The efficiency of the alkaloids quinine, cinchonine, cinchonidine and ephedrine, the aminoalcohols prolinol, and alaninol, as well as the aminoacids proline, and phenylalanine as catalysts for the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to ferrocene carbaldehyde and benzaldehyde has been studied. The addition reactions proceeded with acceptable yields and low to moderate enantioselectivities. The side products ferrocenyl methanol and 1 -ferrocenyl-1-propanone, observed during the additions to ferrocene carbaldehyde were isolated and characterized.

Herein, we report on the synthesis, spectral, crystallographic and electrochemical properties of a small library of N-substituted 2-ferrocenyl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-ones, designed as novel GABA(A) benzodiazepine-binding site ligands. The anxiolytic properties of the title compounds were evaluated in several different in vivo models, whereas the involvement of the GABAA receptor complex in the activity of the most potent compound, 2-ferrocenyl-3-(4-methoxyphenylethyl)-1,3-thiazolidin-4-one, was inferred from experiments with known GABA(A)-targeting agents. Ligand docking experiments revealed that the high, dose-dependent, anxiolytic activity of the new compounds might be due to their favorable interactions with the benzodiazepine-binding site of the GABA(A) receptor complex. The incorporation of the ferrocene core and fine tuning of the distance between the thiazolidinone core and an additional aromatic ring were judged to be crucial structural requirements for the observed anxiolytic effect. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the worlds repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.

An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the worlds repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.

An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the worlds repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.

2-Naphthol, formaldehyde and chiral amines have been applied in three component Betti-type condensation to provide chiral 1,3-naphthoxazines in excellent yields. The latter have been easily transformed to chiral N-methyl aminobenzylnaphthols through reaction with lithium aluminum hydride. The chiral aminobenzylnaphthols are active catalyst (ligands) for enantioselective diethylzinc addition to aldehydes providing secondary alcohols in good yields only up to a moderate degree of enantioselectivity.

The functionalization of diketopiperazine Cyclo(Gly-Pro) by using suitable deprotonation reagent and electrophile offers the opportunity for synthesis of structurally diverse series of compounds (libraries) possessing bioactivity. This synthetic approach has been proved as feasible in respect to use different electrophiles and in particularly concerning the observed very high stereoselecitvity.