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Carbocycles
Inorganic cyclic compounds
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Macrocycles
Nomenclature
Isomerism
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Stereochemistry
Conformational isomerism
Aromaticity
Principal uses
Synthetic reactions
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Important general reactions for forming rings
Ring-closing reactions
Ring-opening reactions
Ring expansion and ring contraction reactions
Examples
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Simple, mono-cyclic examples
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A cyclic compound (or ring compound) is a term for a compound in the field of
chemistry in which one or more series of atoms in the compound is connected to form
a ring. Rings may vary in size from three to many atoms, and include examples where
all the atoms are carbon (i.e., are carbocycles), none of the atoms are carbon
(inorganic cyclic compounds), or where both carbon and non-carbon atoms are present
(heterocyclic compounds). Depending on the ring size, the bond order of the
individual links between ring atoms, and their arrangements within the rings,
carbocyclic and heterocyclic compounds may be aromatic or non-aromatic; in the
latter case, they may vary from being fully saturated to having varying numbers of
multiple bonds between the ring atoms. Because of the tremendous diversity allowed,
in combination, by the valences of common atoms and their ability to form rings,
the number of possible cyclic structures, even of small size (e.g., < 17 total
atoms) numbers in the many billions.
Cyclic compound examples: All-carbon (carbocyclic) and more complex natural cyclic
compounds
Ingenol, a complex, terpenoid natural product, related to but simpler than the
paclitaxel that follows, which displays a complex ring structure including 3-, 5-,
and 7-membered non-aromatic, carbocyclic rings.
Ingenol, a complex, terpenoid natural product, related to but simpler than the
paclitaxel that follows, which displays a complex ring structure including 3-, 5-,
and 7-membered non-aromatic, carbocyclic rings.
Cycloalkanes, the simplest carbocycles, including cyclopropane, cyclobutane,
cyclopentane, and cyclohexane. Note, elsewhere an organic chemistry shorthand is
used where hydrogen atoms are inferred as present to fill the carbon's valence of 4
(rather than their being shown explicitly).
Cycloalkanes, the simplest carbocycles, including cyclopropane, cyclobutane,
cyclopentane, and cyclohexane. Note, elsewhere an organic chemistry shorthand is
used where hydrogen atoms are inferred as present to fill the carbon's valence of 4
(rather than their being shown explicitly).
Adding to their complexity and number, closing of atoms into rings may lock
particular atoms with distinct substitution (by functional groups) such that
stereochemistry and chirality of the compound results, including some
manifestations that are unique to rings (e.g., configurational isomers). As well,
depending on ring size, the three-dimensional shapes of particular cyclic
structures – typically rings of five atoms and larger – can vary and interconvert
such that conformational isomerism is displayed. Indeed, the development of this
important chemical concept arose historically in reference to cyclic compounds.
Finally, cyclic compounds, because of the unique shapes, reactivities, properties,
and bioactivities that they engender, are the majority of all molecules involved in
the biochemistry, structure, and function of living organisms, and in man-made
molecules such as drugs, pesticides, etc.
Moreover, the closing of atoms into rings may lock particular functional group–
substituted atoms into place, resulting in stereochemistry and chirality being
associated with the compound, including some manifestations that are unique to
rings (e.g., configurational isomers);[4] As well, depending on ring size, the
three-dimensional shapes of particular cyclic structures — typically rings of five
atoms and larger — can vary and interconvert such that conformational isomerism is
displayed.[4]
Carbocycles
The vast majority of cyclic compounds are organic, and of these, a significant and
conceptually important portion are composed of rings made only of carbon atoms
(i.e., they are carbocycles).[citation needed]
Heterocyclic compounds
Cyclic compounds that have both carbon and non-carbon atoms present are termed
heterocyclic compounds;[citation needed] alternatively the name can refer to
inorganic cyclic compounds, such as siloxanes and borazines, that have more than
one type of atom in their rings.[citation needed] Hantzsch–Widman nomenclature is
recommended by the IUPAC for naming heterocycles, but many common names remain in
regular use.[citation needed]
Macrocycles
Cycloctane conformations.jpg
The term macrocycle is used for compounds having a rings of 8 or more atoms.[5][6]
Macrocycles may be fully carbocyclic, heterocyclic but having limited heteroatoms
(e.g., in lactones and lactams), or be rich in heteroatoms and displaying
significant symmetry (e.g., in the case of chelating macrocycles). Macrocycles can
access a number of stable conformations, with preference to reside in conformations
that minimize transannular nonbonded interactions within the ring (e.g., with the
chair and chair-boat being more stable than the boat-boat conformation for
cyclooctane, because of the interactions depicted by the arcs shown).[citation
needed] Medium rings (8-11 atoms) are the most strained, with between 9-13
(kcal/mol) strain energy, and analysis of factors important in the conformations of
larger macrocycles can be modeled using medium ring conformations.[7]
Conformational analysis of odd-membered rings suggests they tend to reside in less
symmetrical forms with smaller energy differences between stable conformations.[8]
The atoms that are part of the ring structure are called annular atoms.[9]
Isomerism
Stereochemistry
The closing of atoms into rings may lock particular atoms with distinct
substitution by functional groups such that the result is stereochemistry and
chirality of the compound, including some manifestations that are unique to rings
(e.g., configurational isomers).[4]
Conformational isomerism
To be supplied
Chair and boat conformers in cyclohexanes. Two conformers of cyclohexane, the chair
at left, and the boat at right (in German, respectively, Sessel and Wanne, the
latter meaning "bath").
To be supplied
cis-1,4-Dimethylcyclohexane, in chair form, minimising steric interactions between
the methyl groups in the directly opposing 1,4-positions of the cyclohexane ring.
General description. The structures are shown in line angle representation, though
in the image at left, the lines projecting from the cyclohexane are not terminal
methyl groups; rather, they indicate possible positions that might be occupied by
substituents (functional groups) attached to the ring. In the image at left, those
groups projecting upward and downward are termed axial substituents (a), and those
groups projecting around the conceptual equator are termed equatorial substituents
(e). Note, in general, the axial substituents are closer in space to one another
(allowing for repulsive interactions); moreover, in the boat form, axial
substituents in directly opposing positions (12 o'clock and 6 o'clock, termed
"1,4-") are very close in space, and therefore give rise to even greater repulsion.
These and other types of strain are used to explain the observation that the chair
conformation of cyclohexanes is the favored conformation.[4]
Depending on ring size, the three-dimensional shapes of particular cyclic
structures—typically rings of 5-atoms and larger—can vary and interconvert such
that conformational isomerism is displayed.[4] Indeed, the development of this
important chemical concept arose, historically, in reference to cyclic compounds.
For instance, cyclohexanes—six membered carbocycles with no double bonds, to which
various substituents might be attached, see image—display an equilibrium between
two conformations, the chair and the boat, as shown in the image.
Aromaticity
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Cyclic compounds may or may not exhibit aromaticity; benzene is an example of an
aromatic cyclic compound, while cyclohexane is non-aromatic. In organic chemistry,
the term aromaticity is used to describe a cyclic (ring-shaped), planar (flat)
molecule that exhibits unusual stability as compared to other geometric or
connective arrangements of the same set of atoms. As a result of their stability,
it is very difficult to cause aromatic molecules to break apart and to react with
other substances. Organic compounds that are not aromatic are classified as
aliphatic compounds—they might be cyclic, but only aromatic rings have especial
stability (low reactivity).
Since one of the most commonly encountered aromatic systems of compounds in organic
chemistry is based on derivatives of the prototypical aromatic compound benzene (an
aromatic hydrocarbon common in petroleum and its distillates), the word “aromatic”
is occasionally used to refer informally to benzene derivatives, and this is how it
was first defined. Nevertheless, many non-benzene aromatic compounds exist. In
living organisms, for example, the most common aromatic rings are the double-ringed
bases in RNA and DNA. A functional group or other substituent that is aromatic is
called an aryl group.
The earliest use of the term “aromatic” was in an article by August Wilhelm Hofmann
in 1855. Hofmann used the term for a class of benzene compounds, many of which do
have odors (aromas), unlike pure saturated hydrocarbons. Today, there is no general
relationship between aromaticity as a chemical property and the olfactory
properties of such compounds (how they smell), although in 1855, before the
structure of benzene or organic compounds was understood, chemists like Hofmann
were beginning to understand that odiferous molecules from plants, such as
terpenes, had chemical properties we recognize today are similar to unsaturated
petroleum hydrocarbons like benzene.
Principal uses
Because of the unique shapes, reactivities, properties, and bioactivities that they
engender, cyclic compounds are the largest majority of all molecules involved in
the biochemistry, structure, and function of living organisms, and in the man-made
molecules (e.g., drugs, herbicides, etc.) through which man attempts to exert
control over nature and biological systems.
Synthetic reactions
Important general reactions for forming rings
alkyne trimerisation;
the Bergman cyclization of an enediyne;
the Diels–Alder, between a conjugated diene and a substituted alkene, and other
cycloaddition reactions;
the Nazarov cyclization reaction, originally being the cyclization of a divinyl
ketone;
various radical cyclizations;
ring-closing metathesis reactions, which also can be used to accomplish a specific
type of polymerization;
the Ruzicka large ring synthesis, in which two carboxyl groups combine to form a
carbonyl group with loss of CO2 and H2O;
the Wenker synthesis converting a beta amino alcohol to an aziridine
other reactions, such as an amino group reacting with a hydroxy group, as in the
biosynthesis of solanine
Ring-opening reactions
A variety of further synthetic procedures are particularly useful in opening
carbocyclic and other rings, generally which contain a double bound or other
functional group "handle" to facilitate chemistry; these are termed ring-opening
reactions. Examples include:
ring opening metathesis, which can also be used to accomplish a specific type of
polymerization.
Ring expansion and ring contraction reactions
Main article: Ring expansion and ring contraction
Ring expansion and contraction reactions are common in organic synthesis, and are
frequently encountered in pericyclic reactions. Ring expansions and contractions
can involve the insertion of a functional group such as the case with Baeyer–
Villiger oxidation of cyclic ketones, rearrangements of cyclic carbocycles as seen
in intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions, or collapse or rearrangement of bicyclic
compounds as several examples.
Examples
Simple, mono-cyclic examples
The following are examples of simple and aromatic carbocycles, inorganic cyclic
compounds, and heterocycles:
Brevetoxin A, a natural product with ten rings, all fused, and all heterocyclic,
and a toxic component associated with the organisms responsible for red tides. The
R group at right refers to one of several possible four-carbon side chains (see
main Brevetoxin article; non-aromatic).
Brevetoxin A, a natural product with ten rings, all fused, and all heterocyclic,
and a toxic component associated with the organisms responsible for red tides. The
R group at right refers to one of several possible four-carbon side chains (see
main Brevetoxin article; non-aromatic).
See also
Effective molarity
Lactone
Open-chain compound
References
March, Jerry (1985), Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and
Structure, 3rd edition, New York: Wiley, ISBN 9780471854722, OCLC 642506595[page
needed]
Halduc, I. (1961). "Classification of inorganic cyclic compounds". Journal of
Structural Chemistry. 2 (3): 350–8. doi:10.1007/BF01141802. S2CID 93804259.
Reymond, Jean-Louis (2015). "The Chemical Space Project". Accounts of Chemical
Research. 48 (3): 722–30. doi:10.1021/ar500432k. PMID 25687211.
William Reusch (2010). "Stereoisomers Part I" in Virtual Textbook of Organic
Chemistry. Michigan State University. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015.
Retrieved 7 April 2015.
Still, W.Clark; Galynker, Igor (1981). "Chemical consequences of conformation in
macrocyclic compounds". Tetrahedron. 37 (23): 3981–96. doi:10.1016/S0040-
4020(01)93273-9.
J. D. Dunitz (1968). J. D. Dunitz and J. A. Ibers (ed.). Perspectives in
Structural Chemistry. Vol. 2. New York: Wiley. pp. 1–70.
Eliel, E.L., Wilen, S.H. and Mander, L.S. (1994) Stereochemistry of Organic
Compounds, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York.[page needed]
Anet, F.A.L.; St. Jacques, M.; Henrichs, P.M.; Cheng, A.K.; Krane, J.; Wong, L.
(1974). "Conformational analysis of medium-ring ketones". Tetrahedron. 30 (12):
1629–37. doi:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)90685-4.
Morris, Christopher G.; Press, Academic (1992). Academic Press Dictionary of
Science and Technology. Gulf Professional Publishing. p. 120. ISBN 9780122004001.
Archived from the original on 2021-04-13. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
Löwe, J; Li, H; Downing, K.H; Nogales, E (2001). "Refined structure of αβ-tubulin
at 3.5 Å resolution". Journal of Molecular Biology. 313 (5): 1045–57.
doi:10.1006/jmbi.2001.5077. PMID 11700061. Archived from the original on 2021-01-
22. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
Further reading
Jürgen-Hinrich Fuhrhop & Gustav Penzlin, 1986, "Organic synthesis: concepts,
methods, starting materials," Weinheim, BW, DEU:VCH, ISBN 0895732467, see [1],
accessed 19 June 2015.
Michael B. Smith & Jerry March, 2007, "March's Advanced Organic Chemistry:
Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure," 6th Ed., New York, NY, USA:Wiley & Sons,
ISBN 0470084944, see [2], accessed 19 June 2015.
Francis A. Carey & Richard J. Sundberg, 2006, "Title Advanced Organic Chemistry:
Part A: Structure and Mechanisms," 4th Edn., New York, NY, USA:Springer Science &
Business Media, ISBN 0306468565, see [3], accessed 19 June 2015.
Michael B. Smith, 2011, "Organic Chemistry: An Acid—Base Approach," Boca Raton, FL,
USA:CRC Press, ISBN 1420079212, see [4], accessed 19 June 2015. [May not be most
necessary material for this article, but significant content here is available
online.]
Jonathan Clayden, Nick Greeves & Stuart Warren, 2012, "Organic Chemistry," Oxford,
Oxon, GBR:Oxford University Press, ISBN 0199270295, see [5], accessed 19 June 2015.
László Kürti & Barbara Czakó, 2005, "Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in
Organic Synthesis: Background and Detailed Mechanisms, Amsterdam, NH, NLD:Elsevier
Academic Press, 2005ISBN 0124297854, see [6], accessed 19 June 2015.
External links
Polycyclic+Compounds at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject
Headings (MeSH)
Macrocyclic+Compounds at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject
Headings (MeSH)
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