2-Benzylsuccinic acid

Benzyl radical addition reaction through the homolytic cleavage of a benzylic C-H bond.[Pubmed:21331427]

Org Biomol Chem. 2011 Apr 7;9(7):2062-4.

Direct generation of a benzyl radical by C-H bond activation of toluenes and the addition reaction of the resulting radical to an electron deficient olefin were developed. The reaction of dimethyl fumarate with toluene in the presence of Et(3)B as a radical initiator at reflux afforded 2-Benzylsuccinic acid dimethyl ester in good yield.

Mechanistic insight into the inactivation of carboxypeptidase A by alpha-benzyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidine-4-acetic acid, a novel type of irreversible inhibitor for carboxypeptidase A with no stereospecificity.[Pubmed:11559199]

J Org Chem. 2001 Sep 21;66(19):6462-71.

On the basis of the active site topology and enzymic catalytic mechanism of carboxypeptidase A (CPA), a prototypical zinc-containing proteolytic enzyme, alpha-benzyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidine-4-acetic acid (1), was designed as a novel type of mechanism-based inactivator of the enzyme. All four possible stereoisomers of the inhibitor were synthesized in an enantiomerically pure form starting with optically active aspartic acid, and their CPA inhibitory activities were evaluated to find that surprisingly all of the four stereoisomers inhibit CPA in a time dependent manner. The inhibited enzyme did not regain its enzymic activity upon dialysis. The inactivations were prevented by 2-Benzylsuccinic acid, a competitive inhibitor that is known to bind the active site of the enzyme. These kinetic results strongly support that the inactivators attach covalently to the enzyme at the active site. The analysis of ESI mass spectral data of the inactivated CPA ascertained the conclusion from the kinetic results. The values of second-order inhibitory rate constants (k(obs)/[I](o)) fall in the range of 1.7-3.6 M(-1) min(-1). The lack of stereospecificity shown in the inactivation led us to propose that the ring cleavage occurs by the nucleophilic attack at the 2-position rather than at the 5-position and the ring opening takes place in an addition-elimination mechanism. The tetrahedral transition state that would be generated in this pathway is thought to be stabilized by the active site zinc ion, which was supported by the PM3 semiemprical calculations. In addition, alpha-benzyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidine-5-acetic acid (18), a structural isomer of 1 was also found to inactivate CPA in an irreversible manner, reinforcing the nucleophilic addition-elimination mechanism. The present study demonstrates that the transition state for the inactivation pathway plays a critical role in determining stereochemistry of the inactivation.

[Preparation of optically active succinic acid derivatives. III. Regioselective condensation reactions of optically active 2-substituted succinic acids with diimidazolide].[Pubmed:9629061]

Yakugaku Zasshi. 1998 Jun;118(6):248-55.

We investigated the large scale synthesis of monocalcium bis [(2S)-2-benzyl-3-(cis-hexahydroisoindolin-2-ylcarbonyl) propionate] dihydrate (KAD-1229), which has a potent hypoglycemic effect, in a single reaction vessel. (2S)-2-Benzyl-3-(cis-hexahydroisoindolin-2-ylcarbonyl) propionic acid (7) was directly obtainable from (S)-2-Benzylsuccinic acid (2) and cis-hexahydroisoindoline (4), without the isolation of intermediates by the method using thionyldiimidazole (9) and/or diimidazolide of the acid 2. Sequential reaction of imidazole with thionyl chloride, 2, and 4, followed by acid catalyzed hydrolysis gave amidecarboxylic acid 7 in 86% overall yield. The acid 7 was treated with 2 N NaOH, followed by the treatment with calcium chloride to give KAD-1229 in 91% yield.