Direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions catalyzed by amino acids and small peptides

In nature there are at least nineteen different acyclic amino acids that act as the building blocks of polypeptides and proteins with different functions. Here we report that alpha-amino acids, beta-amino acids, and chiral amines containing primary amine functions catalyze direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions with high enantioselectivities. Moreover, the amino acids can be combined into highly modular natural and unusual small peptides that also catalyze direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions with high stereoselectivities, to furnish the corresponding aldol products with up to >99 % ee. Simple amino acids and small peptides can thus catalyze asymmetric aldol reactions with stereoselectivities matching those of natural enzymes that have evolved over billions of years. A small amount of water accelerates the asymmetric aldol reactions catalyzed by amino acids and small peptides, and also increases their stereoselectivities. Notably, small peptides and amino acid tetrazoles were able to catalyze direct asymmetric aldol reactions with high enantioselectivities in water, while the parent amino acids, in stark contrast, furnished nearly racemic products. These results suggest that the prebiotic oligomerization of amino acids to peptides may plausibly have been a link in the evolution of the homochirality of sugars. The mechanism and stereochemistry of the reactions are also discussed.     

Small Peptides Catalyzed Direct Aldol Reactions of Aldehydes with Hydroxyacetone with Regiocontrol in Aqueous Media

Very recently, we[1] found that L-proline amides and dipeptides acted as efficient catalysts for the asymmetric direct aldol reaction. We report here that L-proline-based peptides 1～5 can catalyze the aldol reactions of hydroxyacetone with aldehydes 6 in aqueous media, to give 1,4-diols (7), the disfavored products with either aldolase or L-proline. Both peptides 3 and 4 give good results.     

Small Organic Molecules for Direct Aldol Reaction

Since the pioneering finding by List and Barbas III and their coworkers that L-proline could work as a catalyst in the intermolecular direct aldol reaction, the concept of small organic molecules as catalysts has received great attention. However, new organic molecule which have better catalysis ability are reported scarcely. Our groups1 found L-Prolinamides 1 to be active catalysts for the direct aldol reaction of 4-nitrobenaldehyde with neat acetone at room temperature. The enantioselecti…     

Novel small organic molecules for a highly enantioselective direct aldol reaction

Novel organic molecules containing an l-proline amide moiety and a terminal hydroxyl for catalyzing direct asymmetric aldol reactions of aldehydes in neat acetone are designed and prepared. Catalyst 3d, prepared from l-proline and (1S,2S)-diphenyl-2-aminoethanol, exhibits high enantioselectivities of up to 93% ee for aromatic aldehydes and up to >99% ee for aliphatic aldehydes. A theoretical study of transition structures demonstrates the important role of the terminal hydroxyl group in the catalyst in the stereodiscrimination. Our results suggest a new strategy in the design of new organic catalysts for direct asymmetric aldol reactions and related transformations because plentiful chiral resources containing multi-hydrogen bond donors, for example, peptides, might be adopted in the design.     

Enantioselective Aldol Reactions Catalyzed by Chiral Phosphine Oxides

The development of enantioselective aldol reactions catalyzed by chiral phosphine oxides is described. The aldol reactions presented herein do not require the prior preparation of the masked enol ethers from carbonyl compounds as aldol donors. The reactions proceed through a trichlorosilyl enol ether intermediate, formed in situ from carbonyl compounds, which then acts as the aldol donor. Phosphine oxides activate the trichlorosilyl enol ethers to afford the aldol adducts with high stereoselectivities. This procedure was used to realize a directed cross‐aldol reaction between ketones and two types of double aldol reactions (a reaction at one/two α position(s) of a carbonyl group) with high diastereo‐ and enantioselectivities.     

Synthesis of novel β2,2-amino acid from D-mannose and attempted synthesis of peptides from the amino acid

The study describes the synthesis of new α,α-disubstituted β-amino acid (β^2,2-Caa) and attempts the synthesis of peptides from it. The β^2,2-Caa was prepared from D-(+)-mannose, using crossed aldol and Cannizzaro reactions.     

Transition states of amine-catalyzed aldol reactions involving enamine intermediates: theoretical studies of mechanism, reactivity, and stereoselectivity

The mechanisms, transition states, relative rates, and stereochemistries of amine-catalyzed aldol reactions involving enamine intermediates have been explored with density functional theory (B3LYP/6-31G*) and CPCM solvation models. Primary enamine-mediated aldol reactions involve half-chair transition states with hydrogen bonding leading to proton transfer. This leads to charge stabilization and low activation energies as compared to secondary enamine-mediated aldol reactions. Oxetane intermediates can be formed when C-C bond formation occurs without H-transfer in the transition state. The stereoselectivities of reactions of ketone enamines with aldehydes, including the facial stereoselectivity involving chiral aldehydes, were modeled and compared with experimental results. Transition states for the intramolecular aldol reactions leading to the formation of hydrindanone-beta-ketol and decalone-beta-ketol aldol products showed a preference for the formation of the cis-fused rings, in agreement with experimental results.     

Small peptides as modular catalysts for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction: ancient peptides with aldolase enzyme activity

Simple peptides and their analogues having a primary amino group as the catalytic residue mediate the direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reaction with high stereoselectivity and furnish the corresponding aldol products with up to 99% ee; this intrinsic ability of highly modular peptides may explain the initial molecular evolution of aldolase enzymes.     

Direct asymmetric aldol reactions inspired by two types of natural aldolases: water-compatible organocatalysts and Zn(II) complexes

In this article the utility of water-compatible amino-acid-based catalysts was explored in the development of diastereo- and enantioselective direct aldol reactions of a broad range of substrates. Chiral C(2)-symmetrical proline- and valine-based amides and their Zn(II) complexes were designed for use as efficient and flexible chiral catalysts for enantioselective aldol reactions in water, on water, and in the presence of water. The presence of 5 mol % of the prolinamide-based catalyst affords asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions between unmodified ketones and various aldehydes to give anti products with excellent enantioselectivities. We also demonstrate aldol reactions of more demanding substrates with high affinity to water (i.e., acetone and formaldehyde). Newly designed serine-based organocatalyst promoted aldol reaction of hydroxyacetone leading to syn-diols. For presented catalytic systems organic solvent-free conditions are also acceptable, making the elaborated methodology interesting from a green chemistry perspectives.     

Fluorogenic probes for aldol reactions: tuning of fluorescence using π-conjugation systems

Fluorogenic aldehydes or probes for monitoring of the progress of aldol reactions have been developed. Fluorescence of benzaldehydes conjugated with aryl groups via a double or triple bond and of their aldol products was evaluated in aqueous solutions. Based on the fluorescence, fluorogenic aldol reaction substrates and retro-aldol reaction substrates were identified. Use of the probe system with optimal fluorescence properties for aldol reactions was demonstrated in assays with purified protein catalysts and with overproduced crude protein catalysts in cell lysates.     

Catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions in aqueous media

Nature has perfected the stereospecific aldol reaction by using aldolase enzymes. While virtually all the biochemical aldol reactions use unmodified donor and acceptor carbonyls and take place under catalytic control in an aqueous environment, the chemical domain of the aldol addition has mostly relied on prior transformation of carbonyl substrates, and the whole process traditionally is carried out in anhydrous solvents. The area of aqua-asymmetric aldol reactions has received much attention recently in light of the perception both of its green chemistry advantages and its analogy to eon-perfected enzyme catalysis. Both chiral metal complexes and small chiral organic molecules have been recently reported to catalyze aldol reactions with relatively high chemical and stereochemical efficiency. This tutorial review describes recent developments in this area.     

Amino Acids Catalyzed Direct Aldol Reactions in Aqueous Micelles

Since the discovery of its roles as a good small-organic-molecule catalyst in intramolecular aldol reactions, pro line has drawn considerable attention in synthetic chemistry due to its similarity to the type-Ⅰ aldolases. Recently,List and others have reported some new direct asymmetric intermolecular reactions catalyzed by proline, including aldol, Mannich, Michael, and other analogous reactions. Except for two recent examples, [1,2] proline catalyzed aldol reactions in aqueous micelles have not been reported, nor have other amino acids as organocatalysts in directly catalyzing aldol reaction been reported. Herein we wish to present our recent results regarding environmentally be nign direct aldol reactions catalyzed by amino acids including proline, histidine and arginine in aqueous media.     

Tandem enantioselective organo- and biocatalysis: a direct entry for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure aldols

Direct proline-catalyzed aldol reactions were linked in sequence with lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolutions to afford enantiomerically pure (>99% ee) aldol adducts in higher conversion than a standard resolution of racemic materials. The combination of organocatalytic aldol reactions and enzymatic kinetic resolutions provided exclusively either the (R)- or (S)-enantiomer of the aldol adducts even though an (R)-selective lipase catalyzed the kinetic resolutions. Furthermore, the one-pot tandem reactions are inexpensive, are operationally simple, circumvents the use of organic solvent and are environmentally benign.     

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.     

1,5-Stereoinduction in boron-mediated aldol reactions of β,δ-bisalkoxy methylketones containing cyclic protecting groups

A study of the aldol reactions of boron enolates from methylketones that are protected with dimethylacetonide or di-tert-butylsilyl groups and that possess a trans or cis relationship between the chiral centers is presented. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of the relative stereochemistry between the chiral centers and the steric and electronic influences of the cyclic protecting groups on the aldol reactions. The aldol adducts were obtained with moderate to high 1,5-anti stereoselectivity that was dependent on both the identity of the protecting group on the β,δ-oxygen stereocenters and the relative stereochemistry between the β and δ chiral centers. A theoretical analysis of the transition states involving these aldol reactions was performed utilizing DFT (density functional theory).     

A new organocatalyst derived from abietic acid and 4-hydroxy-l-proline for direct asymmetric aldol reactions in aqueous media

Enantioselective direct aldol reactions were carried out in aqueous media with a new organocatalyst that was derived from 4-hydroxy-l-proline and abietic acid via a simple and convenient synthetic protocol with a high overall yield (75%). The new organocatalyst was used for aldol reactions between substituted aromatic aldehydes and various ketones in the presence of several acid additives in aqueous media. The corresponding aldol products were obtained in high isolated yields (up to 99%) and with high anti-diastereoselectivities (up to 94%) and enantioselectivities (>99.9%). The catalyst loading can be efficiently reduced to only 1 mol %. The aldol reactions were found to be extremely fast which is very unusual in organocatalyzed reactions in water.     

The Mukaiyama Aldol Reaction: 40 Years of Continuous Development

A directed cross‐aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers with carbonyl compounds, such as aldehydes and ketones, promoted by a Lewis acid, a reaction which is now widely known as the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. It was first reported in 1973, and this year marks the 40th anniversary. The directed cross‐aldol reactions mediated by boron enolates and tin(II) enolates also emerged from the Mukaiyama laboratory. These directed cross‐aldol reactions have become invaluable tools for the construction of stereochemically complex molecules from two carbonyl compounds. This Minireview provides a succinct historical overview of their discoveries and the early stages of their development.     

Mukaiyama aldol reaction using ketene silyl acetals with carbonyl compounds in ionic liquids

Mukaiyama aldol reactions using ketene silyl acetals with various aldehydes proceed smoothly in ionic liquids to afford the corresponding aldol products in moderate yields.     

Stereodefined Acyclic Polysubstituted Silyl Ketene Aminals: Asymmetric Formation of Aldol Products with Quaternary Carbon Stereocenters

The regio‐ and stereoselective formation of stereodefined polysubstituted silyl ketene aminals is easily achieved through selective combined carbometalation–oxidation–silylation reactions. These substrates are ideal candidates for Mukaiyama aldol reactions with aliphatic aldehydes as they give the aldol products with a quaternary carbon stereocenter α to the carbonyl groups in outstanding diastereoselectivities.     

Sequential hydroformylation/aldol reactions: versatile and controllable access to functionalised carbocycles from unsaturated carbonyl compounds

Three different modes of hydroformylation/aldol reaction sequences involving either acid-catalysed aldol reactions, Mukaiyama aldol addition of pre-formed enolsilanes or aldol addition of in situ generated boron enolates can be applied to unsaturated ketones and ketoesters to afford the corresponding carbocyclic aldol adducts in good yields proceeding through the intermediate activated ketoaldehydes. In selected cases, complimentary, synthetically useful diastereoselectivities were observed in the products.