No / The tetracyclic nucleus of puupehenone, 15-oxopuupehenol and other sesquiterpene¿phenol natural products can be assembled stereoselectively in three steps, the last of these being the 6-endo-trig cyclisation of an alpha-keto radical generated from a substituted 2-(2-cyclohexenyl)ethyl 3-bromo-4-chromanone under metal-free conditions. / EPSRC

<p>This thesis describes the design, synthesis and evaluation of novel chalcogenide antioxidants. </p><p>A computational model for the prediction of antioxidant properties of chalcogen-containing antioxidants has been developed. The model has been used to probe the relationship between geometry, chalcogen substitution and activity for a series of α-tocopherol analogues of varying ring size and chalcogen substitution. </p><p>A series of simple diaryltellurides and aryl-alkyl tellurides have been synthesised. The selenium analogue of α-tocopherol has been synthesised in eleven steps and 6.5% total yield, with formation of the selenacycle by homolytic substitution at selenium as the key step. Tentative steps have been taken towards the construction of the tellurotocopherol structure by microwave-assisted radical cyclisation methodologies.</p><p>A combination of EPR and kinetic studies has been used to assess the antioxidant characteristics of selenotocopherol. A two-phase lipid peroxidation model revealed that the selenotocopherol is not catalytically regenerable. The same model has been used to assess the cooperativity of mixtures of tellurides with α-tocopherol and an aqueous thiol. It was seen that combinations of α-tocopherol with tellurides incorporating phenols displayed synergistic properties, and the mechanistic implications of this are discussed. </p><p>DSC measurements have been used to assess the antioxidant activity of tellurides together with coantioxidants in melts of polypropylene. The tellurides display excellent activity together with thiol or a sterically hindered phenol antioxidant. In chemiluminescence studies performed at lower temperatures, the telluride mixtures still outperform commercial blends, but to a lesser extent. In a synthetic oil a telluride has demonstrated promising antioxidant properties together with a thiol or phenolic antioxidant. However, under more realistic test conditions the telluride acts instead as a prooxidant. Some tellurides have been evaluated as antioxidants in paper. Water-soluble tellurides appear to function better than lipophilic tellurides, but neither is comparable in activity to α-tocopherol.</p>

This thesis describes the design, synthesis and evaluation of novel chalcogenide antioxidants. A computational model for the prediction of antioxidant properties of chalcogen-containing antioxidants has been developed. The model has been used to probe the relationship between geometry, chalcogen substitution and activity for a series of α-tocopherol analogues of varying ring size and chalcogen substitution. A series of simple diaryltellurides and aryl-alkyl tellurides have been synthesised. The selenium analogue of α-tocopherol has been synthesised in eleven steps and 6.5% total yield, with formation of the selenacycle by homolytic substitution at selenium as the key step. Tentative steps have been taken towards the construction of the tellurotocopherol structure by microwave-assisted radical cyclisation methodologies. A combination of EPR and kinetic studies has been used to assess the antioxidant characteristics of selenotocopherol. A two-phase lipid peroxidation model revealed that the selenotocopherol is not catalytically regenerable. The same model has been used to assess the cooperativity of mixtures of tellurides with α-tocopherol and an aqueous thiol. It was seen that combinations of α-tocopherol with tellurides incorporating phenols displayed synergistic properties, and the mechanistic implications of this are discussed. DSC measurements have been used to assess the antioxidant activity of tellurides together with coantioxidants in melts of polypropylene. The tellurides display excellent activity together with thiol or a sterically hindered phenol antioxidant. In chemiluminescence studies performed at lower temperatures, the telluride mixtures still outperform commercial blends, but to a lesser extent. In a synthetic oil a telluride has demonstrated promising antioxidant properties together with a thiol or phenolic antioxidant. However, under more realistic test conditions the telluride acts instead as a prooxidant. Some tellurides have been evaluated as antioxidants in paper. Water-soluble tellurides appear to function better than lipophilic tellurides, but neither is comparable in activity to α-tocopherol.

Ce travail de thèse présente la mise au point d’une nouvelle stratégie de synthèse en vue de l’obtention d’analogues des strigolactones, apocaroténoïdes possédant de multiples activités biologiques d’intérêt agronomique : médiateurs chimiques intervenant dans la mise en place de la symbiose endomycorhizienne et nouvelle classe d’hormone végétale contrôlant l’architecture de la plante.La stratégie de synthèse est basée sur l’utilisation d’une séquence de deux réactions clefs qui sont une métathèse cyclisante d’oléfine (RCM) et une cyclisation radicalaire avec transfert d’atome catalysée par un métal de transition (ATRC). Tout d’abord, une synthèse rapide et efficace des précurseurs a été développée et après optimisation de la séquence RCM / ATRC, divers analogues fonctionnalisés en position C4 ont été obtenus après aménagements fonctionnels. D’autres bioisostères des strigolactones naturelles ont été synthétisés par variation au niveau du cycle C. En se basant sur la voie synthétique précédemment élaborée, la première synthèse asymétrique du Solanacol a été effectuée permettant la détermination de sa stéréochimie relative en C2’ et sa configuration absolue. L’évaluation des activités biologiques dans les différents modèles des composés synthétisés est aussi décrite. / This Ph.D. work has been centred on the elaboration of a new synthetic strategy in goal to obtain analogues of natural strigolactones, apocarotenoids with various biological activities of agronomic interests: chemical mediators implicated in the endomycorrhizal symbiosis and a new class of plant hormone controlling the plant architecture.The synthetic strategy is based on the sequence of two key reactions, which are ring closing metathesis (RCM) and atom transfer radical cyclisation (ATRC). First, a rapid and efficient access to the synthetic precursors has been developed and after optimisation of the RCM / ATRC sequence, several analogues functionnalised at the C4 position were obtained after judicious steps. Other bioisoters were obtained with variations on the C ring. On the basis of the elaborated synthetic pathway, the first asymmetric synthesis of Solanacol was successfully achieved conducting to the determination of the relative stereochemistry at C2’ position and its absolute configuration. The biological evaluations of the synthesized molecules in the different models were also described.

De précédentes études dans notre groupe ont montré que l'α-1-C-nonyl-1,5-didésoxy-1,5-imino-D-xylitol était un inhibiteur puissant de la β-glucocérébrosidase, enzyme impliquée dans la maladie de Gaucher. Il a été supposé que la conformation chaise inversée de ce composé pouvait expliquer en partie sa forte affinité avec la glycosidase cible. L'objectif ce travail de thèse était la synthèse d'une nouvelle classe d’iminosucres, basée sur un squelette 1-azaspiro[3.3]heptane, possédant deux cycles à 4 membres, analogue conformationnellement contraint de notre "lead" en série iminoxylitol. La première stratégie de synthèse envisagée a permis de mettre en avant une nouvelle réaction tandem d'ouverture d'azétidines conduisant à des spirocyclopropyl γ-lactames. La seconde stratégie testée a conduit dans un premier temps à la formation hautement stéréosélective d'un cyclobutane tétrasubstitué par une réaction radicalaire induite par le SmI2 − permettant ainsi la synthèse des premiers exemples de carbasucres à 4 membres − puis à la formation du carbone azaspiranique de notre cible par une réaction de C-H amination catalysée par des complexes de rhodium. / Previous studies in our group has shown that α-1-C-nonyl-1,5-dideoxy-1,5-imino-D-xylitol was a strong inhibitor of β-glucocerebrosidase, the enzyme involved in Gaucher disease. It was supposed that the inverted chair conformation of this compound could partially explain its high affinity with the target glycosydase.The goal of this PhD work was the synthesis of a new class of iminosugars based on 1-azaspiro[3.3]heptane structures, as conformationally strained analogues of our lead in the iminoxylitol series. During the course of our synthetic study, new azetidine ring-opening tandem reaction leading to spirocyclopropyl γ-lactames has been discovered. The most promising strategy evaluated led to the highly stereoselective formation of a tetrasubstituted cyclobutane via a SmI2-mediated radical reaction − leading to the synthesis of the first exemples of 4-membered carbasugars − then to the formation of the azaspiranic carbon of our target by way of rhodium-catalyzed C-H amination reaction.