Angewandte
Chemie
ure 2a, gray bars). As only the solution composition was
monitored, the measured changes in library composition can
be interpreted as a consequence of differences in adsorption
on silica gel among the various imines in the mixture.
fraction composed of C1 (5 Æ 0.1%) and C2 (8 Æ 0.1%);
e) the fifth fraction made up mostly of C3 (80 Æ 1%) and
some C1 (5 Æ 0.1%); and f) a final fraction as a mixture of D4
(76 Æ 3%), D2 (2 Æ 0.1%), D1 (2 Æ 0.1%), and A4 (1 Æ
0.1%). Conceptually, rapid elution of A1 forced imines
A2–A4 to react with B1, C1, and D1 to replenish A1. After
elution of A1 is completed, the original 16-imine library lost
these seven members and was reduced in size to form a
[3 ꢀ 3] library which now had B2 as the least polar member. In
the next step, its elution consumed B3, B4, C2, and D2,
decreasing the size of the leftover library to just 4 members,
and so on.
Two additional [2 ꢀ 2] experiments were performed. In the
first (Figure 2b), imines B2, B4, D2, and D4 were similarly
analyzed with and without silica gel, before being subjected to
column chromatography. This mixture was biased from the
outset: the equilibrated library shows a high preference for
the formation of the least polar imine B2 (relative abundance
1.00) and the most polar D4 (0.88), relative to their counter-
parts of intermediate polarity (B4: 0.18, D2: 0.20). This ratio
changed minimally upon addition of silica gel. Ultimately,
chromatography—eluting first with a mixture of hexane/
EtOAc (20:1 v/v) and then with pure THF—led to the
isolation of B2 (82 Æ 1%) as the dominant component of the
first fraction, followed by D4 (79 Æ 3%) as the major
component in the second fraction. Small amounts of B4
(3 Æ 0.1%) and D2 (8 Æ 0.3%) were also detected.
This procedure is limited in resolution. Each of the
isolated imines is eluted in several fractions and that is
a necessary feature of this procedure. For example, in the
experiment shown in Figure 2d, imine B2 is eluted as three
separate fractions, although they may not be collected as such.
The amount of B2 that is present in the initial mixture is
eluted quickly. The remainder of B2 has to be produced on
the column by disproportionation of partners that a) contain
its constituents and b) elute at approximately the same rate.
Thus, B3 and C2—which are of comparable polarity—
produce the second batch of B2, while B4 and D2 elute
later and are responsible for the production of the third batch
of B2. With larger libraries, it is likely that there will be
overlap of multiple fractions, and thus the amplification loses
fidelity as the library increases in complexity.
In the final [2 ꢀ 2] system (Figure 2c), the initial distribu-
tion was between the first two experiments—biased towards
the least polar imine C3 and the most polar imine D4, but not
as dramatically as in the previous experiment. Column
chromatography significantly amplified this bias, producing
C3 in 96 Æ 1% yield and D4 in 93 Æ 3% yield.
In a more complex [3 ꢀ 3] system, three aldehyde and
three amine starting materials were reacted together to yield
a mixture of nine imines, the distribution of which is also
represented by white vertical bars (Figure 2d). The propor-
tion of the most abundant imine in the mixture, imine C3, is
approximately six times greater than that of the least
abundant member of the library, imine B4. Upon addition
of silica, this distribution equalizes somewhat, with the C3/B4
ratio decreasing to approximately 3.5. Column chromatog-
raphy of the system initially employed pure hexane as the
eluent. The polarity of the eluent was then increased to
hexane/EtOAc 100:1 v/v and then to a 10:1 ratio, and was
finally changed to pure THF. Imine B2 was isolated in the first
fraction in 80 Æ 1% yield, essentially consuming (almost) all
of benzaldehyde and aniline constituents in the process. The
second small fraction contained 12 Æ 0.2% of C2, while the
third fraction carried C3 (81 Æ 1%). In the final fraction,
imine D4 dominated (89 Æ 3%), and small amounts of D2
(4 Æ 0.1%) were also detected.
Based on the same logic, an even more curious trans-
mutation experiment was performed (Scheme 2). Equimolar
amounts of pure D5 and E4 (which both contain one highly
Scheme 2. Transmutation of imines during column chromatography.
polar and one highly nonpolar component) were loaded onto
a silica gel column, and eluted first with hexane/EtOAc (40:1
v/v) and subsequently with pure THF. The first isolated
fraction contained D4 (92%) and the second E5 (94%). This
is a particularly unusual column chromatography experiment,
given that two compounds eluted from the column are
different to the two compounds loaded onto it.
In conclusion, we have shown that complex libraries of
equilibrating compounds can simplify in composition during
the course of column chromatography on silica gel. This
process could easily be combined with chemical reactions—
by, for example, performing a chromatographic separation on
a column impregnated with a catalyst—resulting in multi-
dimensional simplification of complex libraries.
In the future, we will attempt to automate and monitor
this procedure using an HPLC instrument. Such an extension
would allow the use of this dynamic procedure as a physical
chemistry tool to, for example, determine polarity indica-
tors[13] in a direct competition experiment. This method will
also be expanded to other adsorbents and dynamic compound
classes.[14]
The final [4 ꢀ 4] experiment started with a mixture of 16
imines in which the most abundant imine B2 was present in
approximately threefold excess relative to the least abundant
imine B4 (Figure 2e, white bars). Upon addition of silica gel
the relative abundances changed, leaving C2 as the imine with
the highest proportion and D1 as the least concentrated
member of the library ([C2]/[D1] = 2.44). Column chroma-
tography—eluting first with hexane/toluene (10:1 v/v, then
8:1), then with hexane/EtOAc (40:1, then 10:1, then 2:1), and
finally with pure THF—enabled us to isolate six distinct
fractions: a) the first fraction composed mostly of A1 (64 Æ
1%); b) the second fraction with small amounts of A2 (1 Æ
0.1%) and B1 (3 Æ 0.1%); c) the third fraction, which was
a mixture of B2 (78 Æ 1%), A2 (17 Æ 0.1%), B1 (13 Æ 0.1%),
and an additional amount of A1 (3 Æ 0.02%); d) the fourth
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 1 – 5
ꢀ 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
3
These are not the final page numbers!