The electrophilic/nucleophilic character of a series of captodative (CD) ethylenes involved in polar cycloaddition reactions has been studied using DFT methods at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level of theory. ...The transition state structures for the electrophilic/nucleophilic interactions of two CD ethylenes toward a nucleophilically activated ethylene, 2-methylene-1,3-dioxolane, and an electrophilically activated ethylene, 1,1-dicyanoethyelene, have been studied, and their electronic structures have been characterized using both NBO and ELF methods. Analysis of the reactivity indexes of the CD ethylenes explains the reactivity of these species. While the electrophilicity of the molecules accounts for the reactivity toward nucleophiles, it is shown that a simple index chosen for the nucleophilicity, Ν, based on the HOMO energy is useful explaining the reactivity of these CD ethylenes toward electrophiles.
Theoretical reactivity indices based on the conceptual Density Functional Theory (DFT) have become a powerful tool for the semiquantitative study of organic reactivity. A large number of reactivity ...indices have been proposed in the literature. Herein, global quantities like the electronic chemical potential μ, the electrophilicity ω and the nucleophilicity N indices, and local condensed indices like the electrophilic P k + and nucleophilic P k - Parr functions, as the most relevant indices for the study of organic reactivity, are discussed.
The nucleophilicity N index (J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 4615), the inverse of the electrophilicity, 1/ω, and the recently proposed inverse of the electrodonating power, 1/ω⁻, (J. Org. Chem. 2010, 75, ...4957) have been checked toward (i) a series of single 5-substituted indoles for which rate constants are available, (ii) a series of para-substituted phenols, and for (iii) a series of 2,5-disubstituted bicyclic2.2.1hepta-2,5-dienes which display concurrently electrophilic and nucleophilic behaviors. While all considered indices account well for the nucleophilic behavior of organic molecules having a single substitution, the nucleophilicity N index works better for more complex molecules. Unlike, the inverse of the electrophilicity, 1/ω, (R(2) = 0.71), and the inverse of the electrodonating power, 1/ω⁻ (R(2) = 0.83), a very good correlation of the nucleophilicity N index of twelve 2-substituted-6-methoxy-bicyclic2.2.1hepta-2,5-dienes versus the activation energy associated with the nucleophilic attack on 1,1-dicyanoethylene is found (R(2) = 0.99). This comparative study allows to assert that the nucleophilicity N index is a measure of the nucleophilicity of complex organic molecules displaying concurrently electrophilic and nucleophilic behaviors.
The zw-type 3 + 2 cycloaddition (32CA) reactions of C,N-dialkyl nitrones with a series of ethylenes of increased electrophilic character have been studied within the Molecular Electron Density Theory ...(MEDT) at the MPWB1K/6-311G(d,p) computational level. Both, reactivity and selectivities are rationalized depending on the polar character of the reaction. Due to the strong nucleophilic character of C,N-dialkyl nitrones, the corresponding zw-type 32CA reactions are accelerated with the increased electrophilic character of the ethylene, which also plays a crucial role in the reaction mechanism, thus determining the regio- and stereoselectivities experimentally observed. While, in the 32CA reactions with nucleophilic ethylenes, the reaction begins with the formation of the C–C single bond, determining the ortho regioselectivity, in the 32CA reactions with strong electrophilic ethylenes, the reaction begins with the formation of the C–O single bond involving the β-conjugated carbon of the ethylene, determining the meta regioselectivity. The present MEDT study also provides an explanation for the unexpected ortho regioselectivity experimentally found in the 32CA reactions involving weak electrophilic ethylenes such as ethyl acrylate and acrylonitrile.
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma of which at least a subset arises from antigen-experienced B cells. However, what role antigen stimulation plays in its pathogenesis ...remains ill defined. The genetic hallmark is the chromosomal translocation t(11;14) resulting in aberrant expression of cyclin D1. Secondary genetic events increase the oncogenic potential of cyclin D1 and frequently inactivate DNA damage response pathways. In combination these changes drive cell-cycle progression and give rise to pronounced genetic instability. Several signaling pathways contribute to MCL pathogenesis, including the often constitutively activated PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, which promotes tumor proliferation and survival. WNT, Hedgehog, and NF-κB pathways also appear to be important. Although MCL typically responds to frontline chemotherapy, it remains incurable with standard approaches. Proteasome inhibitors (bortezomib), mTOR inhibitors (temsirolimus), and immunomodulatory drugs (lenalidomide) have recently been added to the treatment options in MCL. The molecular basis for the antitumor activity of these agents is an area of intense study that hopefully will lead to further improvements in the near future. Given its unique biology, relative rarity, and the difficulty in achieving long-lasting remissions with conventional approaches, patients with MCL should be encouraged to participate in clinical trials.
The reactions of eight tetrazines of increased electrophilic character with nucleophilic tetramethyl ethylene (TME) and with electrophilic tetracyanoethylene (TCE) have been studied using Molecular ...Electron Density Theory. These reactions are domino processes comprising an aza-Diels-Alder (ADA) reaction followed by an extrusion of molecular nitrogen, yielding a dihydropyridazine. Analysis of the conceptual DFT (CDFT) indices showed an increase of the electrophilicity and a decrease of the nucleophilicity of tetrazines with an increase of the electron-withdrawing character of the substituent. A very good correlation between the global electron density transfer at the transition structures and the activation enthalpies for the ADA reactions involving TME was found. However, tetrazines have no tendency to react with electrophilic ethylenes such as TCE. Bonding Evolution Theory (BET) analysis of the ADA reaction of dinitro tetrazine with TME showed that the activation energy is mainly associated with the continuous depopulation of the C-C and C-N double bonds.
The electron-withdrawing substituents on the tetrazine favour aza-Diels-Alder reactions towards nucleophilic ethylenes, but they do not react with electrophilic ethylenes.
Spontaneous lipid vesiculation and related size distribution are traditionally studied in the framework of equilibrium thermodynamics and continuum mechanics, overlooking the kinetic aspects of the ...process. In the scenario of liposomes consisting of different lipid molecules dispersed in the same medium - a non-equilibrium situation -, the system evolves driven by lipid monomer transfer among the different liposomes. This process encompasses time-dependent changes in liposome size and size distribution, thus predicting size and composition at a given time would entail the control of the size of liposomes by kinetic means, an asset in the framework of diagnostics and synthetic biology. We introduce a direct transfer model, based on the fact that monomers are highly reactive species and apply it to saturated phospholipid molecules differing in hydrophobic chain length. Considering a well-defined gamma-type liposome size distribution, we demonstrate a clear liposome size-composition correlation and are able to predict liposome size and size distribution at any time in the transfer process. The size-composition correlation opens up new prospects for the control of the self-assembling properties of lipids and thereby the control of the liposome size.
A set of five DFT reactivity indices, namely, the global electrophilicity ω° and nucleophilicity N° indices, the radical Parr function P, and the local electrophilicity ω and nucleophilicity N ...indices, for the study of free radicals (FRs) are proposed. Global indices have been tested for a series of 32 FRs having electrophilic and/or nucleophilic activations. As expected, no correlation between the proposed global electrophilicity ω° and global nucleophilicity N° has been found. Analysis of the local electrophilicity ω and nucleophilicity N indices for FRs, together with analysis of the local electrophilicity ωk and nucleophilicity Nk indices for alkenes, allows for an explanation of the regio- and chemoselectivity in radical additions of FRs to alkenes. Finally, an ELF bonding analysis for the C-C bond formation along the nucleophilic addition of 2-hydroxyprop-2-yl FR 28 to methyl acrylate 35 evidences that the new C-C bond is formed by C-to-C coupling of two radical centres, which are properly characterized through the use of the Parr functions.
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