Diastereoselective synthesis of substituted prolines via 5-endo-trig cyclisations of aza-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement products

The major diastereoisomers of aza-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement products from α-amino acid derivatives are susceptible to a rare nucleophilic 5-endo-trig cyclisations of an amine onto a non-conjugated vinylsilane in high yield and complete diastereocontrol. Five examples are presented, with cyclisation yields between 35 and 87%. A rationale for the stereoselectivity of the cyclisation is forwarded based upon the steric control factors that have been documented for the aza-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement. A discussion of the mechanism in the context of the reaction conditions is also presented. Oxidation of the silyl group to a hydroxyl group and complete removal were demonstrated for synthetic utility.     

Stereoselective conjugate addition of lactams to nitroalkenes and formal total synthesis of indolizidine 167B

Optically active 5-substituted pyrrolidin-2-ones underwent conjugate addition to nitroalkenes to give the corresponding adducts in a diastereoselective manner. The presence of 18-crown-6 was crucial to achieve good stereoselective addition. Addition of 6-substituted piperidin-2-ones also gave the corresponding adduct in a stereoselective manner. The adduct was readily converted into a bicyclic lactam through intramolecular nitroaldol reaction, and the formal synthesis of indolizidine 167B was achieved.     

Total synthesis of (+)-eupomatilone 2 via asymmetric [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement of highly oxygenated biphenylmethyl ethers

We have achieved the total synthesis of (±)- and (+)-eupomatilone 2 isolated from the Australian shrub Eupomatia bennettii. The key reaction was an asymmetric [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement employing a bis(oxazoline) chiral ligand. Although the highly oxygenated biphenylmethyl ether exhibited considerably lowered enantioselectivity as compared with the non-substituted biphenylmethyl ether, the selectivity was improved to 89% ee by using n-BuLi and ether as the base and the co-solvent, respectively.     

A one-pot formal [4 + 2] cycloaddition approach to substituted piperidines, indolizidines, and quinolizidines. total synthesis of indolizidine (-)-209I

[reaction: see text] Heating a mixture of substituted N-benzyl gamma-chloropropylamines, conjugated alkynoates or alkynones, sodium carbonate, and a catalytic amount of sodium iodide in i-PrOH at 70-83 degrees C delivers substituted piperidines in good yields. This transformation goes through a cascade Michael addition/alkylation process and represents a facile one-pot formal [4 + 2] cycloaddition approach to piperidine ring. Using secondary cyclic gamma-chloropropylamines as substrates, this process produces substituted indolizidines or quinolizidines. On the basis of this approach, indolizidine (-)-209I is elaborated in 11 steps from methyl 2-hexenoate.     

Ester dienolate [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement in natural product synthesis: diastereoselective total synthesis of the triester of viridiofungin A, A2, and A4

[structure: see text] An ester dienolate [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement was utilized to access the alkylated citric acid skeleton 6 that is characteristic for the viridiofungins and other members of the alkyl citrate family of secondary natural products. The [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of (Z,Z)-15 provided the rearrangement product (+/-)-syn-16 in moderate yield and with very good diastereoselectivity. A Julia-Kocienski olefination efficiently served to connect the polar head (+/-)-syn-26 with the lipophilic tail (32a-c) of the viridiofungins. Amide formation between the racemic viridiofungin precursors 35a-c and the enantiomerically pure amino acid L-tyrosine methyl ester followed by preparative reversed-phase HPLC provided the isopropyl dimethyl ester of viridiofungin A ((+)-39a), A2 ((+)-39b), and A4 ((+)-39c) as well as the nonnatural diastereomers (-)-38a-c.     

Smiles rearrangement for the synthesis of 5-amino-substituted [1]benzothieno[2,3-b]pyridine

The Smiles rearrangement was successfully applied to 4-hydroxybenzo[b]thiophene furnishing a facile entry to the 4-amino derivative. The rearrangement was extended to 5-methoxy-4-methoxycarbonyl[1]benzothieno[2,3-b]pyridine obtained via aza-Wittig/electrocyclization reaction of novel N-(4-methoxybenzothiophen-2-yl)iminomethyldiphenylphosphorane with methyl trans-4-oxo-2-pentenoate. The preparation of a novel 5-amino-4-methoxycarbonyl[1]benzothieno[2,3-b]pyridine, which is of interest as a potential secondary peptide structure mimic, was successfully achieved.     

[2,3]-Wittig rearrangement of methyl β-pyrrolidinyl-γ-allyloxy-(E)-2-butenoate. Expeditious synthesis of 5-alkenyl-4-pyrrolidin-1-yl-5H-furan-2-ones

Dienolates of various γ-allyloxy substituted methyl β-pyrrolidinyl (E)-2-butenoate undergo a [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement to generate various 5-alkenyl-4-pyrrolidin-1-yl-5H-furan-2-one type compounds.     

Total synthesis of radicamine B and 5-epi-radicamine B

Radicamine B 5 was synthesized from p-hydroxy benzaldehyde 7 stereoselectively using acid catalysed amido cyclisation with the help of neighbouring group participation (NGP). Without NGP both radicamine B 5 and its epimer 5-epi radicamine B 6 were obtained. The key steps of the synthesis are Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylations and acid mediated amido cyclisation.     

Acyclic stereocontrol via asymmetric [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement with high enantio- and erythro-selectivity and its use in the chiral synthesis of insect pheromones

Such an asymmetric [2,3]-Wittig variant that is both highly enantio- and erythro-selective is described within the context of the chiral synthesis of the insect pheromones, (3$\text{S}$, 4$\text{S}$)-4-methyl-3-heptanol and ($\text{S}$)-4-methyl-3-heptanone.     

Stereoselective approach to pentenocins using RCM: synthesis of 6-epi-pentenocin B

The stereoselective synthesis of 6-epi-pentenocin B 3 is described using a stereoselective Grignard reaction and ring-closing metathesis (RCM) as the key steps.     

[1,2]-Wittig rearrangement of acetals. Part 2: The influence of reaction conditions

Acetals of seven alcohols with (+)-camphor derived enantiomerically pure 7,8,8-trimethyl-4,7-methanobenzofuran-2-ol were subjected to different reaction conditions favorable for a [1,2]-Wittig rearrangement. Results with regard to conversion, yield and stereochemical course depending on the reaction conditions are discussed.     

Asymmetric [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement of the dienolates of chiral secondary alcohol-substituted β-pyrrolidinyl-γ-allyloxyl-α,β-unsaturated esters: total synthesis of (+)-eldanolide

The asymmetric [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement of the dienolates of various chiral β-pyrrolidinyl-γ-allyloxyl-α,β-unsaturated esters was investigated using different chiral secondary alcohol substitutions. When (1S,2R,4R)-2-hydroxy-7,7-dimethylbicyclo[2,2,1]heptane-1-carboxylic acid diisopropylamide was used as chiral auxiliary, it provided the best enantioselectivity in the rearrangement. When various γ-allyloxy substitutions underwent temperature and additive studies, 1,1-dimethylpropenoxy substitution was found to give the best enantioselectivity. The methodology was applied to the total synthesis of (+)-eldanolide.     

Chiral synthesis of indolizidines 209D and 167B via asymmetric oxidation of sulfides and sulfoxides

Chiral synthesis of indolizidine natural products (?)-209D and (?)-167B, as well as their antipodes, has been achieved through asymmetric oxidation of racemic thio-substituted indolizidines to the chiral sulfoxides and sulfones followed by Raney nickel reduction.     

Total synthesis of (+/-)-kainic Acid with an aza-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement as the key stereochemical determining step

A flexible route to the kainoid skeleton is exemplified by the synthesis of (+/-)-kainic acid from 3-butyn-1-ol. The route relies on the aza-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement to efficiently install the relative stereochemistry between C2-C3. The C4 stereocenter was derived from a diastereocontrolled iodolactonization. The aza-[2,3]-Wittig rearrangement potentially allows structural diversity at C3 and the displacement of the tosyloxy group with retention of stereochemistry allows structural diversity at C4. The trans-C2 carboxylic acid functional group was found to be the most important for retention of stereochemistry at C4 upon treatment with a higher order cyano cuprate reagent.     

A facile domino protocol for the stereoselective synthesis of trans-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans and cis-5,6-dihydrofuro[2,3-d]pyrimidines

A facile protocol for the stereoselective construction of trans-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans and cis-5,6-dihydrofuro[2,3-d]pyrimidines from the reactions of 2,2′-sulfonylbis(1,3-diarylprop-2-en-1-ones) with cyclic 1,3-diketones, viz. cyclohexane-1,3-diones, barbituric acid, and 2-thioxodihydropyrimidine-4,6(1H,5H)-dione in the presence of DBU in ethanol is described. This transformation presumably occurs via domino Michael addition-proton exchange-annulation via intramolecular displacement sequence.     

Synthesis and Aza-[2,3]-Wittig Rearrangements of Vinylaziridines: Scope and Limitations

cis- and trans-2,3-Trisubstituted vinylaziridines have been prepared from cis- and trans-epoxy alcohols, respectively, and used as substrates in the aza-[2,3]-Wittig rearrangement. Five different anion-stabilizing groups have been investigated for their efficiency to promote the rearrangement, and it was found that N-tert-butyl acetyl vinylaziridines were superior in this reaction, affording the corresponding cis-2,6-tetrahydropyridines (>90%) as single isomers when treated with LDA. Similarly, the corresponding (Z)-propenylaziridines gave trans,trans-2,3,6-trisubstituted tetrahydropyridines as the sole products while the (E)-propenylaziridines afforded the cis,cis-2,3,6-derivatives with equally high selectivity. The scope and limitations of the process have been investigated by varying the structure of the substrate, and the mechanism of the rearrangement has been probed to some extent; the mechanistic picture is more complex than assumed previously.     

Enantioselective synthesis and absolute configurations of aculeatins A, B, D, and 6-epi-aculeatin D

The three naturally occurring, bioactive spiroacetals aculeatins A, B, and D, as well as the non-natural 6-epi-aculeatin D have been synthesized for the first time in enantiopure form using an asymmetric allylation as the only chirality source. A further key step was a stereoselective aldol reaction with remote induction. The absolute configurations of the natural products have been established and an erroneous structural assignment has been corrected.     

A common approach to the total synthesis of l-arabino-, l-ribo-C18-phytosphingosines, ent-2-epi-jaspine B and 3-epi-jaspine B from d-mannose

A common strategy for the total syntheses of the protected l-arabino- and l-ribo-C₁₈-phytosphingosine (8 and 9, respectively), HCl salts of ent-2-epi-jaspine B (ent-6) and 3-epi-jaspine B (7) with efficient use of both flexible building blocks 26 and 27 was achieved. The key step of this approach was [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of allylic trichloroacetimidate 21 and thiocyanate 22, which were derived from the known 2,3:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-d-mannofuranose 18 as the source of chirality. The side chain functionality was installed utilizing a Wittig reaction.     

Chemoselective asymmetric synthesis of C-3a-(3-hydroxypropyl)tetrahydropyrrolo[2,3-b]indole and C-4a-(2-aminoethyl)-tetrahydropyrano[2,3-b]indole derivatives

The asymmetric synthesis of new tetrahydropyrrolo[2,3-b]indole 19 and tetrahydropyrano[2,3-b]indole 20 rings, substituted in position C-3a and C-4a with a hydroxy- and an amino functionalized chain, respectively, was performed starting from the racemic spiro[cyclohexane-1,3′-indoline]-2′,4-diones 7. The enantiopure spiro oxo-azepinoindolinone (+)-10, obtained from (±)-7 by the way of an asymmetric ring enlargement, and the amino acid (+)-14, obtained by the hydrolysis of 10, were prepared as key intermediates for the synthesis of enantiopure compounds (−)-19 and (−)-20. Since the amino acid 14 is the common intermediate for the chemoselective preparation of derivatives 19 and 20, experimental and computational studies were performed in order to selectively obtain these compounds and to provide a mechanistic rationalization for their formation.     

Stereoselective synthesis and moulting activity of 2,3-diepi-20-hydroxyecdysone and 2,3-diepi-5α-20-hydroxyecdysone

The ecdysteroid analogues 2,3-diepi-20-hydroxyecdysone and 2,3-diepi-5α-20-hydroxyecdysone have been synthesized from the readily available ecdysteroid, 20-hydroxyecdysone, and moulting activity has been determined using the Musca bioassay. As expected, the 2,3-diepi-analogue was less active than the parent ecdysteroid, 20-hydroxyecdysone. However, the 2,3-diepi-5α-analogue, which was expected to be inactive in the assay, exhibited moulting activity though it was approximately 1.5-fold less active than its 5β-analogue. The activity of the 5α-analogue could possibly result from the ability of this compound to bind to the ecdysteroid receptor. Alternatively, a possible in vivo C-5 epimerization of the 2,3-diepi-5α-analogue to the corresponding 5β-analogue could account for its activity.