Biomedical subjects

Armin R Ofial

Publications and source records attributed to Armin R Ofial.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Nucleophilic reactivities of indoles.

The kinetics of the coupling of indole (1a), N-methylindole (1b), 5-methoxyindole (1c), and 5-cyanoindole (1d) with a set of reference benzhydryl cations have been investigated in acetonitrile and/or dichloromethane. The second-order rate constants for the reactions correlate linearly with the electrophilicity parameter E of the benzhydryl cations. This allows the determination of the reactivity parameters, N and s, characterizing the nucleophilicity of 1a-d according to the linear free enthalpy relationship log k(20 degrees C) = s(N + E) (Acc. Chem. Res. 2003, 36, 66). The nucleophilicity parameters thus defined describe nicely the reactions of 1a-d with 4,6-dinitrobenzofuroxan (2), a neutral superelectrophilic heteroaromatic whose electrophilicity (E) has been recently determined. On this ground, the kinetics of the coupling of 2 with a large variety of indole structures have been studied in acetonitrile, leading to a ranking of this family of pi-excessive carbon nucleophiles over a large domain of the nucleophilicity scale N. Importantly, two linear and parallel correlations are obtained on plotting the measured N values versus the pK(a)(H(2)O) values for protonation at C-3 of 5-X-substituted indoles and 5-X-substituted 2-methylindoles, respectively. This splitting reveals that the presence of the 2-methyl group causes steric hindrance to the approach of 2 from the adjacent C-3 position of an indole structure. The N vs pK(a)(H(2)O) correlation for 5-X-substituted indoles is used for a rapid determination of the C-3 basicity of indoles whose acidity constants cannot be measured through equilibrium studies in strongly acidic aqueous media.

Indoles↗

PubMed2006

The reactivity-selectivity principle: an imperishable myth in organic chemistry.

The reactivity-selectivity principle (RSP), once a tenet of organic chemistry, eroded during the 1970s and was more or less abandoned by 1980. Although it has been clear for more than 25 years that a decrease in selectivity with increasing reactivity can only be expected with certainty if diffusion control is approached, the RSP has survived as an intuitively appealing rule. This Minireview shows why selectivity cannot generally decrease with increasing reactivity and highlights the weaknesses of the theoretical foundations of the RSP.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Kinetics of the solvolyses of benzhydryl derivatives: basis for the construction of a comprehensive nucleofugality scale.

A series of 21 benzhydrylium ions (diarylmethylium ions) are proposed as reference electrofuges for the development of a general nucleofugality scale, where nucleofugality refers to a combination of leaving group and solvent. A total of 167 solvolysis rate constants of benzhydrylium tosylates, bromides, chlorides, trifluoroacetates, 3,5-dinitrobenzoates, and 4-nitrobenzoates, two-thirds of which have been determined during this work, were subjected to a least-squares fit according to the correlation equation log k(25 degrees C) = sf(Nf + Ef), where sf and Nf are nucleofuge-specific parameters and Ef is an electrofuge-specific parameter. Although nucleofuges and electrofuges characterized in this way cover more than 12 orders of magnitude, a single set of the parameters, namely sf, Nf, and Ef, is sufficient to calculate the solvolysis rate constants at 25 degrees C with an accuracy of +/-16 %. Because sf approximately 1 for all nucleofuges, that is, leaving group/solvent combinations, studied so far, qualitative discussions of nucleofugality can be based on Nf.

Benzhydryl Compounds↗

PubMed2006

How fast do R-X bonds ionize? A semiquantitative approach.

The correlation equation log k(25 degrees C) = sf(Nf + Ef), where sf and Nf are nucleofuge-specific parameters referring to leaving group/solvent combinations and Ef are electrofuge-specific parameters referring to the incipient carbocation R+, are used to predict ionization rate constants of alkyl derivatives R--X. We show how to employ the Ef parameters of reference electrofuges and the sf and Nf parameters of reference nucleofuges reported in the preceding article for determining further sf, Nf, and Ef parameters. Since sf is usually close to 1.0, one comes to the semiquantitative rule that at 25 degrees C, compounds R--X for which Nf + Ef>-2 will solvolyze with half-lives of less than a minute, while the solvolysis half-lives will exceed 1 month if Nf + Ef<-6.5.

Bromides↗

PubMed2003

Role of electron-transfer processes in reactions of diarylcarbenium ions and related quinone methides with nucleophiles.

Second-harmonic alternating current voltammetry has been used to determine one-electron reduction potentials of 15 diarylcarbenium ions and 5 structurally analogous quinone methides, which have been employed as reference electrophiles for the development of nucleophilicity scales. A linear correlation (r(2) = 0.993) between the empirical electrophilicity parameters E and the reduction potentials in acetonitrile (E = 14.091E degrees (red) - 0.279) covering a range of 1.64 V (or 158 kJ mol(-)(1)) has been observed. For a large number of nucleophiles, it has been demonstrated that the observed activation free energies of the electrophile-nucleophile combinations are 61-195 kJ mol(-)(1) smaller than the free energy change of electron transfer from nucleophile to electrophile, which definitely excludes outer-sphere electron transfer occurring during these reactions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Structure-nucleophilicity relationships for enamines.

The kinetics of the reactions of benzhydryl cations with 22 enamines, three pyrroles, and three indoles were investigated photometrically in dichloromethane. The nucleophilicity parameters N and slope parameters s of these electron-rich pi-systems were derived from equation log k (20 degrees C)=s(E+N) and compared with the nucleophilicities of other pi-systems (silyl enol ethers, silyl ketene acetals) and carbanions. It is shown that the nucleophilic reactivities of enamines cover more than ten orders of magnitude, comparable to enol ethers on the low reactivity end and to carbanions on the high reactivity end. Since the products of N-attack are thermodynamically less stable than the reactants, the observed rate constants refer to the formation of the carbon bond;carbon bonds. In some cases, equilibrium constants for the formation of iminium ions were measured, which allow one to determine the intrinsic rate constants of these reactions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Pi-nucleophilicity in carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions.

Which electrophiles react with which nucleophiles? The correlation log k(20 degrees Celsius) = s(E + N), in which electrophiles (carbocations, metal-pi-complexes, diazonium ions) are characterized by one (E) and nucleophiles are characterized by two parameters (N, s), proved to be applicable for a wide variety of electrophile-nucleophile combinations. Since the introduction of this correlation in 1994 (Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 1994, 33, 938-957), numerous new reagents have been characterized, and in 2001 (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 9500-9512), a new method of parametrization was proposed that facilitates a continuous extension of the data sets without the need for reparametrization of existing data. This Account adjusts the N and s parameters of all presently characterized pi-nucleophiles (arenes, alkenes, organometallics) to the new parametrization and illustrates how to employ the resulting reactivity scales for analyzing synthetic and mechanistic problems in organic and macromolecular chemistry. Predictions of absolute rate constants, inter- and intramolecular selectivities, and analyses of reaction mechanisms are discussed. We outline how new compounds can be added to the scales and present our view on the scope and limitations of this approach to polar organic reactivity.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Reactions of carbocations with unsaturated hydrocarbons: electrophilic alkylation or hydride abstraction?

Benzhydryl cations were used as reference electrophiles to determine the hydride donor reactivities of unsaturated hydrocarbons. The kinetics of the reactions were followed by UV-vis spectroscopy and conductivity measurements, and it was found that the second-order rate constants for the hydride transfer processes were almost independent of the solvents or counterions employed. The rate constants correlate linearly with the previously published empirical electrophilicity parameters E of the benzhydrylium ions. Therefore, the linear free energy relationship log k(20 degrees C) = s(E + N) could be employed to characterize the hydride reactivities of the hydrocarbons by the nucleophilicity parameters N and s. The similarity of the slopes s for hydride donors and pi-nucleophiles allows a direct comparison of the reactivities of these different functional groups based on their nucleophilicity parameters N. Since nucleophilicity parameters of -5 < N < 0 have been found for a large variety of allylic and bisallylic hydride donors, a rule of thumb is derived that hydride transfer processes may compete with carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions when carbocations are combined with olefins of pi-nucleophilicity N < 0.

Journal Article↗