[3+2] Cycloaddition of metal-containing azomethine ylides for highly efficient synthesis of mitosene skeleton

Efficient synthesis of tricyclic indole derivatives bearing a substituent at the 3-position of the indole nucleus was achieved by the [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of transition metal-containing azomethine ylides derived from N-(o-alkynylphenyl)imines with vinyl ethers. Third-row transition metal complexes, especially PtCl₂, turned out to be highly efficient for the reaction of internal alkynes and imidate substrates with wide generality. Moreover, as strong support for the reaction mechanism, the intermediate Pt-carbene complex was found to undergo intramolecular C-H bond insertion reaction to give tetracyclic indoline derivatives when benzyl vinyl ether was employed as a dipolarophile. This protocol provided a facile synthesis of highly functionalized tricyclic indole derivatives found as the basic skeleton of the mitosene family, such as mitomycin C.     

One-pot three-component coupling reaction: solvent-free synthesis of novel 3-substituted indoles catalyzed by PMA-SiO2

Solvent-free PMA-SiO₂-catalyzed synthesis of 3-substituted indole derivatives by a one-pot three-component coupling reaction between aldehyde, N-methyl aniline and indole is described.     

PtCl4-catalyzed cyclization of N-acetyl-2-alkynylanilines: A mild and efficient synthesis of N-acetyl-2-substituted indoles

An efficient synthesis of N-acetyl-2-substituted indole derivatives via direct intramolecular hydroamination of N-acetyl-2-alkynylaniline derivatives was developed. The reaction could be applied to a wide range of substrates employing only 1–2?mol% of PtCl₄ as the catalyst to furnish the desired indole products in moderate to excellent yields. The current protocol is efficient, reliable and scalable, and could serve as an important tool for convenient and rapid access to this important class of N-heterocyclic skeleton from readily available substrates.     

Indoles

A method is proposed for the synthesis of 2,3,3a,8a-tetrahydrofuro[2,3-b]indole derivatives; the method is based on the reaction of 3-alkyl-3-acyl-γ-butyrolactones with N₁-substituted arylhydrazines in acidic aqueous alcohol media.     

Fluorinated N-[2-(haloalkyl)phenyl]imidoyl chloride, a key intermediate for the synthesis of 2-fluoroalkyl substituted indole derivatives via Grignard cyclization process

Fluorinated N-[2-(haloalkyl)phenyl]imidoyl chloride, which was readily available from the corresponding anilines by using Uneyama's one-pot synthesis of fluorinated imidoyl chloride, was found to be a key intermediate for the facile synthesis of 2-fluoroalkyl substituted indole derivatives via the Grignard cyclization process. The bromination of 3-methyl group of 3-methyl-2-trifluoromethyl indole with NBS/CCl₄ led to the formation of 3-bromomethyl substituted indole which can be further utilized to synthesize some new and biologically interested indole derivatives.     

Asymmetric Kumada-Corriu cross-coupling reaction with Pd2(dba)3 and an N-Ar axially chiral mimetic-type ligand catalyst

A catalyst comprised of Pd₂(dba)₃·CHCl₃ and an N-Ar axially chiral mimetic-type ligand, (S)-N-[2-(diphenylphosphanyl)naphthalene-1-yl]-2-(piperidinylmethyl)piperidine, provides good enantioselectivities for the asymmetric Kumada-Corriu cross-coupling reaction of 1-phenylethylmagnesium chloride and E-β-bromostyrene derivatives with which it is more difficult to achieve high enantioselectivity. Furthermore, in the case of styrene derivatives bearing both vinyl and aryl bromide groups, the chemoselective asymmetric cross-coupling reaction of the vinyl bromide group is observed. This N-Ar axially chiral mimetic-type ligand allows easy synthesis of a wide variety of analogues, and starting from the initial ligand, the enantioselectivity of coupling products is improved by modifying the structure in the ligand.     

Tricarbonylchromium tryptophan derivatives and their use in peptide synthesis

Incorporation of a Cr(CO)₃ ligand into the indole ring of N-α-t-butoxycarbonyl-tryptophan methyl ester was achieved in 47% yield. The corresponding para-nitrophenyl ester was used in the solid phase synthesis of a peptidic hormone (LHRH) analogue with the aim of decreasing tryptophan alkylation. No improvement was observed.     

The use of anhydrous CeCl3 as a catalyst for the synthesis of 3-sulfenyl indoles

Anhydrous CeCl₃ was successfully used as a catalyst for the synthesis of several 3-sulfenyl indoles in good to excellent yields through the reaction of indole with N-(alkylthio) and N-(arylthio)phthalimides in DMF.     

Synthesis of chiral vicinal C2 symmetric and unsymmetric bis(sulfonamide) ligands based on trans-1,2-cyclohexanediamine by aminolysis of N-tosylaziridines

The ring opening of N-tosylaziridines with aliphatic amines can be efficiently catalyzed by lithium perchlorate to provide derivatives of the trans-1,2-diamine in high yields. The reaction was used in desymmetrization of several cyclic N-tosylaziridines using chiral amines. Using this strategy, an efficient synthesis of chiral vicinal C₂ symmetric bis(sulfonamide) and unsymmetrical bis(sulfonamide) ligands based on trans-1,2-cyclohexanediamine was developed.     

Metal-free and highly regioselective synthesis of N-heteroaryl substituted pyrazoles from α,β-unsaturated N-tosylhydrazones and heteroaryl chlorides

A cascade cyclization/nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S_NAr) reaction of α,β-unsaturated N-tosylhydrazones with N-heteroaryl chlorides was developed for the synthesis of N-heteroaryl pyrazole derivatives. This one-pot reaction provided bi(heteroaryl) derivatives in good to excellent yields and with excellent regioselectivity. The procedure is operationally simple and applicable to large-scale synthesis.     

Synthesis of tryptophans by Lewis acid promoted ring-opening of aziridine-2-carboxylates: optimization of protecting group and Lewis acid

The preparation of tryptophan derivatives through the Lewis acid promoted substitution of aziridine carboxylates with indole was found to be accompanied by a ring-expansion reaction to generate an oxazolidinone byproduct. The ratio of tryptophan to oxazolidinone products can be optimized through a judicious choice of Lewis acid and N-protecting group.     

InBr3-catalyzed direct alkynylation of nitrones with terminal alkynes: an efficient synthesis of N-hydroxy-propargyl amines

An InBr₃-catalyzed direct and efficient alkynylation of nitrones with terminal alkynes was developed. The process enables practical synthesis of a wide range of synthetically useful N-hydroxy-propargyl amine derivatives in good yields under mild conditions. The application of this method to optically active propargylic N-hydroxyamines syntheses was also described. With chiral nitrones, good diastereoselectivities were obtained. Moreover, the first chiral indium(III) complex-catalyzed asymmetric alkynylation of nitrone was achieved with moderate enantioselectivity.     

Polyvinylpolypyrrolidone-supported triflic acid (PVPP·OTf) as a new,efficient, and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of bis-indolyl methane derivatives

A simple, inexpensive, environmentally friendly and efficient route for the synthesis of bis-indolyl methane derivatives by the reaction of indole or N-methyl indole with aldehydes using polyvinylpolypyrrolidone-supported triflic acid (PVPP·OTf) as a catalyst is described. PVPP·OTf catalyst is air-stable, heterogeneous, cost-effective, easy to handle, and easily removed from the reaction mixtures.     

Conjugate addition of aromatic amines to ethenetricarboxylates

The conjugate addition of amines is considered to be a useful reaction in synthetic organic chemistry. The reaction of reactive electrophilic olefins, ethenetricarboxylates, and aromatic amines with and without catalytic Lewis acids such as ZnCl₂ and ZnBr₂ at room temperature gave amine adducts in high yields. The products were converted to α-amino acid, dl-aspartic acid derivatives. Using Lewis acids such as Sc(OTf)₃ and Zn(OTf)₂ at higher temperature (40-80 °C), the reaction of ethenetricarboxylates and N-methylaniline gave an aromatic substitution product. A catalytic enantioselective conjugate addition using a chiral Lewis acid was also investigated. For example, the reaction of 1,1-diethyl 2-tert-butyl ethenetricarboxylate with N-methylaniline in the presence of chiral bisoxazoline-Cu(II) complex in THF at −20 °C for 17 h gave an amine adduct in 91% yield and 78% ee. On the other hand, the reaction with aniline and primary aniline derivatives gave adducts with almost no ee%.     

A new protecting group for tryptophan in solid-phase peptide synthesis which protects against acid-catalyzed side reactions and facilitates purification by HPLC

The indole nucleus of Z-Trp-OBzl is modified by acylation of the indole nitrogen using Boc-N-methyl butyric acid followed by catalytic hydrogenation and introduction of the Fmoc group. The resulting derivative, Fmoc-Trp(Boc-Nmbu)-OH, is incorporated into peptide chains via solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). After assembly of the peptide chain, the Boc group is cleaved by treatment with TFA. The peptide is isolated with the tryptophan residue modified with a cationic 4-(N-methylamino) butanoyl group, which improves the solubility of the peptide during HPLC purification. On treatment of the purified peptide at pH 9.5, the Nmbu group undergoes an intramolecular cyclization reaction; this results in the fully deprotected peptide and N-methylpyrrolidone.     

Novel C2-symmetric chiral O,N,N,O-tetradentate 2,2-bipyridyldiolpropane ligands: synthesis and application in asymmetric diethylzinc addition to aldehydes

First synthesis of C₂-symmetric chiral O,N,N,O-tetradentate 2,2-bipyridyldiolpropane ligands is described. The Mukaiyama–Michael reaction was applied as an important reaction for the synthesis of 2,2-bipyridylpropane 9. Among the ligands synthesized, ligand 11 exhibits excellent chiral induction (up to 97% ee) in diethylzinc addition to various aldehydes. The use of additional Lewis acid such as Ti(OⁱPr)₄ in diethylzinc addition reaction is not required for the present catalytic system.     

First asymmetric syntheses of 6-substituted nipecotic acid derivatives

Various nipecotic acid derivatives are known to be potent GABA uptake inhibitors thus being useful in the treatment of a number of neurological and psychological disorders. In this paper, the first asymmetric syntheses of 6-substituted nipecotic acid derivatives are presented. The synthetic strategy was designed to provide access to a large variety of enantiomerically pure 6-substituted nipecotic acid derivatives. The synthesis starts from the chiral N-acyldihydropyridines 15 and 16 obtained via asymmetric electrophilic α-amidoalkylation reaction of a chiral N-acylpyridinium ion. These were utilized for the preparation of enantiomerically pure 6-(4,4-diphenylbutyl)nipecotic acids and 6-(4,4-diphenylbutenyl)nipecotic acids in a multistep synthesis, including the removal of the dimethylphenylsilyl blocking group from the dihydropyridine ring, the reduction of the dihydropyridine heterocycle, a Horner-Wittig reaction and the removal of the chiral auxiliary. The obtained target molecules, however, showed only negligible affinity to the GAT-1- and GAT-3 transport proteins.     

Synthesis of hindered chiral guanidine bases starting from (S)-(N,N-dialkyl-aminomethyl)pyrrolidines and BrCN

An efficient method for the preparation of hindered chiral guanidines using cyanogen bromide is described. The reaction between BrCN and vicinal diamines derived from (S)-2-(N,N-dialkyl-aminomethyl)-pyrrolidines provides chiral substituted cyanamides. The cyanamide derivatives reacted with secondary amines in hexafluoroisopropanol at reflux to form chiral hindered guanidines, which were isolated in good to excellent yields (70–96%). The chiral guanidines were prepared in an effort to design sophisticated chiral guanidine catalysts for asymmetric synthesis.     

Efficient asymmetric synthesis of biologically important tryptophan analogues via a palladium-mediated heteroannulation reaction.

A novel and concise synthesis of optically active tryptophan derivatives was developed via a palladium-catalyzed heteroannulation reaction of substituted o-iodoanilines with an internal alkyne. The required internal alkyne 14a or 25 was prepared in greater than 96% de via alkylation of the Sch?llkopf chiral auxiliary 19 employing diphenyl phosphate as the leaving group. The Sch?llkopf chiral auxiliary was chosen here for the preparation of L-tryptophans would be available from D-valine while the D-isomers required for natural product total synthesis would originate from the inexpensive L-valine (300-g scale). Applications of the palladium-catalyzed heteroannulation reaction were extended to the first asymmetric synthesis of L-isotryptophan 38 and L-benz[f]tryptophan 39. More importantly, the optically pure 6-methoxy-D-tryptophan 62 was prepared by this protocol on a large scale (>300 g). This should permit entry into many ring-A oxygenated indole alkaloids when coupled with the asymmetric Pictet-Spengler reaction. In addition, an improved total synthesis of tryprostatin A (9a) was accomplished in 43% overall yield employing this palladium-mediated process.     

Diastereoselective pot-and atom-economical synthesis of densely-substituted polycyclic 1,2- and 1,2,3-fused indole scaffolds

A simple, efficient, one-pot sequential process for the preparation of a family of 8,9-dihydropyrido[1,2–a]indol-6(7H)-one scaffolds in acceptable yields has been established under mild conditions. The Michael-hemiaminalization-oxidation reaction proceeds between methyl 2-(3-formyl-1H-indol-2-yl) acetate and trans-β-aryl/alkyl-substituted acroleins using pyrrolidine-BzOH as an efficient organocatalyst, followed by oxidation of in situ generated of C,N-fused hemiaminal adducts in the presence of PDC at room temperature. Excitingly, organobase-catalyzed highly diastereoselective (up to ≤9:1 dr) construction of a series of pharmacologically attractive 1,2,3-fused tetracyclic indole scaffolds with five contiguous chiral centers including an all-carbon stereogenic center has been realized through our developed method. Moreover, pyrrolidine-BzOH and PTSA as combined catalytic systems promote the uninterrupted sequential Michael-cyclization reaction, followed by N-alkylation reaction with carbazole to produce interesting class of 6-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-6,7,8,9-tetrahydropyrido[1,2–a]indole derivatives in a diastereoselective manner.