The photoisomerization behavior of the (4-hydroxycinnamoyl)-spermidines

The photoisomerization behavior of three mono[(E)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-enoyl]spermidines, 1, 2, and 3. and three bis[(E)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-enoyl]spermidines, 4, 5, and 6, are investigated. The synthetic product (E)-1 could be almost quantitatively (> 96 %) converted into its isomer (Z)-1 under UV light irradiation. In the cases of(E)-2 and (E)-3, a mixture of (E)/(Z) ca. 1:2 was obtained, when the same conditions were applied. The comparison of their UV spectra provides the possible explanation for these different behaviors. Furthermore, it was noticed that the (Z)-->(E) isomerization of the C=C bond took place during the purification by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), and the (E)/(Z)-mixture is thus inseparable. The same feature could be observed during the isolation of the (Z,Z)-N,N'-bis[3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-enoyl]-spermidines, (Z,Z)-4, (Z,Z)-5, and (Z,Z)-6. Nevertheless, the fractions of (Z,Z)-5 and (Z,Z)-6 were in almost pure state collected, and their H-1-NMR spectra are presented.