A simple and efficient synthesis of compounds with spiro-fused 11H-indeno[1,2-b]quinoxaline and azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane or cyclopropa[a]pyrrolizine moieties was developed.

3-Spiro[cyclopropa[a]pyrrolizine]- and 3-spiro[3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane]oxindoles were prepared in moderate to high yields via one-pot three-component reactions using substituted isatins, α-amino acids, and cyclopropenes. The key step is an intramolecular [3 + 2]-cycloaddition reaction of an in situ generated azomethine ylide onto a cyclopropene. Both N-substituted and N-unsubstituted α-amino acids, dipeptide Gly-Gly, and also benzylamine were used as the amine component for the azomethine ylide generation. The anticancer activity of some of the obtained compounds against human leukemia K562 cell line was evaluated by flow cytometry in vitro.

A stereo- and regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the stable ninhydrin-derived azomethine ylide [2-(3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrrolium-1-yl)-1-oxo-1H-inden-3-olate, DHPO] to differently substituted cyclopropenes has been established. As a result, an efficient synthetic protocol was developed for the preparation of biologically relevant spiro­[cyclopropa­[a]­pyrrolizine-2,2′-indene] derivatives. DHPO has proved to be an effective trap for such highly reactive and unstable substrates as parent cyclopropene, 1-methylcyclopropene, 1-phenylcyclopropene, and 1-halo-2-phenylcyclopropenes. It has also been found that 3-nitro-1,2-diphenylcyclopropene undergoes a nucleophilic substitution reaction in alcohols and thiols to afford 3-alkoxy- and 3-arylthio-substituted 1,2-diphenylcyclopropenes, which can be captured as corresponding 1,3-dipolar cycloadducts in the presence of DHPO. These new approaches provide a straightforward strategy for the synthesis of functionally substituted cyclopropa­[a]­pyrrolizine derivatives. The factors governing regio- and stereoselectivity have been revealed by means of quantum mechanical calculations (M11 density functional theory), including previously unreported N ylide–H cyclopropene second-orbital interactions. The outcome of this work contributes to the study of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, as well as enriches chemistry of cyclopropenes and methods for the construction of polycyclic compounds with cyclopropane fragments.

This work investigates the structure and properties of soluble chalcogenidocadmates, a molecular form of cadmium chalcogenides with unprecedented one-dimensional bonding motifs. The single crystal X-ray structure reveals that sodium selenocadmate consists of infinite one-dimensional wires of (CdSe) charge balanced by Na and stabilized by coordinating solvent molecules. Exchanging the sodium cation with tetraethylammonium or didodecyldimethylammonium expands the versatility of selenocadmate by improving its solubility in a variety of polar and nonpolar solvents without changing the anion structure and properties. The introduction of a micelle-forming cationic surfactant allows for the templating of selenocadmate, or the analogous telluride species, to create ordered organic-inorganic hybrid CdSe or CdTe mesostructures. Finally, the interaction of selenocadmate "wires" with Cd ions creates an unprecedented gel-like form of stoichiometric CdSe. We also demonstrate that these low-dimensional CdSe species show characteristic semiconductor behavior, and can be used in photodetectors and field-effect transistors.

A simple, efficient and atom-economic method has been developed for the synthesis of complex alkaloid-like compounds with spiro-fused indolo[2,1-b]quinazoline and cyclopropa[a]pyrrolizine or 3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane moieties. We have found that one-pot, three-component 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions allow the desired products to be obtained from various cyclopropene derivatives with tryptanthrin-derived azomethine ylides generated in situ, in good to high yields and excellent diastereoselectivity. The possibility of ylide generation was exemplified by using α-amino acids (l-proline, l-4-thiazolidincarboxylic acid) and simplest peptides (dipeptide Gly-Gly, tripeptide Gly-Gly-Gly). Quantum chemical investigations indicate that the reaction proceeds through the S-shaped azomethine ylide, the interaction of which with cyclopropenes proceeds via a less sterically hindered endo-transition state. The antitumor activity of some of spiro-tryptanthrin derivatives against erythroleukemia (K562), cervical carcinoma (HeLa) and colon carcinoma (CT26) cell lines was evaluated in vitro by MTS-assay.