Catalytic asymmetric reductive amination of aldehydes via dynamic kinetic resolution

A novel organocatalytic asymmetric reductive amination of aldehydes has been developed. Treating racemic alpha-branched aldehydes with p-anisidine and a Hantzsch ester in the presence of our previously developed phosphoric acid catalyst, TRIP, gave beta-branched secondary amines in excellent yields and enantioselectivities via an efficient dynamic kinetic resolution. The process is applicable to several different aromatic aldehydes and amines but gives slightly reduced enantiomeric ratios with aliphatic aldehydes.     

Organocatalytic direct asymmetric alpha-heteroatom functionalization of aldehydes and ketones

The direct enantioselective introduction of a stereogenic carbon-heteroatom bond adjacent to a carbonyl functionality leads to optically active compounds of significant importance for e.g. the life-science industry. Organocatalytic enantioselective amination, oxygenation, fluorination, chlorination, bromination and sulfenylation of aldehydes and ketones, using chiral amines as the catalysts, are reviewed in this feature article. Furthermore, a few other transformations are also outlined. The scope, potential and application of these organocatalytic asymmetric reactions are presented and the mechanistic aspects discussed.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic reductive amination of aliphatic ketones by benzothiazoline as hydrogen donor

The chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed enantioselective reductive amination of aliphatic ketones with aromatic amines was successfully achieved by the use of benzothiazoline as the hydrogen donor. Corresponding chiral aliphatic amines were obtained with excellent enantioselectivities.     

Polymer-supported triacetoxyborohydride: a novel reagent of choice for reductive amination

A novel polymer-supported triacetoxyborohydride reagent for reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones is reported. The bound reagent was found to be shelf-stable and provided broad scope and reactivity in reductive amination reactions under mild reaction conditions. Streamlined protocols for its application in reductive amination reactions using both primary and secondary amines are described.     

Remarkable Differences in Reactivity between Benzothiazoline and Hantzsch Ester as a Hydrogen Donor in Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Asymmetric Reductive Amination of Ketones

Described herein are differences in behavior between a Hantzsch ester and a benzothiazoline as hydrogen donors in the chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed asymmetric reductive amination of ketones with p‐anisidine. The asymmetric reductive amination of ketones with a Hantzsch ester as a hydrogen donor provided the corresponding chiral amines exclusively, regardless of the structures of the ketones, whereas a similar transformation with a benzothiazoline provided chiral amines and p‐methoxyphenyl‐protected primary amines in variable yields, depending on the structures of both the ketones and benzothiazolines. Because a benzothiazoline has an N,S‐acetal moiety that is vulnerable to p‐anisidine, the primary amine can be formed through transimination of the benzothiazoline with p‐anisidine followed by reduction of the resulting aldimine with remaining benzothiazoline.     

Enantioselective formal synthesis of (−)-aurantioclavine using Pd-catalyzed cascade cyclization and organocatalytic asymmetric aziridination

The enantioselective formal synthesis of (?)-aurantioclavine is described. The core tricyclic skeleton was synthesized using a Pd-catalyzed Heck insertion–allylic amination cascade. The stereocenter was constructed by a highly enantioselective organocatalytic asymmetric aziridination reaction.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions. The asymmetric synthesis of solanapyrone D

The first direct enantioselective organocatalytic intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new catalytic strategy for the enantioselective [4 + 2] cycloisomerization of a wide variety of tethered diene-enal systems. The use of imidazolidinones 1 and 2 as the asymmetric catalysts has been found to mediate the enantioselective construction of [4.4.0] and [4.3.0] ring systems. Application of this methodology to the highly efficient asymmetric synthesis of the marine metabolite solanpyrone D has also been accomplished. A diverse spectrum of aldehyde substrates can also be accommodated in this new organocatalytic transformation. Importantly, this technology has been utilized to execute the first enantioselective, catalytic Type II IMDA reaction.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to alpha,beta-unsaturated enones using novel imidazoline catalysts

A new catalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to acyclic alpha,beta-unsaturated enones catalyzed by novel organic catalysts has been developed. A series of chiral amines has been tested as catalysts for the addition of 2-nitropropane to benzylideneacetone, and it is found that a novel imidazoline catalyst, prepared from phenylalanine, can catalyze a highly enantioselective 1,4-addition reaction. The reaction of various acyclic and cyclic nitroalkanes was found to proceed well with enantioselectivities up to 86% ee, and enantiopure products can be obtained by recrystallization. The potential of the reaction is documented by the reaction of a series of substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated enones with different nitroalkanes. Furthermore, the synthetic applicability of the reaction is demonstrated by the formation of optically active functionalized pyrrolines and pyrrolidines by reductive amination of the products. On the basis of the absolute configuration of the conjugate addition products, the mechanism for the reaction is discussed and a transition state proposed.     

Synthesis of [11C]/(13C)amines via carbonylation followed by reductive amination

Twelve 11C-labelled amines were prepared via 11C-carbonylation followed by reductive amination. The 11C-carbonylation was performed in the presence of tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium using aryl iodides or aryl triflates, [11C]carbon monoxide and phenyl-/methylboronic acid. The [11C]ketones formed in this step were then transformed directly into amines by reductive amination using different amines in the presence of TiCl4 and NaBH3CN. The 11C-labelled amines were obtained with decay-corrected radiochemical yields in the range 2-78%. The radiochemical purity of the isolated products exceeded 98%. (13C)Benzhydryl-phenyl-amine was synthesised and analysed by NMR spectroscopy for confirmation of the labelling position. Specific radioactivity was determined for the same compound. The reference compounds were prepared by reductive amination of ketones using conventional reaction conditions and three of the compounds were novel. The presented approach is a new method for the synthesis of [11C]/(13C)amines.     

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Direct Reductive Amination of Carbonyl Compounds for the Synthesis of Amines: An Overview

Reductive amination is a valuable method for amine synthesis that has been the topic of a century‘s worth of in-depth study in both academia and industry. Amines and their derivatives serve as incredibly adaptable building blocks for a broad array of organic substrates and are significant precursors for a myriad of advanced chemicals, physiologically active compounds, agrochemicals, biomolecules, pharmaceuticals, and polymers. The creation of innovative catalytic processes for the long-term and selective synthesis of amines from readily accessible and environmentally benign reagents remains a top priority in chemical research. Both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts have been designed with success to enable these reactions to explore new amines. Ruthenium catalysts are employed in reductive amination owing to their stability, selectivity, versatility, low toxicity, and high efficiency. This review comprehensively overviews the Ru-catalyzed reductive amination processes and includes the literature from 2009 to 2022.     

Intermolecular Enantioselective Benzylic C(sp3)−H Amination by Cationic Copper Catalysis**

Chiral benzylic amines are privileged motifs in pharmacologically active molecules. Intramolecular enantioselective radical C(sp³)−H functionalization by hydrogen-atom transfer has emerged as a straightforward, powerful tool for the synthesis of chiral amines, but methods for intermolecular enantioselective C(sp³)−H amination remain elusive. Herein, we report a cationic copper catalytic system for intermolecular enantioselective benzylic C(sp³)−H amination with peroxide as an oxidant. This mild, straightforward method can be used to transform an array of feedstock alkylarenes and amides into chiral amines with high enantioselectivities, and it has good functional group tolerance and broad substrate scope. More importantly, it can be used to synthesize bioactive molecules, including chiral drugs. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that the amination reaction involves benzylic radicals generated by hydrogen-atom transfer.     

Enantioselective Brønsted acid catalyzed transfer hydrogenation: organocatalytic reduction of imines

The first enantioselective Br?nsted acid catalyzed reduction of imines has been developed. This new organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of ketimines with Hantzsch dihydropyridine as the hydrogen source offers a mild method to various chiral amines with high enantioselectivity. The stereochemistry of the chiral amines can be rationalized by a stereochemical model derived from an X-ray crystal structure of a chiral BINOL phosphate catalyst. [reaction: see text]     

The first enantioselective organocatalytic Mukaiyama-Michael reaction: a direct method for the synthesis of enantioenriched gamma-butenolide architecture

The first enantioselective organocatalytic Mukaiyama-Michael reaction using alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new strategy for the enantioselective addition of 2-silyloxy furans to unsaturated aldehydes to generate a variety of butenolide systems, an important chiral synthon found among many natural isolates. The (2S,5S)-5-benzyl-2-tert-butyl-imidazolidinone amine catalyst has been found to mediate the conjugate addition of a wide variety of substituted and unsubstituted silyloxy furans to unsaturated aldehydes. A diverse range of aldehyde substrates can be accommodated in this new organocatalytic transformation. Application of this new asymmetric technology to the enantioselective total synthesis of spiculisporic acid and the corresponding 5-epi-spiculisporic acid analogue is also discussed.     

Organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of cyclic enones

The first enantioselective organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of cyclic enones has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new organocatalytic strategy for the enantioselective reduction of beta,beta-substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated cycloalkenones, to generate beta-stereogenic cyclic ketones. The use of imidazolidinone 4 as the asymmetric catalyst has been found to mediate the hydrogenation of a large class of enone substrates with tert-butyl Hantzsch ester serving as an inexpensive source of hydrogen. The capacity of catalyst 4 to enable enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of cycloalkenones has been extended to five-, six-, and seven-membered ring systems. The sense of asymmetric induction is in complete accord with the stereochemical model first reported in conjunction with the use of catalyst 4 for enantioselective ketone Diels-Alder reactions.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic hydride reduction

The first enantioselective organocatalytic hydride reduction has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new organocatalytic strategy for the enantioselective reduction of beta,beta-substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes to generate beta-stereogenic aldehydes. The use of imidazolidinone 2 as the asymmetric catalyst has been found to mediate the transfer of hydrogen to a large class of enal substrates from ethyl Hantzsch ester. The capacity of catalyst 2 to accelerate E-Z isomerization prior to selective E-olefin reduction allows the implementation of geometrically impure enals in this operationally simple protocol.     

手性磷酸催化的有机催化不对称反应

手性磷酸是近年来发展起来的一类新型高效、高对映选择性的Brønsted酸类有机催化剂, 已成功应用于催化不对称Mannich反应、还原胺化反应、Pictet-Spengler反应、aza-Diels-Alder反应和aza-Ene反应等许多重要的有机合成反应. 手性磷酸催化剂分子内同时含有Lewis碱性位点和Brønsted酸性位点, 可同时活化亲电与亲核底物. 作为一种新型双功能有机催化剂, 手性磷酸具有较高的催化活性和对映选择性, 催化剂最低用量可达0.05 mol%. 对各类手性磷酸催化剂在有机催化不对称合成反应中的应用研究进展, 以及不对称诱导反应的机理、手性磷酸的分子结构及反应条件对其催化活性和不对称诱导活性的影响进行了评述.     

Asymmetric Reductive Amination in Organocatalysis and Biocatalysis

This review summarizes the recent progress of organocatalytic and biocatalytic asymmetric reductive amination (ARA), a challenging but important topic for drug discovery and the pharmaceutical industry. At present, ARA can be divided into three categories: metal catalysis, organic catalysis, and biocatalysis. In the past decade, transition metal-catalysed ARA has been well established. Organocatalytic ARA has emerged as a powerful alternative to metal-catalysed ARA, the hydrogen sources used in organocatalytic ARA are usually Hantzsch esters, benzothiazolines, boranes, and hydrosilanes, which require Lewis base or phosphoric acid catalysts to activate them to give secondary chiral amines. It is worth mentioning that biocatalytic ARA has made remarkable progress in the last decade, amino acid dehydrogenases, amine dehydrogenases, opine dehydrogenases and imine reductases have been successfully used in ARA.     

Brevibacterium epidermidis催化酮不对称还原胺化合成(S)-手性胺

光学纯手性胺是一类非常重要的手性化学品,作为手性砌块和手性拆分剂广泛用于医药、农业化学品、精细化学品等产品的合成中.据统计,美国FDA近年来批准的约40％药物中都含有一个或多个手性胺结构单元.胺脱氢酶(AmDH)是由氨基酸脱氢酶改造而来的一类催化酮不对称还原胺化的新酶,其在手性胺的合成中展现出较强的潜力,已引起国内外学术界和工业界的广泛关注.这是因为该酶能够利用廉价的无机铵为胺供体,且具有催化效率高、原子经济性好和环境友好等优点.迄今为止已经有数个高效的胺脱氢酶被成功开发和报道,但是这些通过蛋白质工程改造的胺脱氢酶均为(R)-选择性,因此只能合成(R)-选择性的手性胺,遗憾的是还未见有(S)-选择性胺脱氢酶的报道.因此,本文主要目的是期望从自然环境中鉴定能够不对称还原胺化酮合成(S)-手性胺的微生物,进而从中分离得到能够以无机铵作为胺供体合成(S)-手性胺的(S)-选择性酶.本文首先利用苯乙胺作为唯一氮源,从土壤中筛选能够利用苯乙胺生长的菌株,进而利用苯乙酮作为初筛底物对得到的菌株进行胺化能力筛选,再利用(4-氟苯基)丙酮作为模式底物进行进一步的筛选.幸运的是,我们获得了能够利用无机铵作为胺供体催化(4-氟苯基)丙酮不对称还原胺化合成(S)-4-氟-α-甲基苯乙胺的菌株,经过16S RNA鉴定为表皮短杆菌,命名为B.epidermidis ECU1015.接下来,我们对B.epidermidis ECU1015催化的胺化反应中的关键参数如胺基供体及其最适浓度、反应温度、pH值和底物浓度等进行了优化,确定最佳反应条件:胺供体为NH4Cl(1.25 mol/L),反应温度为30°C,KPB缓冲液(200 mmol/L,pH 7.5),底物浓度10 mmol/L.最后,在最适的反应条件下,我们对B.epidermidis ECU1015催化的底物谱进行了研究.结果表明,该微生物不能催化大位阻芳香酮和链状酮的胺化,对位阻较小的苯乙酮及(4-氟苯基)丙酮具有较好的还原胺化能力,而且对苯环上带有吸电子取代基的酮化合物具有更好的转化效果.经手性分析,所有生成的手性胺均为(S)-构型,产品的光学纯度均>99％.B.epidermidis催化酮不对称胺化所形成的产物构型均为(S)-选择性,这不同于已报道的(R)-选择性胺脱氢酶.该菌株的发现为(S)-选择性胺脱氢酶的进一步鉴定奠定了一定的研究基础,相关蛋白的分离纯化工作正在进行.     

Organocatalytic enantioselective formal synthesis of bromopyrrole alkaloids via aza-Michael addition

An unprecedented organocatalytic enantioselective formal synthesis of bromopyrrole alkaloid natural products is reported. An organocatalytic aza-Michael addition using pyrroles as the N-centered nucleophile is utilized as the enantioselective step to construct the nitrogen-substituted stereogenic carbon center in bromopyrrole alkaloids in good yield and excellent enantioselectivity. The aza-Michael product is converted via lactamization using a Staudinger-type reductive cyclization to the key intermediate, which was previously used in the total synthesis of bromopyrrole alkaloid natural products.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic alpha-fluorination of aldehydes

The first direct enantioselective catalytic alpha-fluorination of aldehydes has been accomplished. The use of enamine catalysis has provided a new organocatalytic strategy for the enantioselective fluorination of aldehydes to generate alpha-fluoro aldehydes, an important chiral synthon for medicinal agent synthesis. The use of imidazolidinone 1 as the asymmetric catalyst has been found to mediate the fluorination of a large variety of aldehyde substrates with N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide serving as the electrophilic source of fluorine. A diverse spectrum of aldehyde substrates can also be accommodated in this new organocatalytic transformation. While catalyst quantities of 20 mol % were generally employed in this study, successful halogenation can be accomplished using catalyst loadings as low as 2.5 mol %.