The major part of this thesis describes the synthesis of enantiopure alcohols and diols by combining ruthenium-catalyzed redox reactions that lead to racemization or epimerization and lipase-catalyzed asymmetric trans-formations in one-pot. A mechanistic study of the unexpected facile formation of meso-diacetate products found in enzyme-catalyzed acetylations of alkanediols with Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) was first performed. By deuterium labeling it was found that the formation of meso-diacetates proceeds via different mechanisms for 2,4-pentanediol and 2,5-hexanediol. Whereas the first reacts via an intramolecular acyl migration, the latter proceeds via a direct, anomalous S-acylation of the alcohol. The acyl migration occurring in the 2,4-pentanediol monoacetate was taken advantage of in asymmetric transformations of substituted 1,3-diols by combining it with a ruthenium-catalyzed epimerization and an enzymatic transesterification using CALB. The in situ coupling of these three processes results in de-epimerization and deracemization of acyclic, unsymmetrical 1,3-diols and constitutes a novel dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation (DYKAT) concept. Racemization of secondary alcohols effected by a new ruthenium complex was combined in one-pot with an enzyme-catalyzed transesterification, leading to a chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) operating at room temperature. Aromatic, aliphatic, heterocyclic and functionalized alcohols were subjected to the procedure. A mechanism for racemization by this ruthenium complex has been proposed and experimental indications for hydrogen transfer within the coordination sphere of ruthenium were found. The same ruthenium catalyst was used for epimerization in DYKAT of 1,2-diols, and a very similar complex was employed in isomerization of allylic alcohols to saturated ketones. The former method is a substrate extension of the above principle applied for DYKAT of 1,3-diols. The combination of a lipase and an organocatalyst was demonstrated by linking a lipase-catalyzed transesterification to a proline-mediated aldol reaction for the production of enantiopure (S)-β-hydroxy ketones and acetylated (R)-aldols.

No description available.

Higher alcohols synthesized via CO hydrogenation reactions have been a topic of intense study both in industry and academia for over thirty years. A variety of transition metals and promoters have been used in catalysts for this reaction. MoS₂, in particular, is popular due to its low cost, resistance to sulfur poisoning, and ability to selectively produce higher alcohols over hydrocarbons. The bulk material has a rich history in hydrodesulfurization reactions (HDS), and as such, a great deal is known about the material's structure and reactivity. However, even with this deep body of knowledge about the bulk catalyst, no one has yet been able to implement an industrially viable variation of the catalyst to make higher alcohols. Supported MoS₂ has also been studied for the same purpose. Generally, supports are employed to improve catalyst productivity per gram of Mo by dispersing the metal and increasing the amount of catalytically active surface area. However, product selectivity may also be influenced by chemical properties of the supports. Specifically, gamma alumina has been shown to raise hydrocarbon formation due to intrinsic surface acidity. The effects of basic supports are reported on the CO hydrogenation reaction are reported. K promoted Mo is supported on two basic materials - commercial sepiolite (Si₁₂Mg₈O₃₀(OH)₄) and hydrotalcite-derived Mg/Al mixed metal oxides (MMO). The catalysts are reacted with syngas, and the resultant product selectivities are compared at isoconversions. Activated carbon supported Mo and bulk MoS₂ are also used as controls. It is shown that MMO provides a unique promotional effect by suppressing methanol formation and favoring higher alcohols. The specific role of MMO in the reaction is investigated by combining it in three different ways with Mo. 1) MMO is impregnated with Mo in the classic fashion. 2) Bare MMO or MMO/K is placed as a secondary bed downstream of the principle catalyst (K promoted Mo supported on MMO). 3) Bare MMO or MMO/K is mixed with the principle catalyst to make a homogeneous bed. It is shown that MMO by itself is somewhat inert in the reaction while MMO/K has some higher alcohol forming activity. More importantly however, it is shown that the MMO:Mo ratio has far greater effects on selectivity than the morphology of MoS₂. There is evidence however that MoS₂ morphology can affect activity. It is hypothesized that a greater degree of stacking in MoS₂ domains leads to reduced activity. The existence of coupling and homologation pathways are investigated by feeding methanol or ethanol into the syngas as it enters the catalyst bed. By comparing changes in the productivity of different higher alcohols with the liquid feed, it is shown that an MMO supported catalyst is much more reactive with methanol and somewhat more reactive with ethanol than its bulk MoS₂ counterpart. It is shown that for both the bulk and supported catalysts, the addition of a Cx alcohol results in the largest increase in Cx+1 products, suggesting that alcohol homologation is in fact the most favored route to higher alcohols by these materials.

Structural effects in hydrogen and non-hydrogen bonded liquids and their mixtures have been studied using several experimental techniques and theoretical approaches. Apparent heat capacities and volumes of linear alcohols in hydrocarbons were determined at very low alcohol concentrations and their self-association in solution discussed in terms of the Treszczanowicz-Kehiaian theory. An extension of this theory was used to describe cholesterol self-association and its interactions with tripalmitin and lecithin. Heat capacities of water-organic mixtures are reported. It is found that water behaves as a lower alcohol at the organic-rich concentration range. At the water-rich end, Shinoda's views on water structuring around hydrophobes are supported. Thermal pressure coefficients of cyclohexane + normal and branched alkanes are consistent with the presence of orientational order in the long pure n-alkanes. Excess volumes for mixtures of alkanes with liquids of different internal pressures are predicted using Flory theory. The anomalous thermodynamic behaviour of cyclopentane mixed with cyclic and branched alkanes has been studied through the measurement of cyclopentane spin-lattice relaxation times in these mixtures. An extension of Sanchez-Lacombe theory for pure liquids is described and the molecular parameters obtained for sixty common substances. An equation of state for pure n-alkanes with correlations of molecular orientations is presented.

The cholesterol-lowering efficacy of the original sugarcane-derived Cuban policosanol (OPC) supplement has been attributed to an exclusive policosanol purity and composition. The first objective of the following study was to compare the purity and composition of the OPC and alternative sugarcane derived policosanol (APC) products. Second, to measure blood lipids and policosanol levels in tissues, plasma and feces in hamsters receiving diet fortified with no policosanols, OPC, or an APC (APC1) product. Results indicated that the policosanol purity and composition of the OPC and APC formulations are similar. Lipid levels were not significantly different between groups. Policosanols were undetectable in the plasma and tissues of any animals following policosanol supplementation. Policosanols were excreted at a higher rate in animals consuming APC1. Sugarcane-derived policosanols are not an efficacious cholesterol-lowering therapy. The purity and relative percent composition of the OPC supplement cannot account for its efficacy as a lipid lowering agent.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on January 11, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (SC. D.)--University of Michigan, 1930.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1959. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-89).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-189).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1958. / Typescript. Vita. Appendix: Analysis of phenobarbital in pharmaceuticals by argentimetric potentiometric titration / By Jerome Irwin Bodin. Reprinted from Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association, scientific edition, vol. XLV, no. 3 (Mar. 1956), p. [185]-187. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-139).