Diastereoselective Ugi reaction without chiral amines: the synthesis of chiral pyrroloketopiperazines

The three-component Ugi reaction with chiral 2-(2-formyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)acetic acids prepared from natural l-aminoacids was investigated. The reaction opens a new route to chiral substituted pyrroloketopiperazines. One of the first examples of an asymmetric Ugi reaction without chiral amines is described. The reaction proceeds with moderate diastereoselectivity to give the target compounds in good yields. The scope and limitation of the approach are discussed.     

Regioselective ring cleavage of chiral β-trichloromethyl-β-propiolactone with organoaluminum compounds for the synthesis of optically active intermediates

A novel alkylating ring cleavage reaction of enantiomerically pure β-trichloromethyl-β-propiolactone as a chiral building block with organoaluminum compounds provided ring-opened products with a chiral trichloromethyl carbinol moiety. A product was demonstrated to be used as an effective chiral synthon for the synthesis of chiral bioactive derivatives such as ipsdienol and sodium cilastatin.     

Highly enantioselective construction of a chiral spirocyclic structure by the [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition of diynes and exo-methylene cyclic compounds

The enantioselective [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition of 1,6-diynes with alpha-methylene lactones and cyclic ketones gave various chiral spirocyclic compounds. The reaction proceeded with high enantioselectivity when the rhodium-xylylBINAP complex was used as a chiral catalyst. Not only exo-methylene cyclic compounds but also exo-methylene acyclic compounds could be used as coupling partners for diynes. The present protocol provides access to a new chiral library possessing a quaternary carbon center, including a spirocyclic system.     

Novel nitrogen ligands based on imidazole derivatives and their application in asymmetric catalysis

Recently prepared chiral amines have been used in the preparation of novel tridentate ligands based on an imidazole ring with an additional (hetero)ring. The synthesis was carried out by the reaction of chiral amines with suitable aldehydes (2-phenylimidazole-4-carbaldehyde, 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde or pyridine-2-carbaldehyde) under reductive conditions (H₂/Pd or NaBH₄). All ligands prepared showed strong hydrogen bonds in d₆-DMSO solution, which resulted in hindered imidazole tautomerism. The observed hindered tautomerism was studied by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The structures of the prepared ligands were also confirmed by APCI mass spectroscopy. Both chiral amines and tridentate compounds have been applied as ligands in copper (II)-catalyzed nitroaldol reactions (Henry reaction). Various reaction conditions for the Henry reaction have been studied (influence of temperature, molar ratio, solvent or copper (II) precursors). The compounds prepared with the two imidazole rings showed fast reaction times and a reversal in enantioselectivity compared to other chiral amines.     

Chiral pool based synthesis of pyrrolidinium ionic liquids

Chiral ionic liquids show promising applications in various different fields. A series of pyrrolidinium-based chiral ionic liquids bearing a chiral cation, a chiral anion or both was prepared in good yields using an efficient, economic and simple pathway. The chirality was introduced using (l)-lactate and (l)-menthol derivatives. The resultant chiral compounds were characterized by both spectroscopy and polarimetry. We envision that these new chiral compounds can serve as effective reaction media and chiral catalysts for asymmetric reactions, which are presently being investigated in our lab.     

聚缩醛螺胞二醚的合成及结构表征

在I₂催化剂的作用下, 利用苯甲醛与季戊四醇反应, 制备了聚缩醛螺胞二醚的模型化合物3,9-二苯基-2,4,8,10-四氧杂螺[5.5]十一烷(1). 在此基础上, 利用1,3-苯二甲醛与不同摩尔比的季戊四醇合成了化合物1,3-二(2,6-二氧杂-4,4-二羟甲基环己基)苯(2)和2,4,8,10-四氧杂-3,9-二(3'-甲酰基苯基)螺[5.5]十一烷(3). 化合物2与化合物3反应, 制成标题化合物聚缩醛螺胞二醚4, 收率为95.4%. 用FTIR, ¹H NMR对化合物1～4的结构进行了表征. 发现在含有手性轴化合物1, 3, 4的¹H NMR谱中, 4个亚甲基中的8个氢原子裂分为4组双峰, 而不含有手性轴化合物中的4个亚甲基中的8个氢原子不裂分, 是个单峰. 这种不同不是由于化合物中刚性环所致, 而是由于有无手性轴造成的.     

Enantioselective synthesis of the optically active alpha-methylene-beta-hydroxy esters, equivalent compounds to Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts, using successive asymmetric aldol reaction and oxidative deselenization

[Chemical reaction: See text] The asymmetric aldol reaction of a tetra-substituted ketene silyl acetal including an alkylseleno group with aldehydes has been developed by the promotion of Sn(OTf)2 coordinated with a chiral diamine to afford the corresponding aldols having chiral quaternary centers at the alpha-positions. The facile oxidative deselenization of these aldol compounds produces optically active alpha-methylene-beta-hydroxy esters which correspond to adducts prepared by the asymmetric Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction.     

Noncentrosymmetric organic solids with very strong harmonic generation response

The molten reaction of 2-naphthol, 4-(aminomethyl)pyridine, and 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde at about 180 degrees C yields trans-2,3-dihydro-2,3-di(4'-pyridyl)benzo[e]indole (1) which possesses two chiral centers, rather than an expected Betti-type reaction product with only one chiral carbon center. The same reactions, using 3-pyridinecarboxaldehyde, 4-cyanobenzaldehyde, or 3- cyanobenzaldehyde instead of 4-pyridinecarboxaldehyde produce the related compounds trans-2,3-dihydro-2-(4'-pyridyl)-3-(3"-pyridyl)benzo[e]indole (2), trans-2,3-dihydro-2-(4'-pyridyl)-3-(4"-cyanophenyl)benzo[e]indole (3), and trans-2,3-dihydro-2-(4'-pyridyl)-3-(3"-cyanophenyl)benzo[e]indole (4), respectively. This reaction proceeds with a high degree of stereoselectivity with a trans/cis ratio of about 98:2 at elevated temperature. Compounds 1, 2, and 4 crystallize in a noncentrosymmetric space group (Pca2(1), Pca2(1), and Cc), while compound 3 has a chiral space group (P2(1)). These successfully acentric packing arrangements are probably due to the molecule bearing both two chiral centers and potential hydrogen-bonding groups. Furthermore, the reaction of racemic 6-hydroxy-2'-methyl-2-naphthaleneacetic acid with ethyl-2-cyano-1-(4'-pyridyl)acrylic acetate in the presence of piperidine gives 1-pyridyl-2-ethoxycarbonyl-3-amino-1H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran-2'-methylacetic acid (5), which likewise crystallizes in a chiral space group. All of compounds are second harmonic generation (SHG) active, and have a very strong SHG response approximately about 8.0, 5.0, 12.0, 6.0, and 1.4 (for 1-5 compounds) times that of urea. Ferroelectric property measurements indicate that compounds 1, 2, 4, and 5 may display ferroelectric behavior.     

Judging on host-guest binding mode uniqueness: association entropy as an indicator in enantioselection

[reaction: see text] Supramolecular enantiodifferentiation was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry in an effort to address the order-disorder distinction in the diastereomeric complexes formed from a chiral macrocyclic host and enantiomeric carboxylates. As a result, the association entropy component TDeltaS emerged as an indicator in the enantioselection of tartrate 14 and aspartate 15 by the macrocycle 13 containing two guanidinium anchor groups connected to each other by four urea units. The parent monotopic guanidinium compounds 1 or 2 did not show any enantioselection for chiral carboxylates.     

An asymmetric Ugi three-component reaction induced by chiral cyclic imines: synthesis of morpholin- or piperazine-keto-carboxamide derivatives

A series of chiral 5,6-dihydro-1,4-oxazin-2-one substrates, as preformed cyclic aldimines and ketoimines, were employed to develop a new asymmetric Ugi three-component reaction for the first time. The Ugi reaction of the imines, isocyanides, and carboxylic acids opens an efficient access to novel morpholin-2-one-3-carboxamide compounds. The chiral imines showed promising stereoinduction for the new chiral center of the Ugi products, and predominant trans-isomers were obtained in the most cases. Addition of some Lewis acids or proton acids could improve the diastereoselectivity further but usually led to a drop in total yield. The Ugi-3CR could be extended to the stereoselective synthesis of ketopiperazine-2-carboxamide derivatives.     

Peptide Deravatives as New Chiral Ligands for Enantioselective Phenylacetylene Addition to Aldehydes

The asymmetric addition of alkynylzinc to aldehydes is an important method of synthesizing chiral propargyl alcohols, which are important precursors to many chiral organic compounds. Recently, many significant chiral ligands in this area have been disclosed.[1] Use of a short peptide as a catalyst would allow expansion beyond the (still uncharted) repertoire of single amino acids, while conserving the advantages of a small molecule catalyst. To the best of our knowledge,no results of peptide derivatives as chiral ligands in this reaction has been disclosed to date.[2] Herein, we report the initial results of peptide derivatives, which have been used directly as a chiral ligand in this reaction (Scheme 1).     

Nickel-catalyzed enantioselective hydrovinylation of silyl-protected allylic alcohols: An efficient access to homoallylic alcohols with a chiral quaternary center

Asymmetric hydrovinylation of silyl-protected allylic alcohols catalyzed by nickel complexes of chiral spiro phosphoramidite ligands was developed. A series of homoallylic alcohols with a chiral quaternary center were produced in high yields (up to 97%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee). The reaction provides an efficient method for preparing bifunctional compounds with a chiral quaternary carbon center.     

镍催化硅基保护烯丙醇的烯氢化反应:一种合成含有手性季碳中心高烯丙醇的有效方法

报道了一例手性螺环亚磷酰胺配体和镍的络合物催化的硅基保护烯丙醇的不对称烯氢化反应,以较高的收率(最高达97%)和对映选择性(最高达95%ee)合成了一系列含有手性季碳中心的高烯丙醇.该反应为含有手性季碳中心的双官能团化合物的合成提供了新的有效方法.     

Studies in stereoselective [2+2]-cycloadditions with dichloroketene

During the investigation of the reaction of dichloroketene with cyclic enoxy-lactones and acyclic enoxy-ester substrates it was found that only the acylic variants effectively participated in the [2+2]-cycloaddition. Although a complete understanding of the reasons for this are lacking, molecular mechanics calculations do suggest that an out of plane twist of the cabonyl group in the acyclic compounds may be partially responsible. After screening a variety of chiral auxiliaries it was found that useful levels of diastereoselectivity (2.6-10.8:1) could be obtained in this cycloaddition reaction when (R)-2,2-diphenylcyclopentanol was used as the chiral auxiliary.     

有机磷试剂在不对称反应中的应用

由于其结构多样性,有机磷化合物作为配体、催化剂、辅助剂、添加剂、底物以及试剂等在不对称反应中均获得了成功的应用,从而使有机磷试剂在不对称反应研究领域占有举足轻重的地位.本文全面介绍了本课题组近几年来围绕有机磷试剂在不对称反应中的应用,在醛的不对称硅氰化反应、内消旋环氧烷不对称开环反应、潜手性酮的不对称硼烷还原、不对称Friedel-Crafts烷基化、对映选择Mitsunobu、不对称aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman、不对称aza-Henry以及硝基烯的不对称Michael加成反应等方面所取得的一些研究结果.     

The stereoselective α-alkylation of chiral β-hydroxy esters and some applications thereof

The stereoselectivity of the α-alkylation of chiral β-hydroxy ester is discussed. The configuration of the alkylated product was proved chemically (Scheme 2). A one pot aldol-alkylation reaction was developed leading stereoselectively to racemic (s*,s*)-α-alkyl-β-hydroxy ester (Scheme 3,4). Baker's yeast reduction of 2-alkyl-3-keto ester led to valuable chiral (2RS,3S)-intermediates, which were converted via the corresponding dianion to compounds with a chiral quaternary C atom (Scheme 6). Synthetic applications of the above findings are shown in the synthesis of various chiral compounds (Scheme 8 and 9).     

Iridium-catalyzed consecutive and enantioselective [2+2+2] cycloaddition of tetraynes and hexaynes for the construction of an axially chiral biaryl system

A chiral iridium complex catalyzed a consecutive and enantioselective [2+2+2] cycloaddition of polyynes to give axially chiral compounds. Intermolecular reaction of tetraynes, possessing aryl groups on their termini, with protected but-2-yne-1,4-diols gave C₂-symmetrical quateraryl compounds. Intramolecular reaction of hexaynes, possessing aryl or alkyl groups on their termini gave C₂-symmetrical biaryl compounds. The catalytic synthesis of a pentacene derivative with axial chiralities is also discussed.     

New perspective for natural products synthesis: concise synthesis of (+)-sch 642305 by chiral auxiliary multiuse methodology

The synthesis of (+)-Sch 642305 is an example of chiral auxiliary multiuse methodology, which shows a new perspective for the synthesis of compounds with multiple asymmetric centers. Thus, (+)-Sch 642305 was concisely synthesized from the known compound. Every reaction is stereoselective, and the chiral nonracemic hydrobenzoin worked as chiral auxiliary for desymmetrization of diene, as a template for attaining regio- and stereoselective reactions, as an oxygen source at the C4-position, and as a protecting group of hydroxyl functions. Namely, the chiral auxiliary played a role in every step throughout the synthesis. Furthermore, the synthesis contains a new protocol for obtaining alpha'-alkylated enone compounds.     

The intramolecular tandem Michael/Mannich-type reaction of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds with acyliminium ions provides access to chiral indolizidines

The intramolecular tandem Michael/Mannich-type (Michael addition/halo-Mannich-type) reaction using TiCl₄/n-Bu₄NI system between the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds possessing an Evans oxazolidinone as a chiral auxiliary and N-acyliminium ion intermediates is described. The reaction was promoted in a mixed solvent of AcOEt–CH₂Cl₂ to afford indolizidine compounds with three stereogenic centers.     

A new class of versatile chiral-bridged atropisomeric diphosphine ligands: remarkably efficient ligand syntheses and their applications in highly enantioselective hydrogenation reactions

A series of chiral diphosphine ligands denoted as PQ-Phos was prepared by atropdiastereoselective Ullmann coupling and ring-closure reactions. The Ullmann coupling reaction of the biaryl diphosphine dioxides is featured by highly efficient central-to-axial chirality transfer with diastereomeric excess >99%. This substrate-directed diastereomeric biaryl coupling reaction is unprecedented for the preparation of chiral diphosphine dioxides, and our method precludes the tedious resolution procedures usually required for preparing enantiomerically pure diphosphine ligands. The effect of chiral recognition was also revealed in a relevant asymmetric ring-closure reaction. The chiral tether bridging the two aryl units creates a conformationally rigid scaffold essential for enantiofacial differentiation; fine-tuning of the ligand scaffold (e.g., dihedral angles) can be achieved by varying the chain length of the chiral tether. The enantiomerically pure Ru- and Ir-PQ-Phos complexes have been prepared and applied to the catalytic enantioselective hydrogenations of alpha- and beta-ketoesters (C=O bond reduction), 2-(6'-methoxy-2'-naphthyl)propenoic acid, alkyl-substituted beta-dehydroamino acids (C=C bond reduction), and N-heteroaromatic compounds (C=N bond reduction). An excellent level of enantioselection (up to 99.9% ee) has been attained for the catalytic reactions. In addition, the significant ligand dihedral angle effects on the Ir-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of N-heteroaromatic compounds were also revealed.