Yoshimitsu Itoh

Lewis acidic indium(III) salts, in particular In(NTf(2))(3), effect the conversion of alpha-(omega'-alkynyl)-beta-ketoesters and omega-alkynyl-beta-ketoesters to the corresponding cyclic products in a manner known as the Conia-ene reaction. This reaction can lead to the creation of five- to fifteen-membered-ring carbocycles and heterocycles in good to excellent yields. The synthetic features of the reaction are a relatively low catalyst loading, as low as 0.01 mol % in the best case, as well as

[reaction: see text] Highly basic lithium enolates are shown to be applicable to radical trifluoromethylation. The reaction is extremely fast, and the minimum reaction time is approximately 1 s.

The radical trifluoromethylation of ketone titanium ate enolates gave alpha-CF3 ketones in good yields. The use of excess amount of LDA and Ti(OiPr)4 in the preparation of titanium ate enolates is the key to the efficient radical trifluoromethylation. [reaction: see text]

Disk- and rod-shaped molecules are incompatible in coassembly, as the former tend to stack one-dimensionally whereas the latter tend to align in parallel. Because this type of incompatibility can be more pronounced in condensed phases, different-shaped molecules generally exclude one another. We report that supramolecular polymerization of a disk-shaped chiral monomer in nematic liquid crystals comprising rod-shaped molecules results in order-increasing mesophase transition into a single mesopha

In stacking-based supramolecular polymerization, chiral hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) monomers often prefer to adapt a homochiral monomer sequence. Herein, we investigated the polymerization of a chiral thiophene-fused cyclooctatetraene (<b>COT</b>) as a novel nonplanar-core monomer and found the first example of the formation of an alternating heterochiral supramolecular copolymer. Although single enantiomer (-) or (+)-<b>COT</b> alone did not polymerize, when (-) and (+)-<b>COT</b> were mixed t

Success in the direct generation of the Ti-enolate of alpha-CF3 ketone and its aldol reaction is reported. The importance of Ti-F interaction during the course of the reaction is also reported.

Here, we report the first redox-active chiral dopant ^FcD, which electrically alters its helical twisting power (HTP) for a cholesteric liquid crystalline (LC) medium and quickly changes the reflection color. ^FcD is composed of an axially chiral binaphthyl unit in conjunction with a redox-active ferrocene unit. A cholesteric LC phase of 4'-pentyloxy-4-cyanobiphenyl, doped with ^FcD (3.0 mol %), developed a blue reflection color. When nitrosyl tetrafluoroborate, a o

The radical trifluoromethylation of Ti ate and Li enolates has been investigated by both experiments and density functional (UB3LYP/6-311+G//UB3LYP/6-31+G*) calculations. Radical CF3 addition to the enolates proceeds in a highly exothermic manner without significant reaction barriers in both Ti ate and Li enolates. There are two possible reaction paths after the addition of CF3 radical in the case of Ti ate enolate; one is the elimination of Ti(III) from the ketyl radical intermediate and the ot

A rare case of congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis is presented. The male patient, who expired at 17 years of age, was noted insensitive to pain and bouts of unexplained fever at birth. He frequently fractured the hands and feet with secondary osteomyelitis. He did not sweat even in warm season. The intradermal nerve fibres and sweat glands were normal in distribution. The peripheral nerve seemed to be almost normal with light microscopy but the electron microscopical study revealed

Crystals of pyrene tweezers 1 with interdigitating pyrenyl blades jump vigorously at around 160 °C. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis before jumping revealed the presence of a "pyrene tetrad" in the crystal lattice, where four pyrenyl blades are π-stacked on top of each other. Upon heating the crystal to induce the jumping event, inner two pyrenyl blades in the "pyrene tetrad" probably rotate to switch off their π-stacking interaction with the neighboring outer pyrenyl blades and form ne

The first design strategy that allows both memorization and modulation of the liquid-crystalline reflection color is reported. Electrophoretic deposition of a tailored ionic chiral dopant is key to realizing this unprecedented function, which may pave the way for the development of full-color e-paper that can operate without the need of color filters.

The stereoselectivity of a reaction is generally determined by minimizing steric repulsion. However, the aldol reaction of alpha-CF(3)-ketone (Z)-enolate with fluoral anomalously gave an anti-aldol through a sterically demanding transition state, because of the strong dipole interaction of the two CF(3) groups. We have thus disclosed a paradigm shift from steric to electronic control of reaction stereoselectivity. [reaction: see text]

The regioselectivity of the Baeyer-Villiger reaction of alpha-CF(3)-ketone is completely reversed from that in alpha-F(eq)-ketone. Theoretical study rationalized that the reaction proceeds with the sterically demanding CF(3) group in an axial orientation by strong dipole interaction. The guiding principle that strong dipole interaction can overcome steric repulsion as a determining factor not only in regio- but also in stereocontrol is proposed. [reaction: see text]