Asymmetric Dearomatization of Indoles through a Michael/Friedel–Crafts‐Type Cascade To Construct Polycyclic Spiroindolines

A highly efficient asymmetric dearomatization of indoles was realized through a cascade reaction between 2‐isocyanoethylindole and alkylidene malonates catalyzed by a chiral N,N′‐dioxide/Mg^II catalyst. Fused polycyclic indolines containing three stereocenters were afforded in good yields with excellent diastereo‐ and enantioselectivities through a Michael/Friedel–Crafts/Mannich cascade. When 2‐substituted 2‐isocyanoethylindoles were used, spiroindoline derivatives were obtained through a Michael/Friedel–Crafts reaction.     

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Arylative Dearomatization of 2,3‐Disubstituted Indoles Enabled by Tandem Reactions

The organocatalytic asymmetric arylative dearomatization of indoles was achieved through two tandem approaches involving 2,3‐disubstituted indoles and quinone imine ketals. One approach utilized the enantioselective cascade 1,4 addition/alcohol elimination reaction, the other employed the one‐pot tandem arylative dearomatization/transfer hydrogenation sequence. In both cases, enantiomerically pure indole derivatives that bear an all‐carbon quaternary stereogenic center were generated in high yields and excellent stereoselectivities (all d.r.>95:5, up to 99 % ee).     

Highly Enantioselective Synthesis of Indolines: Asymmetric Hydrogenation at Ambient Temperature and Pressure with Cationic Ruthenium Diamine Catalysts

A highly enantioselective synthesis of indolines by asymmetric hydrogenation of 1H‐indoles and 3H‐indoles at ambient temperature and pressure, catalyzed by chiral phosphine‐free cationic ruthenium complexes, has been developed. Excellent enantio‐ and diastereoselectivities (up to >99 % ee, >20:1 d.r.) were obtained for a wide range of indole derivatives, including unprotected 2‐substituted and 2,3‐disubstituted 1H‐indoles, as well as 2‐alkyl‐ and 2‐aryl‐substituted 3H‐indoles.     

Brønsted acid-catalyzed asymmetric dearomatization of indolyl ynamides: practical and enantioselective synthesis of polycyclic indolines

Catalytic asymmetric dearomatization of indoles and alkynes has received much attention in the past decade because this strategy offers an attractive and alternative way for the efficient synthesis of valuable chiral polycyclic indolines. However, these reactions have been mostly limited to transition-metal catalysts, and the related chiral Brønsted acid catalysis has been scarcely reported. Herein, we disclose a chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed asymmetric dearomatization of indolyl ynamides by direct activation of alkynes. This metal-free method enables the practical and atom-economical construction of an array of valuable chiral polycyclic indolines in moderate to good yields with high enantioselectivities     

Palladium(0)‐Catalyzed Intermolecular Allylic Dearomatization of Indoles by a Formal [4+2] Cycloaddition Reaction

Bridged indoline derivatives were synthesized by an intermolecular Pd‐catalyzed allylic dearomatization reaction of substituted indoles. The reaction between indoles and allyl carbonates bearing a nucleophilic alcohol side‐chain proceeds in a cascade fashion, providing bridged indolines in excellent enantioselectivity.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Intermolecular Asymmetric Propargylic Dearomatization of Indoles

The first copper‐catalyzed intermolecular dearomatization of indoles by an asymmetric propargylic substitution reaction was developed. This method provides a highly efficient synthesis of versatile furoindoline and pyrroloindoline derivatives containing a quaternary carbon stereogenic center and a terminal alkyne moiety with up to 86 % yield and 98 % ee.     

Synthesis of N‐Alkylated Indolines and Indoles from Indoline and Aliphatic Ketones

A survey of redox aminations of indoline with aliphatic ketones using bismuth nitrate as catalyst is described. A reaction of an equivalent amount of indoline and aliphatic cyclic and acyclic ketones provides a mixture of excessive alkylated indole derivatives over typically redox isomerization and reductive alkylation pathways while using of the five equivalent of indoline provides N‐alkylated indolines as a reductive alkylation product. The desired N‐alkyl indoles from the oxidation of N‐alkyl indolines were obtained in excellent yields.     

Metal‐Free Enantioselective Electrophilic Activation of Allenamides: Stereoselective Dearomatization of Indoles

The effective and unprecedented chiral BINOL phosphoric acid catalyzed (1–10 mol %) dearomatization of indoles through electrophilic activation of allenamides (ee up to 94 %), is documented. Besides the synthesis of 3,3‐disubstituted indolenine cores, a dearomatization/hydrogen transfer cascade sequence is also presented as a new synthetic shortcut toward highly enantiomerically enriched indolines.     

Electrooxidation Enables Selective Dehydrogenative [4+2] Annulation between Indole Derivatives

Dearomative annulation of indoles has emerged as a powerful tool for the preparation of polycyclic indoline‐based alkaloids. Compared with well‐established methods towards five‐membered‐ring‐fused indolines, the six‐membered‐ring‐fused indolines are rarely accessed under thermal conditions. Herein, a dearomative [4+2] annulation between different indoles is developed through an electrochemical pathway. This transformation offers a remarkably regio‐ and stereoselective route to highly functionalized pyrimido[5,4‐b]indoles under oxidant‐ and metal‐free conditions. Notably, this electrochemical approach maintains excellent functional‐group tolerance and can be extended as a modification tactic for pharmaceutical research. Preliminary mechanism studies indicate that the electrooxidation annulation proceeds through radical–radical cross‐coupling between an indole radical cation and an N‐centered radical generated in situ.     

Oxidative N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed Dearomatization of Indoles to Spirocyclic Indolenines with a Quaternary Carbon Stereocenter

An efficient method for the asymmetric intramolecular dearomatization of indoles by using oxidative N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis is demonstrated. Valuable optically active spirocyclic indolenines bearing an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter are obtained in excellent yields and with excellent enantioselectivity. The starting indoles are readily prepared and the reactions proceed through an intramolecular indole 3-acylation with an in situ generated acyl azolium intermediate to form a spirocyclic ketone moiety.     

Gadolinium Photocatalysis: Dearomative [2+2] Cycloaddition/Ring‐Expansion Sequence with Indoles

Lanthanide photocatalysts are much less investigated in synthetic chemistry than rare and expensive late transition metals. We herein introduce Gd^III photocatalysis of a highly regioselective, intermolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition/ring‐expansion sequence with indoles, which could provide divergent access to cyclopenta[b]indoles and indolines. A simple and commercially available Gd(OTf)₃ salt is sufficient for this visible‐violet‐light‐induced transformation. The reaction proceeds either through a transient or start‐to‐end dearomatization cascade and shows excellent regioselectivity (usually >95:5 r.r.), broad scope (59 examples), good functional group tolerance and facile scale‐up under mild, direct visible‐light‐excitation conditions. Mechanistic investigations reveal that direct excitation of the Gd(OTf)₃/indole mixture gives an excited state intermediate, which undergoes the subsequent [2+2] cycloaddition and cyclobutane‐expansion cascade.     

Facile Installation of 2‐Reverse Prenyl Functionality into Indoles by a Tandem N‐Alkylation–Aza‐Cope Rearrangement Reaction and Its Application in Synthesis

An unprecedented tandem N‐alkylation–ionic aza‐Cope (or Claisen) rearrangement–hydrolysis reaction of readily available indolyl bromides with enamines is described. Due to the complicated nature of the two processes, an operationally simple N‐alkylation and subsequent microwave‐irradiated ionic aza‐Cope rearrangement–hydrolysis process has been uncovered. The tandem reaction serves as a powerful approach to the preparation of synthetically and biologically important, but challenging, 2‐reverse quaternary‐centered prenylated indoles with high efficiency. Notably, unusual nonaromatic 3‐methylene‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐indole architectures, instead of aromatic indoles, are produced. Furthermore, the aza‐Cope rearrangement reaction proceeds highly regioselectively to give the quaternary‐centered reverse prenyl functionality, which often produces a mixture of two regioisomers by reported methods. The synthetic value of the resulting nonaromatic 3‐methylene‐2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐indole architectures has been demonstrated as versatile building blocks in the efficient synthesis of structurally diverse 2‐reverse prenylated indoles, such as indolines, indole‐fused sultams and lactams, and the natural product bruceolline D.     

Enantioselective Construction of Spiroindolines with Three Contiguous Stereogenic Centers and Chiral Tryptamine Derivatives via Reactive Spiroindolenine Intermediates

The highly efficient synthesis of the enantioenriched spiroindolines by iridium‐catalyzed asymmetric allylic dearomatization and reduction is presented. Spiroindolines containing three contiguous stereogenic centers were obtained with excellent diastereo‐ and enantioselectivity. In addition, a chiral tryptamine derivative could be easily accessed in good yield with excellent ee value through an unprecedented dearomatization/retro‐Mannich/hydrolysis cascade reaction of an indole derivative.     

Aniline Dearomatization and Silver‐Catalyzed [3+3] Dipolar Cycloaddition: Efficient Construction of Oxocino[4,3,2‐cd]indoles from 2‐Alkynylanilines and 2‐Alkynylbenzaldoximes

2‐Alkynylanilines are attractive starting materials in indole synthesis because of their ready availability. Herein, a one‐pot stepwise procedure is reported for efficient construction of multisubstituted oxocino[4,3,2‐cd]indoles from 2‐alkynylanilines and 2‐alkynylbenzaldoximes. The method comprises the oxidative dearomatization of 2‐alkynylanilines, the silver‐catalyzed [3+3] cycloaddition with 2‐alkynylbenzaldoximes, and subsequent thermal radical skeletal rearrangement and aromatization.     

Strategies for the synthesis of 2-substituted indoles and indolines starting from acyclic alpha-phosphoryloxy enecarbamates

Strategies have been developed for the synthesis of 2-substituted indoles and indolines starting from acyclic alpha-phosphoryloxy enecarbamates. A highly chemoselective cross-coupling of N-(o-bromophenyl)-alpha-phosphoryloxyenecarbamates with boron nucleophiles enabled the efficient preparation of various N-(o-bromophenyl)enecarbamates, which served as useful precursors for subsequent Heck-type cyclization or 5-endo-trig aryl radical cyclization to furnish 2-substituted indoles or indolines, respectively.     

Enantioselective Dearomatization of Indoles by an Azoalkene‐Enabled (3+2) Reaction: Access to Pyrroloindolines

The enantioselective dearomatization of indoles by an organocatalytic (3+2) reaction has been established. The reaction makes use of simple indole derivatives as substrates, and employs azoalkenes reaction partners. A wide range of pyrroloindolines containing an all‐carbon quaternary stereogenic center were readily prepared in high yields and with excellent enantioselectivities.     

Catalytic Asymmetric N‐Alkylation of Indoles and Carbazoles through 1,6‐Conjugate Addition of Aza‐para‐quinone Methides

Catalytic asymmetric N‐alkylation of indoles and carbazoles represents a family of important but underdeveloped reactions. Herein, we describe a new organocatalytic strategy in which in situ generated aza‐para ‐quinone methides are employed as the alkylating reagent. With the proper choice of a chiral phosphoric acid and an N‐protective group, the intermolecular C−N bond formation with various indole and carbazole nucleophiles proceeded efficiently under mild conditions with excellent enantioselectivity and functional‐group compatibility. Control experiments and kinetic studies provided important insight into the reaction mechanism.     

Asymmetric Friedel-crafts reaction of indoles with imines by an organic catalyst

In this communication, we report an asymmetric Friedel-Crafts reaction of indoles with imines catalyzed by a bifunctional cinchona alkaloid catalyst. This is the first efficient organocatalytic asymmetric Friedel-Crafts reaction of indoles with imines. This reaction is operationally simple and, unprecedentedly, affords high enantioselectivity for a wide range of indoles and both aryl and alkyl imines. This establishes a direct, convergent, and versatile approach to optically active 3-indolyl methanamines, a structural motif embedded in numerous indole alkaloids and synthetic indole derivatives.     

Gadolinium Photocatalysis: Dearomative [2+2] Cycloaddition/Ring-Expansion Sequence with Indoles

Lanthanide photocatalysts are much less investigated in synthetic chemistry than rare and expensive late transition metals. We herein introduce Gd^III photocatalysis of a highly regioselective, intermolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition/ring-expansion sequence with indoles, which could provide divergent access to cyclopenta[b]indoles and indolines. A simple and commercially available Gd(OTf)₃ salt is sufficient for this visible-violet-light-induced transformation. The reaction proceeds either through a transient or start-to-end dearomatization cascade and shows excellent regioselectivity (usually >95:5 r.r.), broad scope (59 examples), good functional group tolerance and facile scale-up under mild, direct visible-light-excitation conditions. Mechanistic investigations reveal that direct excitation of the Gd(OTf)₃/indole mixture gives an excited state intermediate, which undergoes the subsequent [2+2] cycloaddition and cyclobutane-expansion cascade.     

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Cascade Reactions of 7‐Vinylindoles: Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Synthesis of C7‐Functionalized Indoles

The first catalytic asymmetric cascade reaction of 7‐vinylindoles has been established by the rational design of such substrates. Cascade reactions with isatin‐derived 3‐indolylmethanols in the presence of a chiral phosphoric acid derivative allow the diastereo‐ and enantioselective synthesis of C7‐functionalized indoles as well as the construction of cyclopenta[b]indole and spirooxindole frameworks (all >95:5 d.r., 94–>99 % ee). This approach not only addresses the great challenge of the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of C7‐functionalized indoles, but also provides an efficient method for constructing biologically important cyclopenta[b]indole and spirooxindole scaffolds with excellent optical purity. Investigation of the reaction pathway and activation mode has suggested that this cascade reaction proceeds through a vinylogous Michael addition/Friedel–Crafts process, in which dual H‐bonding activation of the two reactants plays a crucial role.