Synthesis of a Pentasulfane from ortho-Benzoquinone
Rf ) 0.48 (2:3 EtOAc/hexanes). 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 2.28 (s, 3H),
2.29 (s, 3H), 7.12-7.16 (m, 2H), 7.44 (dd, J ) 8.0 Hz, J ) 1.5
Hz, 1H). UV (CH2Cl2) λmax 280, 321 nm. Mass spectrum (EI): m/z
) 110 (20), 142 (11), 250 (100, M-4Ac), 292 (60, M-3Ac), 334
(41, M-2Ac), 376 (19, M-Ac), 418 (12).
polysulfanes. We are currently exploring dopamine-o-quinone
as an intermediate in an H2Sx reaction to generate polysulfane
1.
Experimental Section
Acetic Acid 2-Acetoxy-3-(2,3-diacetoxy-phenyldisulfanyl)-
phenyl Ester or “Tetraacetylated 8”. Yield 0.0048 g. Silica gel
TLC Rf ) 0.42 (2:3 EtOAc/hexanes). 1H NMR (acetone-d6) δ 2.28
(s, 6H), 2.30 (s, 6H), 7.25 (dd, J ) 1.5, 7.3 Hz, 2H), 7.34 (t, J )
7.3 Hz, 2H), 7.51 (dd, J ) 1.5, 7.3 Hz, 2H). 13C NMR (acetone-
d6) 20.1, 20.5, 124.5, 127.8, 131.7, 142.0, 144.4, 168.2, 168.6. UV
(CH2Cl2) λmax 280, 320 nm. Mass spectrum (EI): m/z ) 83 (6),
111 (10), 142 (71), 184 (22), 282 (100, M-4Ac), 324 (60, M-3Ac),
366 (91, M-2Ac), 408 (29, M-Ac), 450 (41). HRMS calcd for
C20H18O8S2 (M + NH4)+ 468.0781, found 468.0784.
5,6,7,8,9-Pentathiabenzocycloheptene-1,2-diol (4) was sepa-
rated by preparative silica gel TLC, Rf ) 0.5 EtOAc/hexanes (1:
3). Mass spectrum (EI): m/z ) 64 (43), 96 (12), 110 (48), 142
(66), 204 (100), 268 (10).
Acetic Acid 2-Acetoxy-5,6,7,8,9-pentathiabenzocyclohepten-
1-yl Ester or “Diacetylated 4”. Yield 0.0007 g. Silica gel TLC,
1
Rf ) 0.4 (THF/hexanes, 1:3). H NMR (CDCl3) δ 2.31 (s, 3H),
2.35 (s, 3H), 7.18 (d, 1H, J ) 8.4 Hz), 7.76 (d, 1H, J ) 8.4 Hz).
13C NMR (CDCl3) δ 20.4, 20.6, 117.8, 124.8, 125.5, 133.7, 142.5,
144.5, 167.7, 167.8. UV (CH2Cl2) λmax 232 nm. Mass spectrum
(EI): m/z ) 64 (23), 102 (10), 131 (21), 139 (15), 172 (6), 204
(100), 246 (34), 288 (26), 352 (0.9). Peaks at 246 and 204 represent
the loss of two ketene CH2dCdO fragments.
1
3,4-Dimercapto-benzene-1,2-diol or “Tetraacetylated 9”. H
NMR 400 MHz (acetone-d6) δ 2.30 (s, 3H), 2.31 (s, 3H), 2.42 (s,
3H), 2.42 (s, 3H), 7.22 (d, J ) 8.7 Hz, 1H), 7.40 (d, J ) 8.7 Hz,
1H). Mass spectrum (EI): m/z ) 342 (3), 300 (44, M-Ac), 258
(55, M-2Ac), 216 (70, M-3Ac), 174 (100, M-4Ac).
Acetic Acid 3,2′,3′-Triacetoxy-biphenyl-2-yl Ester or “Tet-
raacetylated 10”. Catechol acts as an ambident nucleophile in a
reaction between the carbanion tautomer of catechol and o-quinone.
Mass spectrum (EI): m/z ) 386, 344 (M-Ac), 302 (M-2Ac), 260
(M-3Ac), 218 (M-4Ac).
Acetic Acid 2-(3,4-Diacetoxy-phenoxy)-phenyl Ester or “Tri-
acetylated 11”. Mass spectrum (EI): m/z ) 344, 302 (M-Ac),
260 (M-2Ac), 218 (M-3Ac).
Acetic Acid 1-Acetoxy-dibenzo1,4dioxin-2-yl Ester or “Di-
acetylated 12”. Mass spectrum (EI): m/z ) 300, 258 (M-Ac),
216 (M-2Ac).
3-Mercaptobenzene-1,2-diol (5). 1H NMR (acetone-d6) δ 4.03
(s, 1H), 6.60 (t, J ) 7.82 Hz, 1H), 6.66 (dd, J ) 1.6, 7.8 Hz, 1H),
6.74 (dd, J ) 1.6, 7.8 Hz, 1H), 7.76 (s, 1H), 8.50 (s, 1H).
Acetic Acid 2-Acetoxy-3-acetylsulfanyl-phenyl Ester or “Tri-
acetylated 5”. Yield 0.0006 g. Triacetylated 5 was isolated from
silica gel TLC, Rf ) 0.42 (EtOAc/hexanes, 1:3), from the quinone-
H2Sx reaction or via recrystallization in chloroform as white crystals
(mp 80-83 °C) from the quinone-thiolacetic acid reaction (method
1, Supporting Information). The 1H NMR spectrum of triacetylated
5 shows three singlets corresponding to methyls of the acetyl groups
on two OH and SH groups adjacent to each other at 2.27, 2.29,
1
and 2.41 ppm, respectively. H NMR (acetone-d6) δ 2.27 (s, 3H),
2.29 (s, 3H), 2.41 (s, 3H), 7.37-7.46 (m, 3H). 13C NMR (acetone-
d6) δ 20.2, 20.3, 30.1, 124.6, 126.4, 134.5, 144.6, 168.1, 168.5,
Acknowledgment. This work was supported by research
grants from the National Institutes of Health (S06 GM076168-
01) and PSC-CUNY (67341-0036). Cliff Soll (Hunter College
Mass Spectrometry Facility) and Kym Faull and Ken Conklin
(Pasarow UCLA Mass Spectrometry Laboratory) were respon-
sible for conducting several mass measurements. Computational
support was provided by the CUNY Graduate Center compu-
tational facility.
192.0. IR (KBr) ν 1765, 1703, 1466, 1368, 1262, 1213, 1005 cm-1
.
Mass spectrum (EI): m/z ) 83 (2), 96 (1), 113 (2), 142 (100,
M-3Ac), 184 (55, M-2Ac), 226 (27, M-Ac), 268 (8). HRMS calcd
for C12H12O5S (M + H)+ 269.0478, found 269.0476.
4-Mercaptobenzene-1,2-diol (6). 1H NMR (acetone-d6) δ 3.10
(s, 1H), 6.68 (dd, J ) 2.1, 8.2 Hz, 1H), 6.73 (d, J ) 8.2 Hz, 1H),
6.84 (d, J ) 2.1 Hz, 1H), 8.03 (s, 1H), 7.93 (s, 1H).
Acetic Acid 2-Acetoxy-5-acetylsulfanyl-phenyl Ester or “Tri-
acetylated 6”. Prepared from the quinone-H2Sx reaction and the
quinone-thiolacetic acid reaction (method 2). Purification was
accomplished by column chromatography using EtOAc/hexanes (1:
4). Yellow crystals were obtained (mp 79-82 °C). 1H NMR
(acetone-d6) δ 2.47 (s, 3H), 2.48 (s, 3H), 2.62 (s, 3H), 7.49 (d, J )
8.4 Hz, 1H), 7.51 (s, 1H), 7.54 (dd, J ) 2.1, 8.4 Hz, 1H). 13C
NMR (acetone-d6) δ 19.5, 19.5, 29.2, 124.0, 126.0, 129.3, 132.6,
142.4, 143.3, 168.0, 193.0. IR (KBr) ν 1773, 1752, 1703, 1491,
1364 cm-1. Mass spectrum (EI): m/z ) 268 (7), 226 (39, M-Ac),
184 (48, M-2Ac), 142 (100, M-3Ac). HRMS calcd for C12H12O5S
(M + H)+ 269.0478, found 269.0478.
Note Added after ASAP Publication. In the text,
“[o-C6H4(OH)2]” was incorrectly displayed as “[o-C6H4(HO)2]”
and “ambident” was spelled “ambient” in the version published
ASAP March 23, 2007; the corrected version was published
March 27, 2007.
Supporting Information Available: Experimental procedures
and spectroscopic data for new compounds 4-9 and HRMS data
for 5, 6, and 8. This material is available free of charge via the
Acetic Acid 2-Acetoxy-6-(2,3-diacetoxy-phenylsulfanyl)-phen-
yl Ester or “Tetraacetylated 7”. Yield 0.0012 g. Silica gel TLC
JO062677W
J. Org. Chem, Vol. 72, No. 8, 2007 2955