Diastereoselective addition of organolithiums to 1,3-oxazolidines complexed with aluminum tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (ATPH)

1,3-Oxazolidines were easily obtained by condensation of N-substituted (R)-phenylglycinol with aldehydes. Addition of organolithium reagents to 1,3-oxazolidines by complexation with the bulky Lewis acid aluminum tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (ATPH) readily produced the corresponding chiral amines with good yield and high diastereoselectivity. The configuration of the new stereogenic center was shown to be opposite to that of adducts obtained for the same 1,3-oxazolidines using Grignard reagents. The best diastereoselectivity was achieved using N-isopropyl-1,3-oxazolidines. The mechanism of addition was deduced by determining the stereochemistry of the iminium-aluminum complex by NOE experiments.     

Enantioselective synthesis of 1-deoxy-d-gulonojirimycin from a phenylglycinol-derived lactam

Cyclocondensation of (R)-phenylglycinol with appropriately γ-substituted δ-oxo acid derivatives provides bicyclic lactams from which the enantioselective synthesis of 1-deoxy-d-gulonojirimycin has been reported.     

Synthesis of difluorinated pseudopeptides using chiral α,α-difluoro-β-amino acids in the Ugi reaction

2,2-Difluoro-3-(2-hydroxy-1 R-phenylethylamino)-3 S-phenylpropionic acid 3, obtained by a Reformatsky-type reaction of ethyl bromodifluoroacetate with (4R)-2,4-diphenyloxazolidine, was used as a classical carboxylic acid in the Ugi reaction to prepare various difluorinated pseudopeptides 5a-n. Compounds 5 were then deprotected by hydrogenolysis to furnish difluorinated pseudopeptides 6.     

A general synthetic route to enantiopure cis-fused perhydrocycloalka[c]pyridines from phenylglycinol-derived lactams

A synthetic route to enantiopure piperidines bearing a five-, six-, or seven-membered carbocyclic ring cis-fused on the c side of the heterocycle from a common phenylglycinol-derived δ-lactam is reported. Key steps are (i) a cyclocondensation reaction of (R)-phenylglycinol with a racemic γ-oxoester in a process that involves a dynamic kinetic resolution; (ii) a highly stereoselective conjugate addition of an organocuprate to an unsaturated δ-lactam; and (iii) a ring-closing olefin metathesis.     

A reversible fluorescent–colorimetric Schiff base sensor for Hg ion

A simple (R)-(−)-2-phenylglycinol functionalized Schiff base L1 and its characterization as a fluorescent–colorimetric sensor for Hg²⁺ ion are described. The UV–vis and fluorescence analysis in methanol and aqueous solution show complex formation between L1 and Hg²⁺ ion with a micromolar association constant. Competition experiments performed for the acetate salts of Hg²⁺, Zn²⁺, Co²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Mn²⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Ba²⁺ revealed that compound L1 exhibits high selectivity toward Hg²⁺ displaying a color change easily detectable by naked-eye and a turn-off fluorescent effect due to a chelation-enhanced quenching (CHEQ) mechanism. Moreover, addition of EDTA to L1–Hg²⁺ recovers the fluorescence and color offering receptor L1 as a reversible sensor for real-time applications.     

Enantioselective synthesis of 2-[(3-ethyl-4-piperidyl)methyl]indoles from a phenylglycinol-derived lactam: formal synthesis of Strychnos alkaloids

A diastereodivergent synthesis of enantiopure cis- and trans-2-[(3-ethyl-4-piperidyl)methyl]indole (cis-1b and trans-1b) from a common phenylglycinol-derived oxazolopiperidone lactam 3 is reported. The key step is a stereocontrolled conjugate addition, either under kinetic or thermodynamic control, of the dilithium salt of 2-(2-indolyl)-1,3-dithiane to unsaturated lactam 3.     

Short asymmetric syntheses of homoallylic, homopropargylic and allenic silylated primary amines

Amino alcohols derived from phenylglycinol and having vinyl-, alkynyl- or allenylsilane moieties were transformed in the corresponding primary amines in two steps: oxidative cleavage of phenylglycinol and transimination with phenylhydrazine. This methodology gave general access to enantiomerically enriched amines without loss of enantioselectivity.     

Studies on the diastereoselective reductive alkylation of (R)-phenylglycinol derived phthalimide: observation of stereoelectronic effects

Full details of a flexible approach to N-protected (R)-3-alkyl-isoindolin-1-ones 13 via diastereoselective reductive-alkylation are described, with emphasis on the stereochemical outcome of the key diastereoselective reactions. Additional experiments allowed finding remarkable stereoelectronic effects on the reductive ring-opening reactions.