Organocatalysis meets chip MS: By integrating asymmetric organocatalysis and analysis on a chip (see picture), optimization of reactions can be achieved with minimal consumption of resources in a short period of time.

Vinylketene silyl N, O-acetals undergo chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed, vinylogous Mukaiyama-Mannich reactions with imines and afford delta-amino-alpha,beta-unsaturated amides in typically good yields, complete gamma-regioselectivity, and up to 92% ee with catalyst loadings of as low as 1 mol %. The Mannich products can be readily manipulated to furnish valuable synthetic intermediates.

Local heterogeneity in lipid self-assembly is important for executing the cellular membrane functions. In this work, we chemically modified 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole (HBO) and attached a C8 alkyl chain in two different locations to probe the microscopic environment of four lipidic phases of dodecyl β-maltoside. The fluorescence change in HBO and the new probes (HBO-1 and HBO-2) shows that in all phases (micellar, hexagonal, cubic and lamellar) three HBO tautomeric species (solvated syn-enol, anionic, and closed syn-keto) are stable. The formation of multi tautomers reflects the heterogeneity of the lipidic phases. The results indicate that HBO and HBO-1 reside in a similar location within the head group region, whereas HBO-2 is slightly pushed away from the sugar-dominated area. The stability of the solvated syn-enol tautomer is due to the formation of a hydrogen bond between the OH group of the HBO moiety and an adjacent oxygen atom of a sugar unit. The detected HBO anions was proposed to be a consequence of this solvation effect where a hydrogen ion abstraction by the sugar units is enhanced. Our results point to a degree of local heterogeneity and ionization ability in the head group region as a consequence of the sugar amphoterism.

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Catalytic decomposition of diazomalonates and other diazoesters using Rh(II)- and Cu(II)-complexes in the presence of α,β-unsaturated δ-(N-aryl)amino esters gives rise to the formation of multi-functionalized pyrrolidines with yields of up to 82%. The reaction apparently occurs as a domino process involving the initial N-ylide formation followed by intramolecular Michael addition to the conjugated system of amino esters to afford the pyrrolidine heterocycle. The whole process can also be classified as a [4 + 1]-annulation of the δ-amino α,β-unsaturated ester with the carbenoid intermediate.