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We present a method to use long‐range CH coupling constants to derive the correct diastereoisomer from the molecular constitution of small molecules. A set of 79²J_CHand³J_CHvalues collected from a single HSQMBC experiment on a sample of strychnine were used in the CASE‐3D (computer‐assisted 3D structure elucidation) protocol. In addition to the most commonly used³J_CHcoupling constants, the subset of 32²J_CHvalues alone showed an excellent degree of configuration selection. The study is mainly based on comparison of DFT‐calculated^2,3J_CHvalues with experimental ones, critical for the case of²J_CH. But the configuration selection also works well using³J_CHvalues predicted from a semi‐empirical Karplus‐based equation limited to H−C−C−C fragments. The robustness, shown using strychnine as a proof of concept, makes theJ‐based CASE‐3D analysis a viable option for the application in fields such as peptide and carbohydrate research, organic synthesis, natural‐product identification and analysis, as well as medicinal chemistry.

 

The conformation in solution of monocrotaline, a pyrrolizidine alkaloid presenting an eleven‐membered macrocyclic diester ring, has been investigated using a combination of isotropic and anisotropic nuclear magnetic resonance parameters measured in four solvents of different polarity (D₂O, DMSO‐d₆, CDCl₃, and C₆D₆). Anisotropic nuclear magnetic resonance parameters were measured in different alignment media, based on their compatibility with the solvent of interest: cromoglycate liquid crystal solution was used for D₂O, whereas a poly (methyl methacrylate) polymer gel was chosen for CDCl₃and C₆D₆, and a poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate) gel for DMSO‐d₆. Whereas the pyrrolizidine ring shows anE₆exo‐puckered conformation in all of the solvents, the macrocyclic eleven‐membered ring adopts different populations ofsyn‐parallel andanti‐parallel relative orientation of the carbonyl groups according to the polarity of the solvent.

 

Cellulose‐based polymer brushes with variable grafting densities and low dispersity were synthesized by grafting poly(n‐butyl acrylate) (PBA) side chains from cellulose‐derived backbones via ATRP. Esterification of commercially available cellulose acetate with 2‐bromoisobutyryl bromide (2‐BiBB) in NMP provided cellulose‐based macroinitiators averaging one initiation site per double glucose unit. ATRP macroinitiators averaging up to 6 initiation sites per repeating double glucose unit were prepared by acylation of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in LiCl/DMAc solvent system with 2‐BiBB. A series of linear macroinitiators with narrow MWD were obtained by fractional precipitation process. The content of initiating sites was determined by elemental analysis. (Meth)acrylate side chains were then grafted from the cellulose‐based macroinitiators. The prepared cellulose‐based polymer brushes showed tunable degradation rates dependent on grafting density of the brush, following two different degradation pathways, either cleavage of the main chain or detachment of the side chains. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem.2019,57, 2426–2435

 

Organophosphate nerve agents rapidly inhibit cholinesterases thereby destroying the ability to sustain life. Strong nucleophiles, such as oximes, have been used as therapeutic reactivators of cholinesterase‐organophosphate complexes, but suffer from short half‐lives and limited efficacy across the broad spectrum of organophosphate nerve agents. Cholinesterases have been used as long‐lived therapeutic bioscavengers for unreacted organophosphates with limited success because they react with organophosphate nerve agents with one‐to‐one stoichiometries. The chemical power of nucleophilic reactivators is coupled to long‐lived bioscavengers by designing and synthesizing cholinesterase‐polymer‐oxime conjugates using atom transfer radical polymerization and azide‐alkyne “click” chemistry. Detailed kinetic studies show that butyrylcholinesterase‐polymer‐oxime activity is dependent on the electrostatic properties of the polymers and the amount of oxime within the conjugate. The covalent coupling of oxime‐containing polymers to the surface of butyrylcholinesterase slows the rate of inactivation of paraoxon, a model nerve agent. Furthermore, when the enzyme is covalently inhibited by paraoxon, the covalently attached oxime induced inter‐ and intramolecular reactivation. Intramolecular reactivation will open the door to the generation of a new class of nerve agent scavengers that couple the speed and selectivity of biology to the ruggedness and simplicity of synthetic chemicals.

 

Nuclear Overhauser Effect (NOE) methods in NMR are an important tool for 3D structural analysis of small molecules. Quantitative NOE methods conventionally rely on reference distances, known distances that have to be spectrally separated and are not always available. Here we present a new method for evaluation and 3D structure selection that does not require a reference distance, instead utilizing structures optimized by molecular mechanics, enabling NOE evaluation even on molecules without suitable reference groups.