Direct organocatalytic asymmetric alpha-sulfenylation of activated C-H bonds in lactones, lactams, and beta-dicarbonyl compounds

The application of cinchona alkaloid derivatives as catalysts for enantioselective alpha-sulfenylation of activated C-H bonds in lactones, lactams, and beta-dicarbonyl compounds by different electrophilic sulfur reagents is presented. Optically active products are obtained in good to excellent yields and up to 91 % ee. Furthermore, the diastereoselective reduction of alpha-sulfenylated beta-keto esters to give optically active alpha-sulfenylated beta-hydroxy esters has been studied. A model for the intermediate is presented, in which the protonated cinchona alkaloid interacts with the substrate leading to face-shielding in accordance with the enantioselective alpha-sulfenylation step.     

Highly enantioselective desymmetrization of meso anhydrides by a bifunctional thiourea-based organocatalyst at low catalyst loadings and room temperature

Bifunctional (thio)urea-based cinchona alkaloid derivatives have been shown to promote highly efficient enantioselective desymmetrization reactions of meso anhydrides. The most selective of these catalysts is capable of the enantioselective methanolysis of succinic and glutaric anhydride derivatives to form hemiester products with >90% yield and enantiomeric excess at 1 mol % loading and ambient temperature.     

Synthesis of highly functionalized chiral 3,3'-disubstituted oxindoles via an organocatalytic enantioselective Michael addition of nitroalkanes to indolylidenecyanoacetates

An efficient bifunctional cinchona alkaloid derived thiourea-promoted enantioselective conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to indolylidenecyanoacetates has been developed under neat conditions. The process leads to synthetically interesting densely functionalized 3,3'-disubstituted oxindoles with creation of up to three stereogenic centers.     

Asymmetric organocatalytic N-nitroso-aldol reaction of oxindoles

An organocatalytic enantioselective N-nitroso-aldol reaction of 2-oxindoles promoted by a cinchona alkaloid catalyst has been developed. The reaction shows exclusively N-selectivity, affording corresponding products with good to excellent yields (up to 100%) and moderate enantioselectivity. The regioselectivity of nitroso-aldol reaction being controlled by different cinchona catalysts was also observed.     

Enantioselective <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-allylic alkylation of Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates with oxime

The enantioselective O-allylic alkylation of acetophenone oxime with various Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) carbonates has been accomplished by the catalysis of a commercially available cinchona alkaloid (DHQD)2PHAL. The corresponding O-allylic products were obtained in moderate to excellent yields up to 96% ee.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic Michael additions to acrylic acid derivatives: generation of all-carbon quaternary stereocentres

Acrylic esters, thioesters and N-acryloyl pyrrole have been identified as effective electrophiles in the enantioselective Michael addition reaction with beta-keto ester pro-nucleophiles catalysed by a cinchona alkaloid derived bifunctional organocatalyst; enantiomeric excesses of up to 98% and yields of up to 96% can be obtained for a range of Michael acceptors and pro-nucleophiles.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic asymmetric allylic alkylation. Bis(phenylsulfonyl)methane addition to MBH carbonates

The highly enantioselective asymmetric allylic alkylation of Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates with bis(phenylsulfonyl)methane is presented. The reaction is simply catalyzed by cinchona alkaloid derivatives affording the final alkylated products in good yields and enantioselectivities.     

Organocatalytic,Enantioselective Synthesis of Cyclohexadienone Containing Hindered Spirocyclic Ethers through an Oxidative Dearomatization/Oxa‐Michael Addition Sequence

An unprecedented enantioselective oxa‐Michael reaction of α‐tertiary alcohols using cinchona‐alkaloid‐based chiral bifunctional squaramide catalysts is reported. An oxidative dearomatization of phenol followed by an enantioselective oxa‐Michael addition sequence provided a broad array of chiral sterically hindered tetrahydrofurans and tetrahydropyrans attached to a cyclohexadienone moiety in spiro fashion. In general, good yields and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99 %) were observed. The chiral oxo‐cycles obtained have easily been transformed into chromans without disturbing the enantioselectivity.     

Organocatalytic,Enantioselective Synthesis of Cyclohexadienone Containing Hindered Spirocyclic Ethers through an Oxidative Dearomatization/Oxa‐Michael Addition Sequence

An unprecedented enantioselective oxa‐Michael reaction of α‐tertiary alcohols using cinchona‐alkaloid‐based chiral bifunctional squaramide catalysts is reported. An oxidative dearomatization of phenol followed by an enantioselective oxa‐Michael addition sequence provided a broad array of chiral sterically hindered tetrahydrofurans and tetrahydropyrans attached to a cyclohexadienone moiety in spiro fashion. In general, good yields and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99 %) were observed. The chiral oxo‐cycles obtained have easily been transformed into chromans without disturbing the enantioselectivity.     

Asymmetric aza-Mannich addition: synthesis of modified chiral 2-(ethylthio)-thiazolone derivatives with anticancer potency

An easily prepared cinchona alkaloid derivative was found to be an effective organocatalyst in a direct, enantioselective aza-Mannich addition. By establishing a quaternary carbon stereocenter, a series of modified chiral 2-(ethylthio)-thiazolone derivatives have been obtained with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities. And these derivatives have been found to show anticancer activities against five different cancer cell lines using the MTT assay.     

Enantioselective dichlorination of allylic alcohols

The development of an enantioselective allylic alcohol dichlorination catalyzed by dimeric cinchona alkaloid derivatives and employing aryl iododichlorides as chlorine sources is reported. Reaction optimization, exploration of the substrate scope, and a model for stereoinduction are presented.     

Recyclable cinchona alkaloid catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition reaction

A highly enantioselective and diastereoselective Michael addition reaction of α-fluoro-β-ketoesters with maleimides is catalyzed by fluorous cinchona alkaloid to afford two adjacent chiral centers. The catalyst attached with a perfluroalkyl tag can be recovered by fluorous solid-phase extraction (F-SPE).     

Organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael addition of pyrazole to chalcone

An efficient enantioselective aza-Michael addition of pyrazole to chalcone was established. In the presence of the primary amine derived from cinchona alkaloid and acidic additive, the reactions afforded 1,4-adducts in high yields (up to 98%) with 68–88% ee.     

Organocatalytic enantioselective nucleophilic vinylic substitution by alpha-substituted-alpha-cyanoacetates under phase-transfer conditions

The organocatalytic enantioselective formation of vinyl-substituted all-carbon quaternary stereocenters via nucleophilic vinylic substitution by alpha-substituted-alpha-cyanoacetates is presented. The reaction proceeds well for different alpha-substituted-alpha-cyanoacetates and beta-chloroalkenones using a dimeric cinchona alkaloid phase-transfer catalyst giving the products in good yield and with enantioselectivities up to 98% ee.     

Asymmetric Mannich reaction of dicarbonyl compounds with alpha-amido sulfones catalyzed by cinchona alkaloids and synthesis of chiral dihydropyrimidones

The highly enantioselective cinchona alkaloid-catalyzed Mannich reaction of dicarbonyl compounds with alpha-amido sulfones as acyl imine precursors is described. The reaction requires 10 mol % of the cinchona alkaloid catalyst, which serves as a general base to generate acyl imines in situ, and aqueous Na2CO3 to maintain the concentration of free alkaloid catalyst. The reaction products are obtained in good yields and high enantioselectivities, and in diastereoselectivities that range from 1:1 to >95:5. The cinchonine-catalyzed reactions provide practical access to highly functionalized building blocks which have been employed in the synthesis of chiral dihydropyrimidones, a class of compounds rich in diverse biological activity. Dihydropyrimidone modifications include a highly diastereoselective hydrogenation of the enamide moiety, using an H-Cube flow hydrogenator and a Rh(II)-mediated 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to afford highly functionalized complex heterocycles.     

Enantioselective fluorination mediated by cinchona alkaloid derivatives/Selectfluor combinations: reaction scope and structural information for N-fluorocinchona alkaloids.

Cinchona-alkaloid/Selectfluor combinations efficiently fluorinate a variety of carbonyl compounds in a highly enantioselective manner to furnish chiral alpha-fluorocarbonyl compounds. The DHQB/Selectfluor combination is effective for the enantioselective fluorination of indanones and tetralones 1 in up to 91% ee. The first enantioselective syntheses of chiral derivatizing reagents 3 was accomplished with high ee and in high chemical yields by the DHQDA/Selectfluor combination. 3-Fluorooxindoles 7 were prepared with ee up to 83% using the (DHQ)2AQN/Selectfluor or the (DHQD)2PYR/Selectfluor combination. Since the combinations are conveniently prepared in situ from readily available reagents, the present system represents a practical method for enantioselective fluorination. X-ray crystallography and 1H NMR analyses of the cinchona alkaloids/Selectfluor combination have established that the species that mediate this novel reaction are N-fluoroammonium cinchona alkaloid tetrafluoroborates, which adopt open conformations.     

Direct Enantioselective Vinylogous Mannich Reaction of Ketimines with γ‐Butenolide by Using Cinchona Alkaloid Amide/Zinc(II) Catalysts

A direct enantioselective vinylogous Mannich reaction of ketimines with γ‐butenolide has been developed. Good yields and enantioselectivities were observed for the reaction of various ketimines by using a cinchona alkaloid amide/Zn(OTf)₂ catalyst and Et₃N. Both enantiomers of the products could be obtained by using pseudoenantiomeric chiral catalysts.     

Organocatalytic enantioselective conjugate addition to alkynones

The first catalytic enantioselective addition of beta-dicarbonyl compounds to alkynones is presented. The conjugate addition proceeds in very high yields, giving a mixture of (Z)- and (E)-enones with up to 95% ee using the cinchona alkaloid [DHQ]2PHAL (5 mol %) as the catalyst. This organocatalytic enantioselective reaction has been further developed to a one-pot procedure to give the optically active (E)-enone adduct using first [DHQ]2PHAL (5 mol %), followed by Bu3P (10 mol %), as the catalysts.     

Acetylphosphonate as a surrogate of acetate or acetamide in organocatalyzed enantioselective aldol reactions

Highly enantioselective aldol reactions of acetylphosphonates and activated carbonyl compounds was realized with cinchona alkaloid derived catalysts, in which the acetylphosphonate was directly used as an enolate precursor for the first time. The aldol product obtained was converted in situ to its corresponding ester or amide through methanolysis or aminolysis. The overall process may be viewed as formal highly enantioselective acetate or acetamide aldol reactions, which are very difficult to achieve directly with organocatalytic methods.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric addition of alcohols and thiols to activated electrophiles: efficient dynamic kinetic resolution and desymmetrization protocols

Bifunctional urea-based cinchona alkaloid derivatives have been shown to promote highly efficient DKR reactions of azalactones using an alcohol nucleophile. The optimum catalyst is remarkably insensitive to the steric bulk of the amino acid residue, allowing alanine-, methionine-, and phenylalanine-derived azalactones to undergo DKR with unprecedented levels of enantioselectivity using a synthetic catalyst. The first DKR of these substrates by thiols and the highly enantioselective desymmetrization of a meso-glutaric anhydride by thiolysis are also reported.