An α-diaminoboryl carbanion assisted stereoselective single-pot preparation of α,β-disubstituted acrylonitriles

An α-diaminoboryl carbanion-mediated one-pot olefination directly converts an acetonitrile or the homologous nitrile into a series of α,β-disubstituted acrylonitriles in a stereoselective manner. The protocol involves the formation of an α-substituted α-diaminoboryl acetonitrile and subsequent olefination with an aldehyde. The use of an aryl or conjugated aldehyde preferentially leads to a (Z)-acrylonitrile, while an aliphatic aldehyde gave an (E)-isomer as a major product. Two complementary approaches, a linear method and a divergent method, are developed.     

One-pot preparation of azobenzenes from nitrobenzenes by the combination of an indium-catalyzed reductive coupling and a subsequent oxidation

We demonstrated how a reduction step with a reducing system comprised of In(OTf)₃ and Et₃SiH and a subsequent oxidation that occurred under an ambient (oxygen) atmosphere allowed the highly selective and catalytic conversion of aromatic nitro compounds into symmetrical or unsymmetrical azobenzene derivatives. This catalytic system displayed a tolerance for the functional groups on a benzene ring: an alkyl group, a halogen, an acetyl group, an ester, a nitrile group, an acetyl group, an ester moiety, and a sulfonamide group.     

Chiral Amine Catalyzed Reductive Aldol/Reductive Michael Addition Cascade Towards Enantioselective Synthesis of Benzannulated Diquinanes

Disclosed here an amine-catalyzed reductive aldol-condensation followed by an intramolecular reductive Michael-addition cascade employing Hantzsch ester as hydride source to a keto-bis-enone to provide enantio- and diastereoselective benzannulated diquinanes having three consecutive stereocenters, one of which is an all-carbon quaternary formyl stereocenter. Interestingly, on changing a tether connecting the ketone and an enone moiety from an aliphatic to an aromatic, a change in reactivity is observed. In this case, instead of the above-mentioned reductive aldol condensation, an asymmetric aldol reaction occurs, followed by an iminium/enamine isomerization and, finally diastereoselective Michael addition reaction occurs. As a result, a bis-benzannulated diquinane is obtained with vicinal congested quaternary chiral centers.     

Nickeladihydrofuran. Key intermediate for nickel-catalyzed reaction of alkyne and aldehyde

The formation of a nickeladihydrofuran by oxidative cyclization of an alkyne and an aldehyde with nickel(0) has been demonstrated; the transformation of the nickeladihydrofuran into an enone by decomposition, a lactone by carbonylation and an allylic alcohol by treatment with ZnMe(2) suggests that nickeladihydrofuran is an important key intermediate in a variety of catalytic reactions.     

Macrolactonization via Ti(IV)-mediated epoxy-acid coupling: a total synthesis of (-)-dactylolide [and zampanolide

A total synthesis of dactylolide (1) is described. The key feature involves the Ti(IV)-mediated coupling of structurally complex "Sharpless epoxides" and carboxylic acids in either an intramolecular (macrolactonization) or an intermolecular mode. Other notable aspects include a proton-catalyzed, cis-selective construction of the 4-methylenetetrahydropyran ring; a selective oxidation of an allylic alcohol in the presence of a 1,2-diol by an oxoammonium ion; an efficient ring-closing metathesis reaction of an in situ (bis-TMS) protected alpha,omega-diene-vic-diol; and an aluminum-mediated aza-aldol reaction of a primary amide to 1 to construct the acyclic carbinolamide in zampanolide.     

Molecular beacon-based half-adder and half-subtractor

This work demonstrates two DNA-based logic circuits that behave as a half-adder and a half-subtractor. A half-adder is composed of an AND gate and an XOR gate, whereas a half-subtractor consists of an INH gate and an XOR gate. The proposed designs are inspired by molecular beacons.     

A facile synthesis of phytosphingosine from diisopropylidene-D-mannofuranose

In the present study, an efficient method with a high overall yield for preparing phytosphingosine and an analogue was developed. Starting with commercially available 2,3;5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-d-mannofuranose, a variety of lipid moieties were incorporated to obtain phytosphingosine and an analogue. Through an eight-step manipulation, phytosphingosine was obtained with an overall yield of 57%.     

Devices for Assisting Human Olfaction: Some Fundamental Experiments

Olfactory assist systems that allow the user to sense smells with amplified sensitivities are reported. We have developed two types of systems. The first system, an olfaction augmenter, detects the presence of a volatile organic compound in the air using a gas sensor, and presents an odor with an amplified intensity to the user using an odor generator. The second system, an olfactory concentrator, collects odor molecules in the air using an adsorbent, and presents the concentrated odor to the user. Results of our initial experiments on a prototype concentrator are reported.     

Prevention of evaporation of small-volume sample solutions for capillary electrophoresis using a mineral-oil overlay.

The suppression of evaporation of water from small volumes of sample solutions or reagents for capillary electrophoresis by the use of a mineral-oil overlay was investigated in affinophoresis applications, in which the affinity constant of a mutant protein of recombinant human galectin-1 to a lactose affinophore, a triply negative charged ion having a lactoside as an affinity ligand, was determined. When an injection was carried out from a minimum of 20 microL of an aqueous solution beneath the oil overlay, no oil contamination inside the capillary was observed, provided the capillary was cleanly cut so that the end was flat, and the polyimide coating had been removed for a distance of about 2 mm from the end. Affinophoresis was carried out using 20 microL of an affinophore solution covered with an oil overlay. The abnormalities in the electropherograms as the result of the evaporation of the water from the solution during storage prior to use in an automatic operation of a capillary electrophoresis instrument were suppressed, with respect to the formation of a base line gap, an increase in the detection time of a marker ion and an increase in the initial current. A solution in a vial could be used repeatedly for a longer period of time when overlaid with mineral oil than in the absence of an overlay. The use of a mineral-oil overlay is a simple but very efficient technique for solving the problem of the evaporation of water from small volumes of aqueous solutions for use in capillary electrophoresis.     

Geometry-selective synthesis of E or Z N-vinyl ureas (N-carbamoyl enamines)

N-Vinyl ureas are emerging as a valuable class of compounds with both nucleophilic and electrophilic reactivity. They may be made by capturing the enamine tautomer of an imine with an isocyanate, a reaction which in general leads to the E isomer of the vinyl urea. Deprotonation of such a vinyl urea, or of an allyl urea, generates a dipole stabilized Z-allyl anion which may be protonated to return the Z-vinyl urea. Isomerization of an allyl urea with a Ru complex provides an alternative route to E-vinyl ureas.     

De novo asymmetric synthesis of D- and L-swainsonine

[reaction: see text] The enantioselective syntheses of both enantiomers of the indolizidine natural product swainsonine have been achieved in 13 steps from furan. The indolizidine ring system is installed by a one-pot hydrogenolysis of both an azide and an O-Bn group along with an intramolecular reductive amination reaction. The asymmetry of swainsonine was introduced by Noyori reduction of an acylfuran. This route relies upon an Achmatowicz rearrangement, a diastereoselective palladium-catalyzed glycosylation, Luche reduction, and a dihydroxylation reaction.     

Facile, efficient, and enantiospecific syntheses of 1,1'-N-linked pseudodisaccharides as a new class of glycosidase inhibitors

This article describes an efficient synthesis of a potent trehalase inhibitor, 1,1'-N-linked pseudodisaccharide 1 (consisting of two valienamines), in 14 steps with an overall yield of 12% and a first synthesis of 2 (consisting of two 2-epi-valienamines) in 15 steps with an overall yield of 24% from (-)-quinic acid. The synthesis involves a stereospecific palladium-catalyzed coupling reaction between an allylic amine and an allylic chloride as the crucial step. The acetonide blocking groups were shown to be the best hydroxyl protecting groups, compatible with the palladium-catalyzed allylic amination reaction that afforded high yields of the 1,1'-N-linked pseudodisaccharides with a minimum amount of an elimination diene side product.     

Three‐Component Asymmetric Catalytic Ugi Reaction—Concinnity from Diversity by Substrate‐Mediated Catalyst Assembly

The first chiral catalyst for the three‐component Ugi reaction was identified as a result of a screen of a large set of different BOROX catalysts. The BOROX catalysts were assembled in situ from a chiral biaryl ligand, an amine, water, BH₃?SMe₂ , and an alcohol or phenol. The catalyst screen included 13 different ligands, 12 amines, and 47 alcohols or phenols. The optimal catalyst system (LAP 8‐5‐47) provided α‐amino amides from an aldehyde, a secondary amine, and an isonitrile with excellent asymmetric induction. The catalytically active species is proposed to be an ion pair that consists of the chiral boroxinate anion and an iminium cation.     

Manipulating replication processes within a dynamic covalent framework

The reaction of an amine bearing an amidopyridine recognition site and an aldehyde bearing a carboxylic acid recognition site affords an imine that is capable of directing its own formation through a dynamic covalent replication cycle. Additionally, the amine, formed by reduction of the replicating imine, is a more efficient catalyst for the formation of the replicating imine than the imine is a catalyst for its own formation.     

Curtius rearrangement of aromatic carboxylic acids to access protected anilines and aromatic ureas

The reaction of a chloroformate or di-tert-butyl dicarbonate and sodium azide with an aromatic carboxylic acid produces the corresponding acyl azide, presumably through the formation of an azidoformate. The acyl azide undergoes a Curtius rearrangement to form an isocyanate derivative which is trapped either by an alkoxide or by an amine to form the aromatic carbamate or urea. The reaction conditions are compatible with a variety of functional groups and allow the synthesis of a number of aniline derivatives containing alkyl, halide, nitro, ketone, ether, and thioether substituents. [reaction: see text]     

Reaction competition in the fragmentation of protonated dipeptides

A major low-energy fragmentation reaction of many protonated dipeptides involves cleavage of the amide bond resulting in formation of either the y(1)" ion or the a(1) ion. For a series of protonated dipeptides H-Val-Xxx-OH it is observed that log(y(1)"/a(1)) is a linear function of the proton affinity of the variable C-terminal amino acid. For the series of protonated dipeptides H-Xxx-Phe-OH log(a(1)/y(1)") gives a poor correlation with the proton affinity or gas-phase basicity of H-Xxx-OH. However, a good limited correlation of log(a(1)/y(1)") with the Taft-Topsom sigma(alpha) for the alkyl group is observed when Xxx is an aliphatic amino acid. It is proposed that fragmentation occurs by initial formation of a proton-bound complex of an aziridinone and an amino acid which may fragment to form either a protonated amino acid (y(1)") or an N-protonated aziridinone with the corresponding neutrals being an aziridinone and an amino acid. Ab initio calculations show that the N-protonated aziridinone is unstable and fragments by loss of CO to form the a(1) immonium ion. However, the proton-bound complex of an aziridinone and an amine base is a stable species which exists in a potential well. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multicomponent synthesis of fused benzimidazolopiperazines

We present a novel protocol for the efficient synthesis of fused benzimidazolo piperazines starting from a four-component Ugi-Smiles reaction and a subsequent three-step cascade involving an acid-catalyzed cyclization, an intramolecular reductive cyclization, and an oxidation.     

Iron‐Catalyzed C?H Bond Activation for the ortho‐Arylation of Aryl Pyridines and Imines with Grignard Reagents

Direct arylation of the ortho‐C? H bond of an aryl pyridine or an aryl imine with an aryl Grignard reagent has been achieved by using an iron‐diamine catalyst and a dichloroalkane as an oxidant in a short reaction time (e.g., 5 min) under mild conditions (0 °C). The use of an aromatic co‐solvent, such as chlorobenzene and benzene, and slow addition of the Grignard reagent are essential for the high efficiency of the reaction. The present arylation reaction has distinct merits over the previously developed reaction that used an arylzinc reagent, such as its reaction rate and atom economy. Selective C? H bond activation occurs in the presence of a leaving group, such as a tosyloxy, chloro, and bromo group. Studies on a stoichiometric reaction and kinetic isotope effects shed light on the reaction intermediate and the C? H bond‐activation step.     

Copper(I) catalyzed regioselective asymmetric alkoxyamination of aryl enamide derivatives

The copper(I) catalyzed reaction of an enamide with an iminoiodane, in the presence of an alcohol, triggers the direct alkoxyamination of the double bond. This transformation represents a straightforward access to α-amino aminals in a completely regio- and diastereoselective manner. Use of a chiral Box ligand allows this reaction to be carried out in an enantioselective fashion.     

Ruthenium‐catalyzed cyclizations of enynes via a ruthenacyclopentene intermediate: Development of three novel cyclizations controlled by a substituent on alkyne of enyne

Three novel ruthenium‐catalyzed cyclizations of enynes were developed. In each cyclization, a ruthenacyclopentene derived from enyne and Cp*RuCl(cod) is a common intermediate. When an enyne having an alkyl, an ester, or a formyl group on an alkyne was reacted with Cp*RuCl(cod) under ethylene gas, ethylene was inserted into the ruthenium‐sp² carbon bond of ruthenacyclopentene to afford ruthenacycloheptene, and β‐hydrogen elimination followed by reductive elimination occurred to give a cyclic compound having a 1,3‐diene moiety. When an acyl group was placed on the alkyne, the carbonyl oxygen coordinated to the ruthenium metal of ruthenacyclopentene to produce a ruthenium carbene complex, which reacted with ethylene to give a cyclic compound having a cyclopropane ring on the substituent. On the other hand, when the substituent on the alkyne was pent‐4‐enyl, insertion of an alkene part into ruthenacyclopentene followed by reductive elimination gave a tricyclic compound by a ruthenium‐catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cyclization of diene and an alkyne. DOI 10.1002/tcr.201100003