No abstract

We have developed a general, robust, and cost-effective method for the (E)- or (Z)-stereocomplementary enol tosylation of beta-ketoesters using TsCl- N-methylimidazole (NMI)-Et3N or LiOH. TsCl coupled with NMI formed a highly reactive N-sulfonylammonium intermediate. Stereocongested secondary alcohols were smoothly sulfonylated using Ts(Ms)Cl-NMI-Et3N. beta-Ketoesters underwent (E)-selective tosylation using TsCl-NMI-Et3N and (Z)-selective tosylation using TsCl-NMI-LiOH (total of 23 examples; 60%-99% yield). Stereoretentive Negishi and Sonogashira couplings using enol tosylates proceeded successfully to give trisubstituted alpha,beta-unsaturated esters.

Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO), a membrane enzyme in the respiratory chain, catalyzes oxygen reduction by coupling electron and proton transfer through the enzyme with a proton pump across the membrane. In all crystals reported to date, bovine CcO exists as a dimer with the same intermonomer contacts, whereas CcOs and related enzymes from prokaryotes exist as monomers. Recent structural analyses of the mitochondrial respiratory supercomplex revealed that CcO monomer associates with complex I and complex III, indicating that the monomeric state is functionally important. In this study, we prepared monomeric and dimeric bovine CcO, stabilized using amphipol, and showed that the monomer had high activity. In addition, using a newly synthesized detergent, we determined the oxidized and reduced structures of monomer with resolutions of 1.85 and 1.95 Å, respectively. Structural comparison of the monomer and dimer revealed that a hydrogen bond network of water molecules is formed at the entry surface of the proton transfer pathway, termed the K-pathway, in monomeric CcO, whereas this network is altered in dimeric CcO. Based on these results, we propose that the monomer is the activated form, whereas the dimer can be regarded as a physiological standby form in the mitochondrial membrane. We also determined phospholipid structures based on electron density together with the anomalous scattering effect of phosphorus atoms. Two cardiolipins are found at the interface region of the supercomplex. We discuss formation of the monomeric CcO, dimeric CcO, and supercomplex, as well as their role in regulation of CcO activity.

An asymmetric 1,4-addition reaction of 5H-oxazol-4-ones with alkynyl carbonyl compounds was developed, and, for the first time, high enantiomeric and geometric control was achieved to afford the thermodynamically unstable Z-isomer predominantly using chiral guanidine catalysts bearing a hydroxy group at the appropriate position. The method provides synthetically useful γ-butenolide ester bearing a chiral quaternary stereogenic center.

We have developed an efficient method for the preparation of enol silyl ethers using novel agents, silazanes together with NaH or DBU catalyst, wherein TMS and TBDMS groups were smoothly and chemoselectively introduced into ketones and aldehydes under mild conditions.