Enantioselective route to ferrugine and its methyl analogue via aldol deoxygenation

A simple enantioselective approach to ferrugine (2α-benzoyltropane) and its methyl analogue (2-acetyltropane) is reported. The four-step sequence uses an enantioselective aldol reaction of tropinone with benzaldehyde or acetaldehyde, combined with an aldol deoxygenation via tosylhydrazone reduction and oxidation of the side-chain hydroxy group. The final products, ferrugine and its methyl analogue, are prepared in 35% and 23% overall yields, respectively. Both enantiomers of the products (ee 90-99%) are accessible via the same route using either enantiomer of N,N-bis(1-phenylethyl)amine hydrochloride as the chiral reagent.     

Synthesis and isomer distribution of 2-alkyltropinones and 2-alkylgranatanones

Tropinone (8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-one) metal (Li, Na, K, Mg) enolates were used to achieve α-alkylation. The reactions, regardless of the metal or conditions used, were low-yielding. N,N-Dimethylhydrazones of tropinone and granatanone (pseudopelletierine, 9-methyl-9-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-3-one) were prepared and α-alkylated using n-butyllithium as the lithiating reagent. Lithium amides, including a polymer-supported lithium amide, were less effective. The reactions were modelled using DFT calculations at the B3LYP 6-31G(d) level and the CPCM solvent model, revealing that the face-selective alkylations of tropinone and granatanone hydrazones favoured the exo-isomers. Granatanone and α-isopropyl tropinone derivatives resisted typical mild hydrolytic hydrazone cleavage (aqueous trifluoroacetic acid) and required more forceful conditions (p-TsOH, boiling dioxane). Using the hydrazone alkylation strategy, 16 α-alkyl derivatives (benzyl, methyl, propyl, isopropyl, allyl, pentyl, heptyl, p-methoxybenzyl) were prepared in 52–90% yields overall. For the α-alkylated tropinones and granatanones (10 examples), the DFT calculations and experimental thermodynamic distributions in base catalysed equilibrations showed that except for the α-isopropyl derivatives, the endo-isomers were more stable than the exo-isomers and were the major products. For 2-isopropyltropinone, the bulky substituent favoured the exo (axial) position in the bicyclic skeleton. The thermodynamic distribution for the α,α′-dibenzyl tropinone isomers was also evaluated.     

Selective O-acylation of unprotected N-benzylserine methyl ester and O,N-acyl transfer in the formation of cyclo[Asp-Ser] diketopiperazines

The synthesis of two diastereomeric cyclo[Asp-N-Bn-Ser] diketopiperazines (2a and 2b) was investigated. Initial formation of the Boc-aspartyl-N-benzyl serine isopeptide methyl esters (4a and 4b) was observed, which derive from the selective O-acylation of unprotected (S)- or (R)-N-benzylserine. This unexpected O-acylation is preferred over the formation of the tertiary amide and the resulting ester bond is stable in solution to O,N-acyl transfer. The O,N-acyl migration is then triggered by cleavage of the Boc protecting group and treatment with base, which also promotes immediate cyclization to the diketopiperazines.     

Metal-free and highly regioselective synthesis of N-heteroaryl substituted pyrazoles from α,β-unsaturated N-tosylhydrazones and heteroaryl chlorides

A cascade cyclization/nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S_NAr) reaction of α,β-unsaturated N-tosylhydrazones with N-heteroaryl chlorides was developed for the synthesis of N-heteroaryl pyrazole derivatives. This one-pot reaction provided bi(heteroaryl) derivatives in good to excellent yields and with excellent regioselectivity. The procedure is operationally simple and applicable to large-scale synthesis.     

A common and stereoselective strategy for the synthesis of N,O,O,O-tetra-acetyl d-ribo-(2S,3S,4R)-phytosphingosine and 2-epi-jaspine B

A common and stereoselective strategy for the synthesis of N,O,O,O-tetra-acetyl d-ribo-(2S,3S,4R)-phytosphingosine and 2-epi-jaspine B was achieved by using Grignard addition on N-benzyl sugar lactamine and Wittig olefination as key steps.     

A stereoselective synthesis of (2S,4R)-δ-hydroxyleucine methyl ester: a component of cyclomarin A

(2S,4R)-δ-Hydroxyleucine methyl ester, the N-demethyl analogue of an amino acid contained within the macrocycle of cyclomarin A, was successfully synthesized using Davis’ asymmetric Strecker reaction.     

Asymmetric synthesis of (−)-(S,S)-homaline

The asymmetric synthesis of (−)-(S,S)-homaline was achieved in 8 steps from commercially available starting materials using the diastereoselective conjugate addition of the novel lithium amide reagent lithium (R)-N-(3-chloropropyl)-N-(α-methyl-p-methoxybenzyl)amide to methyl cinnamate to install the correct stereochemistry. Subsequent functional group manipulation of the resultant β-amino ester and Sb(OEt)₃-mediated macrolactamisation was followed by homodimerisation to give (−)-(S,S)-homaline in 18% overall yield, representing the first asymmetric, and by far the most efficient synthesis of this natural product reported to date.     

Iridium-catalyzed enantioselective allylation of sodium 2-aminobenzenethiolate: an access to chiral benzo-fused N,S-heterocycles

The use of sodium 2-aminobenzenethiolate in the enantioselective iridium catalyzed allylic substitution with a range of methyl allyl carbonates allows the concise synthesis of the branch-type products with both excellent regio- and enantioselectivities, which are functionalized N,S-containing allylic intermediates for the formation of chiral benzo-fused N,S-heterocycles.     

Electrochemical synthesis of new organic compounds based on the oxidation of 1,4-dihydroxybenzene derivatives in the presence of primary and secondary amines

An efficient method for the synthesis of 2-benzyl(4-hydroxyphenyl)amino)-6-(benzylamino)-p-benzoquinone derivatives and 2,5-bis-benzyl(methyl)amino)-p-benzoquinone based on the Michael type reaction is described. The electrochemically generated p-benzoquinone reacted with benzylamine derivatives (primary amines) and N-methylbenzylamine (a secondary amine), respectively, to produce the final products. In this work, some new symmetric and asymmetric p-benzoquinone derivatives are synthesized using green solvents with high yields.     

Practical synthesis of (2S,3R)-3-hydroxy-3-methylproline, a constituent of papuamides, using a diastereoselective tandem Michael-aldol reaction

(2S,3R)-3-Hydroxy-3-methylproline, a constituent of cyclodepsipeptides polyoxypeptins A and B, was efficiently synthesized by lithium chloride-induced diastereoselective tandem Michael-aldol reaction using methyl vinyl ketone and N-1-naphthylsulfonylglycine (R)-binaphthyl ester and subsequent hydrolysis of the product in 39% overall yield and five steps.     

Optically active imidazole N-oxides derived from l-prolinamine1

Starting with (S)-1-benzylprolinamine and α-hydroxyimino ketones, enantiomerically pure bisheterocyclic imidazole N-oxides bearing the (S)-configured N-benzyl(pyrrolidin-2-yl)methyl residue were prepared. These N-oxides reacted with 2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutane-1,3-dithione to give the corresponding optically active imidazole-2-thione derivatives via a sulfur transfer reaction. Reduction of the N-oxides with Raney-nickel led to deoxygenation, whereas catalytic hydrogenation (Pd/C) in ethanol occurred with simultaneous deoxygenation and debenzylation, leading to optically active 1-(pyrrolidin-2-yl)methyl-1H-imidazoles. Alkylation of the prepared imidazole N-oxides and their respective imidazoles with butyl and hexyl bromide and subsequent anion exchange gave optically active N-alkoxy- and N-alkylimidazolium tetrafluoroborates, respectively, with the properties of ‘room temperature ionic liquids’.     

Racemic N-sulfonyloxaziridines as highly diastereoselective enolate hydroxylating agents: enantioselective synthesis of (2S,3S)-3-amino-N-cyclopropyl-2-hydroxyhexanamide

A new, highly enantioselective synthesis of (2S,3S)-3-amino-N-cyclopropyl-2-hydroxyhexanamide, a synthetic fragment of the experimental hepatitis C drug Telaprevir, has been described. Conjugate addition of the enantiomerically pure Davies lithium amide followed by hydroxylation of the in situ generated β-amino enolate was employed for the formation of the required stereogenic centres. Importantly, very high diastereoselectivities can still be achieved in the key-step when the relatively expensive and enantiopure (camphorsulfonyl)oxaziridine hydroxylating agent is replaced by racemic trans-N-sulfonyloxaziridines. Among the tested N-sulfonyloxaziridines the iso-propyl substituted analogue proved to be the ideal choice from an economic viewpoint.     

The exo-selectivity of the new non-natural chiral auxiliary (+)-(1R,endo)-2-benzonorbornenol in an asymmetric aza-Diels-Alder reaction

The recently reported compound (+)-(1R,endo)-2-benzonorbornenol (2) proved to be an efficient chiral auxiliary in the asymmetric aza-Diels-Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and the N-benzyl imine of its glyoxylate, which afforded a virtually all-exo mixture of cycloaducts with a 1S:1R diastereomeric ratio of 63:37.     

Stereoselective synthesis of both enantiomers of trans-2-(diphenylmethylideneamino)cyclopropanecarboxylic acid using a chiral pool approach and their incorporation in dipeptides

The stereoselective synthesis of (1R,2R)- and (1S,2S)-trans-2-(diphenylmethylideneamino)cyclopropanecarboxylic acid has been accomplished in six steps starting from (2S)- and (2R)-β-benzyl N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)aspartate, respectively. The key-step in the reaction sequence is a stereoselective base-induced ring closure with a good trans diastereoselectivity. These novel trans-β-ACC derivatives could be incorporated in dipeptides employing a standard peptide coupling technique.     

Synthesis and crystal structures of the first C2-symmetric bis-aldimine NCN-pincer complexes of platinum and palladium

(S,S)-2,6-bis[(N-α-methylbenzyl)imino]phenylpalladium bromide was synthesised by oxidative addition of palladium(0) to (S,S)-1-bromo-2,6-bis[(N-α-methylbenzyl)imino]benzene. In contrast, (S,S)-2,6-bis[(N-α-methylbenzyl)imino]phenylplatinum chloride was synthesised by direct C-H activation from the reaction of potassium tetrachloroplatinate with (S,S)-1,3-bis[(N-α-methylbenzyl)imino]benzene. The X-ray crystal structures of both pincer complexes were obtained. Treatment of both complexes with silver hexafluoroanimonate gave effective but not stereoselective catalysts for a Michael reaction between methyl vinyl ketone and methyl 2-cyanopropanoate.     

Stereoselective synthesis of safingol and its natural stereoisomer from d-glycals

Efficient and convenient syntheses of (2S,3S)-safingol and its natural (2S,3R)-isomer have been developed from 3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl glycals. The key step is the one-pot reduction of an azide, saturation of the double bonds and debenzylation under catalytic hydrogenation.     

Addition of chlorine,bromine and bromine chloride to some α,β-unsaturated methyl esters

The additions of chlorine, bromine and bromine chloride to trans methyl 2-butenoate 1, trans methyl 2-methyl-2-butenoate 2 and methyl 3-methyl-2-butenoate 3 under ionic conditions were studied. Bromine chloride addition always gave as a major regioisomer the 2-bromo-3--chloro compound,almost quantitatively in the case of 3. The mechanism of bromonium ion ring-opening (S_N1 or S_N2) is discussed with respect to the double bond substitution and regioisomer proportions. The dihalo products were identified by MS, ¹H and ¹³C NMR.     

Enantioselective hydrogen transfer hydrogenation on rhodium colloid systems with optically active stabilizers

Hydrogen transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone and methyl benzoylformate with 2-propanol was studied on colloidal systems obtained by reduction of rhodium complexes in the presence of optically active compounds: chiral diamines, quaternary salt (4S,5S)-(–)-N¹,N⁴-dibenzylene-2,3-dihydroxy-N¹,N¹,N⁴,N⁴-tetramethylbutane-1,4-diammonium dichloride and (8S,9R)-(–)-cinchonidine. The increase in the molar ratio modifier/Rh leads to the increase in the enantioneric excess (ee) of the reaction products. The largest ee [43.8% of (R)-1-phenylethanol and 58.2% of methyl ester of (R)-mandelic acid] were achieved for the ratios (8S,9R)-(–)-cinchonadine: Rh = 9: 1 and 3: 1, respectively. The catalyst was characterized by the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and thermal analysis.     

Asymmetric synthesis of N,O,O,O-tetra-acetyl d-lyxo-phytosphingosine,jaspine B (pachastrissamine) and its C(2)-epimer

The highly diastereoselective conjugate addition of lithium (S)-N-benzyl-N-(α-methylbenzyl)amide to a γ-silyloxy-α,β-unsaturated ester and in situ enolate oxidation with (+)-(camphorsulfonyl)oxaziridine has been used as the key step in the asymmetric synthesis of N,O,O,O-tetra-acetyl d-lyxo-phytosphingosine, jaspine B (pachastrissamine) and its C(2)-epimer.     

A new approach to (S)-4-hydroxy-2-pyrrolidinone and its 3-substituted analogues

Successive treatment of a phenyl thioether derived from (S)-malic acid with n-BuLi, lithium naphthalenide (LN), and electrophiles led to 4-hydroxy-3-substituted 2-pyrrolidinones in one-pot and in high regio- and diastereoselectivity at C-3. N-Debenzylation of 1-benzyl-4-hydroxy-2-pyrrolidinone using LN afforded naturally occurring (−)-(S)-4-hydroxy-2-pyrrolidinone. (−)-(3S,4S)-4-Hydroxy-3-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone, the lactam form of the γ-amino acid residue found in marine natural products, bistramides, was prepared by the same method.