New aluminium scorpionate based complexes have been prepared and used for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and carbon dioxide. Bimetallic aluminium(heteroscorpionate) complexes 9-14 were synthesised in very high yields. The single-crystal X-ray structures of 12 and 13 confirm an asymmetric κ(2)-NO-μ-O arrangement in a dinuclear molecular disposition. These bimetallic aluminium c...

Beneficial physiological effects of long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are widely accepted but the mechanism(s) by which these fatty acids act remains unclear. Herein, we report the presence, distribution, and regulation of the levels of n-3 epoxy-fatty acids by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) and a direct antinociceptive role of n-3 epoxy-fatty acids, specifically those originating fro...

Catalytic coupling of carbon dioxide with epoxides to obtain cyclic carbonates is an important reaction that has been receiving renewed interest. In this contribution, the cycloaddition reaction in the presence of various hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) catalyzed by hydroxyl/carboxyl task-specific ionic liquids (ILs) is studied in detail. It was found that the activity of ILs could be significantly...

We have already shown that the in-vacuum gas-phase Meerwein reaction of (thio)acylium ions is general in nature and useful for class-selective screening of cyclic (thio)epoxides. Herein we report that this gas-phase reaction can also be performed efficiently at atmospheric pressure under both electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) conditions. This alte...

The synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and carbon dioxide using metal-free catalyst systems is critically reviewed.

A gold-catalyzed cyclialkylation of electron-rich arenes with tethered epoxides afforded 3-chromanols stereospecifically.

An extract of Myrothecium verrucaria, a fungus which produces a range of 12,13-epoxytrichothecene toxins, was found to be resistant to T-2 toxin, one of its products. The epoxytrichothecenes are inhibitors of eukaryotic protein synthesis and normally bind to the 60S ribosomal subunit so as to inhibit peptidyltransferase activity. Ribosomes from M. verrucaria contain 60S subunits which are not s...

The mutagenic activities of benz(a)acridine, benz(c)acridine, and a number of their derivatives, including 12 epoxides and diol-epoxides, were examined in bacterial and mammalian cells to determine the importance of bay-region activation of azapolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98, the diastereomeric bay-region 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxides of benz(c)acridine, in which...