A library of chiral imidazoline-aminophenol ligands: discovery of an efficient reaction sphere

A library of imidazoline-aminophenol ligands was synthesized on solid supports. After immobilization of chiral chloromethylimidazolines 1 and 2 onto the polystyrylsulfonyl chloride, nucleophilic substitution with (R)- or (S)-phenylethylamine (3 and 4) provided four combinations of polymer-supported imidazoline-amine ligands. Further reductive alkylation using salicylaldehydes 7-10 provided a series of imidazoline-aminophenol ligands (L9-L24). Analysis by solid-phase catalysis/circular dichroism high-throughput screening of a copper-catalyzed Henry reaction revealed that ligand L25, comprising a (S,S)-diphenylethylenediamine-derived imidazoline, (S)-phenylethylamine, and dibromophenol, was highly efficient, thus providing the adduct of nitromethane and benzaldehyde in 95 % ee. The combination of stereogenic centers was crucial in promoting the highly stereoselective reactions. The unique reaction sphere of L25 was also examined in a Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indole and nitroalkene to give the adduct in up to 83 % ee.     

Development of new methods toward efficient immobilization of chiral catalysts

BINOL moieties are efficiently immobilized onto the surface of a micelle-derived spherical polymer and a monolayer-protected Au cluster (Au-MPC). Ti-BINOLate complexes generated from the BINOL immobilized polymer and Au-MPC are found to promote catalytic asymmetric alkylation of benzaldehyde with Et₂Zn to afford the adduct in up to 84% ee and 86% ee, respectively. Au-MPC-supported multicomponent asymmetric catalyst was prepared and used in the Michael reaction of 2-cyclohexen-1-one with dibenzyl malonate affording the adduct in up to 67% yield and 98% ee.     

Catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-alder reactions of imines--an approach to optically active nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids

A catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of imines has been developed. The reaction of N-tosyl alpha-imino ester with different dienes including activated, non-activated, cyclic, and acyclic dienes has been investigated in the presence of various chiral Lewis acids. A series of phosphino-oxazoline ligands have been synthesized and evaluated for the reaction. It was found that the combination of phosphino-oxazoline ligands with copper(I) salts gives the best results for the activated dienes, while BINAP-copper(I) complexes are good catalysts for all the dienes studied. In the case of activated acyclic dienes the aza-Diels-Alder products can be obtained in higher than 80% isolated yield and 96% ee, while for the unactivated cyclic dienes the exo diastereomer is formed as the major product in up to 95 % ee. For an activated cyclic conjugated diene, 2-trimethylsilyloxy-1,3-cyclohexadiene, the reaction proceeds as a Mannich-type addition reaction giving optically active gamma-oxo alpha-amino acid derivatives in good yields and up to 96% ee. The reaction of an unactivated acyclic diene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, with the N-tosyl alpha-imino ester gives both the aza-Diels-Alder and aza-ene products, in a ratio of 9:1 favoring the aza-Diels-Alder product. Furthermore, a series of different imines have been synthesized and investigated as possible substrates for the present catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction in order to obtain mechanistic insight. All imines studied gave moderate to high ee. Particularly, the reaction of the N-phenyl and N-p-methoxyphenyl substituted glyoxylate imines with Danishefsky's diene proceeded well affording the corresponding aza-Diels-Alder product in high yield with up to 91% ee at room temperature. The present catalytic enantioselective reaction of imines provided an effective route to optically active nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids. The products of the catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of the cyclic dienes can be used for the preparation of key compounds such as natural products and compounds of pharmaceutical interest. The absolute configurations of five products have been solved by X-ray structural analysis, and it is found that the absolute configuration of the aza-Diels-Alder adduct is dependent on the substituent on the imine nitrogen atom. It turned out that the N-tosyl glyoxylate imine and N-p-methoxyphenyl glyoxylate imine give the aza-Diels-Alder adduct with opposite absolute configuration using the same enantiomer of the catalyst. On the basis of the results the mechanistic aspects for the reactions are discussed.     

Asymmetric syn-selective Henry reaction catalyzed by the sulfonyldiamine-CuCl-pyridine system

A catalytic asymmetric Henry reaction has been developed with use of a sulfonyldiamine-CuCl complex as a catalyst. A series of new binaphthyl-containing sulfonyldiamine ligands (2a-h) were readily synthesized in two steps starting from commercially available chiral 1,2-diamines. The (R,R)-diamine-(R)-binaphthyl ligand (2d)-CuCl complex smoothly catalyzed the enantioselective Henry reaction with the assistance of pyridine to give the corresponding adduct with high enantiomeric excess (up to 93%). Moreover, the 2d-CuCl-pyridine system promotes the diastereoselective Henry reaction in syn-selective manner to give the adduct in up to 99% yield with 92:8 syn/ anti selectivity. The enantiomeric excess of the syn-adduct was 84% ee.     

Immobilization of heterobimetallic multifunctional asymmetric catalyst

Immobilization of an asymmetric AlLibis(binaphthoxide) catalyst (ALB) is described. The immobilized ALBs (poly-ALBs) are readily prepared from polymeric BINOL derivatives and LiAlH(4). The combined use of 9 mol % of BuLi with ca. 10 mol % (as a monomeric catalyst) of 6,6'-aryl-tethered poly-ALB gave the Michael adducts with up to 93% ee. After completion of the reaction, the insoluble catalyst was recovered in air and is reusable.     

The first example of enamine-Lewis acid cooperative bifunctional catalysis: application to the asymmetric aldol reaction

(-)-Sparteine directed lithiation of N-Boc-pyrrolidine, alkylation with chloromethylboronate pinacol ester and acid-based deprotection provides homoboroproline HX salt in 94% ee, which is then an efficient enamine-type pyrrolidine catalyst in an asymmetric aldol reaction when neutralised and especially when esterified in situ with a tartrate ester, for example, providing 90% ee of the aldol adduct derived from acetone and p-nitrobenzaldehyde.     

An efficient synthetic methodology of chiral isoquinuclidines by the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of 1,2-dihydropyridines using chiral cationic palladium-phosphinooxazolidine catalyst

High purity chiral isoquinuclidines (97% ee) were obtained from the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of 1-phenoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydropyridine with 1-benzyl-2-acryloylpyrazolidin-3-one using chiral cationic palladium-phosphinooxazolidine (Pd-POZ) catalyst. The obtained DA adduct was easily converted to the chiral piperidine derivative bearing three stereogenetic centers in the structure.     

Organocatalytic and highly stereoselective direct vinylogous Mannich reaction

The first direct asymmetric vinylogous Mannich (AVM) reaction of alpha,alpha-dicyanoolefins and N-Boc aldimines was described promoted by a simple chiral bifunctional thiourea-tertairy amine organocatalyst. The reaction was highly efficient (S/C up to 1000) and regio-, stereoselective (generally >99% de, 96 to >99.5% ee) at room temperature for a broad array of substrates. Enantiomerically pure delta-amino acid could be smoothly prepared from the adduct.     

Hydrovinylation of norbornene. Ligand-dependent selectivity and asymmetric variations

[reaction: see text] Norbornene undergoes Ni-catalyzed (1-2 mol% allylnickel bromide/phosphine/NaBARF or AgSbF(6), 1 bar ethylene, -50 degrees C) hydrovinylation (>97% yield), giving either a 1:1 or a 2:1 (norbornene/ethylene) adduct depending on the size of the phosphine. Use of binaphthol-derived phosphoramidite ligand results in up to 80% ee for the 1:1 adduct. The course of the reaction is highly dependent on the ligand (size and configuration of the appendages) and the counteranion present.     

Asymmetric Michael addition of 2-nitropropane to a chalcone catalyzed by chiral crown ethers incorporating a D-glucose unit

Michael addition of 2-nitropropane 4 to a chalcone 3 catalyzed by crown ethers incorporating two glucose units (of 1 type) afforded the adduct 5 with an R-enantiomer excess (28% ee) while the aza-crown ethers containing one glucose unit (of 2 type) gave the same adduct favoring the S-enantiomer under solid–liquid phase transfer conditions (SL-PT). It was proven that substituents at the N-atom of the crown ring in 2 have a significant effect on both the chemical yield and the enantioselectivity, and those having heteroatoms in the proper position of the side chain ( 2e , 2f ) showed the best results in this reaction: 65% ee for the S-antipode. The absolute configuration of (+)-4-methyl-4-nitro-1,3-diphenyl-1-pentanone ( 5 ), determined by X-ray diffraction, is also presented in this article. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Monolayer-protected Au cluster (MPC)-supported Ti-BINOLate complex

[reaction: see text] Disulfides bearing (R)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol ((R)-BINOL) moieties at each terminal position have been successfully introduced on the surface of Au cluster. Ti-BINOLate complex generated from the obtained monolayer-protected Au cluster (MPC) promoted catalytic asymmetric alkylation of benzaldehyde with Et(2)Zn to afford the adduct in up to 98% yield with 86% ee. After completion of the reaction, the BINOL-functionalized MPC was easily recovered.     

A new cationic,chiral catalyst for highly enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions

[reaction: see text] The Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene and 2-methacrolein is catalyzed by a chiral Lewis acid to form the exo adduct in 96% yield and 96% ee.     

Asymmetric Diels–Alder reactions in supercritical carbon dioxide catalyzed by rare earth complexes

The rare earth(III) salt catalysed asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene with a chiral dienophile in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) proceeded rapidly to give the adduct with a higher diastereoselectivity than that in dichloromethane; Yb(ClO₄)₃ gave the endo adduct with value up to 77% de at 40°C, 8 MPa. The chiral rare earth diketonate catalyzed hetero Diels–Alder reaction of the Danishefsky's diene with benzaldehyde gave a higher yield and an enantioselectivity in scCO₂ than that in dichloromethane. Scandium/pybox 8a complex catalysed asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction of 3-crotonoyl-2-oxazolidinone with cyclopentadiene in the presence of MS4A proceeded smoothly in scCO₂ to give the endo adduct 10 in a good yield with up to 88% ee.     

Optically active 1,2-bis(1-arylhydroxymethyl) ferrocene: a new, efficient chiral ligand for scandium-catalyzed asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction

[reaction: see text] The Sc(OTf)3/FERRODIOL (2) complex was prepared at -78 degrees C in CH2Cl2 in the presence of 2,6-lutidine and MS 4A. The chiral scandium Lewis acid-catalyzed asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene (3) with 3-acyloxazolidin-2-ones (4) effectively produced the adduct (5) in a high yield with good selectivity, i.e., endo/exo = 90:10 up to 91% ee (endo).     

Rhodium/olefin-catalyzed reaction of arylboronic acids with an α-acetamido acrylic ester: Mizoroki–Heck-type reaction versus asymmetric conjugate addition

In this paper we present our results concerning the rhodium/olefin-catalyzed reaction of arylboronic acids with an α-acetamido acrylic ester. With a chiral norbornadiene ligand rather low enantioselectivities (up to 21% ee) were obtained. Besides the expected conjugate adduct, we also observed the formation of a significant amount of Mizoroki–Heck-type product. The ratio of the conjugate adduct/Mizoroki–Heck product could be adjusted by a proper choice of the olefin ligand.     

Direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions of pyruvates: scope and mechanism

The direct aldol reaction of 2-ketoesters catalyzed by chiral bisoxazoline copper(II) complexes has been investigated. First the direct homo-aldol reaction of ethyl pyruvate is reported which proceeds to give diethyl 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-oxoglutarate. This was isolated as the more stable optically active isotetronic acid in good yield and enantiomeric excess in the absence of bases such as amines. Detailed investigations of the use of different chiral Lewis acids as the catalyst, amines, ratios of chiral bisoxazoline copper(II) salts:amine, and solvents gave up to 96% ee of the isotetronic acid. Then the reaction was extended to a cross-aldol reaction of various 2-ketoesters with activated carbonyl compounds to give the cross-aldol adduct with excellent enantiomeric excess. Furthermore, the synthesis of the isotetronic acids was investigated from these cross-aldol adducts giving important information about the formation of the stereogenic centers during the aldol reaction. Based on the absolute configuration of the homo-aldol adduct the mechanism for the aldol reaction is discussed.     

Captured at last: a catalyst-substrate adduct and a Rh-dihydride solvate in the asymmetric hydrogenation by a Rh-monophosphine catalyst

The mechanism of asymmetric hydrogenation catalyzed by [Rh(NBD)((R)-PhenylBinepine)(2)]SbF(6)1 has been studied by NMR experiments and DFT computations. Either the low-temperature hydrogenation of the catalyst-substrate adduct 4 or the reaction of solvate dihydride 6 with MAC produced the hydrogenation product with over 99% ee (S).     

New chiral scandium(III)/bisimine and diol complexes catalyzed asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction

Several bisimine and diol-based chiral ligands were examined as scandium(III) triflate complexes in the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene (2) with 3-acryloyloxazolidin-2-one (1) in the presence of 2,6-lutidine: the scandium/salen complex was revealed to be the most effective catalyst, which afforded the endo adduct in a good yield with 85% ee. Addition of a tertiary amine, such as 2,6-lutidine, was critical to achieve high enantioselectivity; enantioselectivity was remarkably decreased in the absence of the amine.     

The thiopyran route to polypropionates: enantioselective synthesis of membrenone B from racemic fragments

(6S,7S,8S,9R,10S)-(--)-Membrenone B was synthesized in nine steps (9.4% overall yield) beginning with two-directional aldol coupling of tetrahydro-4H-thiopyran-4-one with racemic 1,4-dioxa-8-thiaspiro[4.5]decane-6-carboxaldehyde. The first aldol reaction occurs with dynamic kinetic resolution to give a single adduct (>98% ee). The second aldol reaction is highly diastereoselective (three of eight possible adducts), and both major products are converted to membrenone B. The route also constitutes a formal synthesis of membrenone A.     

Application of a high-throughput enantiomeric excess optical assay involving a dynamic covalent assembly: parallel asymmetric allylation and ee sensing of homoallylic alcohols

Asymmetric Ir-catalyzed C–C coupling of primary alcohols with allyl-acetates, as described by Krische, to form chiral secondary homo-allylic alcohols were performed in parallel as a means to optimize the ee values thereof. Specifically, approximately 400 examples of this reaction were performed by varying the catalyst, added acids and bases, and starting reactants, to form 4-phenyl-1-butene-4-ol (1). The ee values for the transformations were determined in a high-throughput fashion using a 4-component assembly that creates a circular dichroism signal indicative of the extent of asymmetric induction. Further, a parallel and rapid quantitative TLC method measures the yield of each reaction, revealing which reactions give reliable ee values in the CD-based assay. Overall, the nearly 200 reactions whose ee values were determined could be quantitated in under two hours. Using a combination of the TLC method to measure yield with the CD-assay to measure ee values, several trends in reaction conditions were revealed. For example, it was found that the cyclometalated iridium catalyst modified by BINAP and m-nitro-p-cyano-benzoic acid delivered adduct 1 with the highest levels of enantiomeric enrichment (94%), whereas the corresponding SEGPHOS-modified catalyst gave a comparable yield but lower ee (91%). Most importantly, this study shows that supramolecular assemblies can report hundreds of ee values in a rapid and reliable fashion to analyze parallel synthesis routines.