The treatment of artemisinin (1) and ß-artemether (6) with Zn dissolving in AcOH for a few hours results in mono-deoxygenation giving deoxyartemisinin (5) and deoxy-ß-artemether (7), respectively, as the sole product. In contrast, submission of 1 to FeCl2 · 4 H2O in MeCN at room temperature for 15 min causes only isomerization, (3aS,4R,6aS,7R,10S,10aR)-octahydro-4,7-dimethyl-8-oxo-2H-10H-furo[3,2-i] benzopyran-10-yl acetate (8) and (3R)-3-hydroxydeoxyartemisinin (9) being produced in 78 and 17% yield, respectively. The action of FeCl2 · 4 H2O in MeCN on 6 is similar. Under the same conditions, 6 gives products analogous to 8 and 9 accompanied by an epimeric mixture of 2-[4-methyl-2-oxo-3-(3-oxobutyl)cyclohexyl]propanaldehyde in yields of 32, 23, and 16%, respectively. No epoxide is formed on repeating the last two experiments in the presence of cyclohexene. The deoxygenation of 1 and 6 by Zn is rationalized in terms of its oxophilic nature. The catalyzed isomerization of 1 and 6 by Fe2+ is attributed to the redox properties of the Fe2+/Fe3+ system

Skin sensitizers chemically modify skin proteins rendering them immunogenic. Sensitizing chemicals have been divided into applicability domains according to their suspected reaction mechanism. The widely accepted Schiff base applicability domain covers aldehydes and ketones, and detailed structure-activity-modeling for this chemical group was presented. While Schiff base formation is the obvious reaction pathway for these chemicals, the in silico work was followed up by limited experimental work. It remains unclear whether hydrolytically labile Schiff bases can form sufficiently stable epitopes to trigger an immune response in the living organism with an excess of water being present. Here, we performed experimental studies on benzaldehydes of highly differing skin sensitization potential. Schiff base formation toward butylamine was evaluated in acetonitrile, and a detailed SAR study is presented. o-Hydroxybenzaldehydes such as salicylaldehyde and the oakmoss allergens atranol and chloratranol have a high propensity to form Schiff bases. The reactivity is highly reduced in p-hydroxy benzaldehydes such as the nonsensitizing vanillin with an intermediate reactivity for p-alkyl and p-methoxy-benzaldehydes. The work was followed up under more physiological conditions in the peptide reactivity assay with a lysine-containing heptapeptide. Under these conditions, Schiff base formation was only observable for the strong sensitizers atranol and chloratranol and for salicylaldehyde. Trapping experiments with NaBH₃CN showed that Schiff base formation occurred under these conditions also for some less sensitizing aldehydes, but the reaction is not favored in the absence of in situ reduction. Surprisingly, the Schiff bases of some weaker sensitizers apparently may react further to form stable peptide adducts. These were identified as the amides between the lysine residues and the corresponding acids. Adduct formation was paralleled by oxidative deamination of the parent peptide at the lysine residue to form the peptide aldehyde. Our results explain the high sensitization potential of the oakmoss allergens by stable Schiff base formation and at the same time indicate a novel pathway for stable peptide-adduct formation and peptide modifications by aldehydes. The results thus may lead to a better understanding of the Schiff base applicability domain.

Many and varied are the effects which control the self‐assembly of silver helicates, as illustrated schematically: besides the structure of the ligand and the coordination preferences of the metal, conditions such as the nature of the solvent and the concentration may also exert an influence.

Hydroperoxides can act as specific haptens and oxidatively modify proteins. Terpene hydroperoxides trigger unusually high frequencies of positive skin reactions in human patients if tested at high concentrations. It is unknown whether this is due to specific hapten formation. Here, we show that both terpene hydroperoxides and the endogenous hydroperoxide formed from squalene can oxidatively modify tryptophan. Oxidative modifications of Trp were recently postulated to explain cross-sensitization between unrelated photosensitizers. Current observations may extend this hypothesis: Oxidative events triggered by endogenous hydroperoxides and hydroperoxides/oxidants derived from xenobiotics might lead to a sensitized state detected by patch tests with high concentrations of hydroperoxides.

The high volatility and water solubility of many natural perfumery alcohols leads to their rapid loss in fabric-care and personal-care applications. A dramatically enhanced substantivity is achieved by the use of fragrance precursors as controlled-release systems. In the first part of this article, we present multi-odorant precursors, in which the enzymatic cleavage of esters or carbonates of fragrant alcohols triggers subsequent steps leading to the release of fragrant ketones, lactones, and additional fragrant alcohols. In the second part, a study on oligocarbonates of fragrant alcohols is presented. Therein, the outstanding enzyme-independent performance of gluconolactone oligocarbonate 27 for the long-lasting release of (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol is highlighted. We show that these polyfunctional compounds undergo complex rearrangements and intramolecular substitution reactions which lead to the observed release kinetics.