile and easily reacts with the nucleophilic conjugate bases of these acids leading to the formation of the corresponding phosphorus ylides.
(Amino)(silyl)carbenes, prepared by substitution reactions at a carbene center, can survive several days at 0 degrees C. These species are not push-pull carbenes as their phosphino analogues and therefore are excellent ligands for transition-metal centers.
Upon warm up, persistent aminohydrazinocarbenes undergo beta-fragmentation reactions. Experimental as well as computational evidences are reported for the involvement of radical processes. This is the first example of a homolytic fragmentation for a persistent singlet carbene.
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Persistent phosphinyl radicals featuring the 2,6-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl group were prepared and characterized. Their electronic structure was theoretically investigated, and their low-temperature dimerization into the corresponding diphosphines was found to be strongly inhibited when the sterically very demanding (tert-butyl)(trimethylsilyl)amino substituent was used.
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