Asymmetric protonation of lithium enolates of alpha-amino acid derivatives with alpha-amino acid-based chiral Brønsted acids

The reaction of lithium enolates of alpha-amino acid derivatives with chiral amides, easily synthesized from L-tert-leucine, gives corresponding optically active unnatural alpha-amino acid derivatives with up to 87% ee.     

Highly enantioselective phase-transfer-catalyzed alkylation of protected alpha-amino acid amides toward practical asymmetric synthesis of vicinal diamines, alpha-amino ketones, and alpha-amino alcohols

Highly enantioselective alkylation of protected glycine diphenylmethyl (Dpm) amide 1 and Weinreb amide 10 has been realized under phase-transfer conditions by the successful utilization of designer chiral quaternary ammonium salts of type 4 as catalyst. Particularly, remarkable reactivity of the chiral ammonium enolate derived from 1b and 4c allowed the reaction with less reactive simple secondary alkyl halides with high efficiency and enantioselectivity. An additional unique feature of this chiral ammonium enolate is its ability to recognize the chirality of beta-branched primary alkyl halides, which provides impressive levels of kinetic resolution and double stereodifferentiation during the alkylation, allowing for two alpha- and gamma-stereocenters to be controlled. Combined with the subsequent reduction using LiAlH4 in cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), this system offers a facile access to structurally diverse optically active vicinal diamines. Furthermore, the optically active alpha-amino acid Weinreb amide 11 can be efficiently converted to the corresponding amino ketone by a simple treatment with Grignard reagents. In addition, reduction and alkylation of the optically active alpha-amino ketone into both syn and anti alpha-amino alcohols with almost complete relative and absolute stereochemical control have been achieved. With (S,S)- and (R,R)-4 in hand, the present approach renders both enantiomers of alpha-amino amides including Weinreb amides readily available with enormous structural variation and also establishes a general and practical route to vicinal diamines, alpha-amino ketones, and alpha-amino alcohols with the desired stereochemistry.     

Asymmetric 1,4-addition of oxazolones to nitroalkenes by bifunctional cinchona alkaloid thiourea organocatalysts: synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids

An easy and simple synthetic approach to optically active alpha,alpha-quaternary alpha-amino acids using asymmetric organocatalysis is presented. The addition of oxazolones to nitroalkenes catalyzed by thiourea cinchona derivatives provides the corresponding alpha,alpha-quaternary alpha-amino acid derivatives with good yields, excellent diastereoselectivities (up to 98 % dr), and from moderate to good enantioselectivities (up to 92 % ee). The reaction can be performed on a large scale. The optically active oxazolone-nitroalkene addition products can be opened in a one-pot reaction to the corresponding ester-amide derivatives. Additional transformations are also presented, such as the synthesis of amino esters, amino acids, and transformation into 3,4-disubstituted pyrrolidin-2-ones.     

An easy entry to optically active alpha-amino phosphonic acid derivatives using phase-transfer catalysis (PTC)

The unprecedented use of phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) in an asymmetric hydrophosphonylation reaction allows the obtainment of a range of optically active alpha-amino phosphonic acid derivatives directly from alpha-amido sulfones.     

Solvent-controlled asymmetric Strecker reaction: stereoselective synthesis of alpha-trifluoromethylated alpha-amino acids

[reaction: see text] Stereoselective approaches to alpha-trifluoromethylated alpha-amino acids (alpha-Tfm AAs) have been developed. The stereoconfigurations of the resulting alpha-Tfm AA precursors were well controlled by using different solvents. The optically active (S)-2-amino-2-phenyl-1,1,1-trifluoropropanoic acid was synthesized by this method.     

Direct catalytic asymmetric mannich reactions of malonates and beta-keto esters

The first catalytic asymmetric direct Mannich reaction of malonates and beta-keto esters has been developed. Malonates react with an activated N-tosyl-alpha-imino ester catalyzed by chiral tert-butyl-bisoxazoline/Cu(OTf)(2) to give the Mannich adducts in high yields and with up to 96% ee. These reactions create a chiral quaternary carbon center and it is demonstrated that this new direct Mannich reactions provides for example a new synthetic procedure for the formation of optically active beta-carboxylic ester alpha-amino acid derivatives. A series of different beta-keto esters with various ester substituents has been screened as substrates for the catalytic asymmetric direct Mannich reaction and it was found that the best results in terms of yield, diastereo- and enantioselectivity were obtained when tert-butyl esters of beta-keto esters were used as the substrate. The reaction of different beta-keto tert-butyl esters with the N-tosyl-alpha-imino ester gave the Mannich adducts in high yields, diastereo- and enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee) in the presence of chiral tert-butyl-bisoxazoline/Cu(OTf)(2) as the catalyst. To expand the synthetic utility of this direct Mannich reaction a diastereoselective decarboxylation reaction was developed for the Mannich adducts leading to a new synthetic approach to attractive optically active beta-keto alpha-amino acid derivatives. Based on the stereochemical outcome of the reactions, various approaches of the N-tosyl-alpha-imino ester to the chiral bisoxazoline/Cu(II)-substrate intermediate are discussed.     

A highly enantioselective amino acid-catalyzed route to functionalized alpha-amino acids

The development of syntheses providing enantiomerically pure alpha-amino acids has intrigued generations of chemists and been the subject of intense research. This report describes a general approach to functionalized alpha-amino acids based on catalytic asymmetric synthesis. Proline catalyzed Mannich-type reactions of N-PMP-protected alpha-imino ethyl glyoxylate with a variety of unmodified ketones to provide functionalized alpha-amino acids in high yields with excellent regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivities. Study of seven examples yielded six with product ee values of > or = 99%. In reactions involving ketone donors where diastereoisomeric products could be formed, two adjacent stereogenic centers were created simultaneously upon carbon-carbon bond formation with complete syn-stereocontrol. Significantly, this methodology utilizes readily available and rather inexpensive starting materials, does not require any preactivation of substrates or metal ion assistance, and can be carried out on a gram scale under operationally simple reaction conditions. The keto-functionality present in the products provides a particularly attractive site for versatile modifications. This study compliments and extends our bioorganic approach to asymmetric synthesis to a versatile synthon class. Given that we have shown that a variety of optically active amino acids can be synthesized with proline catalysis, where an L-amino acid begets other L-amino acids, our results may stimulate thoughts concerning prebiotic syntheses of optically active amino acids based on this route.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric 1,6-additions of beta-ketoesters and glycine imine

The first organocatalytic enantioselective 1,6-addition of beta-ketoesters and benzophenone imine to electron-poor delta-unsubstituted dienes using cinchona alkaloids under phase-transfer conditions is demonstrated. The scope of the reaction for the beta-ketoesters is outlined for reactions with different delta-unsubstituted dienes having ketones, esters, and sulfones as electron-withdrawing substituents giving the corresponding optically active products in good yields and enantioselectivities in the range of 90-99% ee. The 1,6-addition also proceeds with a number of cyclic beta-ketoesters having different ring sizes, ring systems and substituents in high yields and enantioselectivities. The potential of this new organocatalytic 1,6-addition for beta-ketoesters is demonstrated by a two-step synthesis of the bicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-one structure, a bicyclic bridged skeleton occurring in a variety of natural compounds. Benzophenone imines also undergo the organocatalytic asymmetric 1,6-addition to the activated dienes in high yields and with enantioselectivities from 92% to 98% ee, except in one case. The synthetic utility of this asymmetric reaction is demonstrated by the two-step transformation of the allylated alpha-amino acid derivative to highly attractive optically active pyrrolidines.     

A highly stereoselective synthesis of optically active trisubstituted 1,2-ethylenediamines: the first example of grignard addition to N-diphenylphosphinoyl ketimines derived from amino acids

The efficient synthesis of optically active trisubstituted 1,2-ethylenediamines is described. Addition of aryl and/or alkyl Grignard reagents to alpha-amino N-diphenylphosphinoyl ketimines derived from alpha-amino acids was demonstrated to afford the desired trisubstituted 1,2-ethylenediamines in good yields and with high diastereoselectivities. Subsequent removal of the diphenyphosphinoyl group from the adduct was smoothly accomplished in reasonable yield without racemization under newly developed reductive conditions.     

Synthesis of hydantoins from enantiomerically pure alpha-amino amides without epimerization

A method for the preparation of enantiomerically pure hydantoins from optically pure alpha-amino amides utilizing triphosgene is described. We also propose that the racemization observed with 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) for this type of reaction is due to the imidazole carbamate intermediates.     

Synthesis of (-)-quinocarcin by directed condensation of alpha-amino aldehydes

An enantioselective synthesis of the natural antiproliferative agent quinocarcin was achieved by the directed condensation of optically active alpha-amino aldehyde intermediates. Condensation of the N-protected alpha-amino aldehyde 1, prepared in eight steps (19% yield) from (R,R)-pseudoephedrine glycinamide, with the C-protected alpha-amino aldehyde derivative 2, prepared in seven steps (34% yield) from (R,R)-pseudoephedrine glycinamide, afforded the corresponding imine in quantitative yield. Without isolation, direct treatment of this imine intermediate with 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) and hydrogen cyanide led to cleavage of the fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) protective group followed by addition of cyanide (Strecker reaction) to form the bis-amino nitriles 3 as a mixture of diastereomers, in 91% yield. Treatment of the diastereomers 3 with trimethylsilyl cyanide and zinc chloride in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol at 60 degrees C led to stepwise cyclization to form the tetracyclic product 4 (42% yield from 1 and 2). The latter intermediate was transformed into (-)-quinocarcin (1) in five steps (45% yield). The yield of quinocarcin was 19% from 1 and 2 (7 steps), and 4% from pseudoephedrine glycinamide (15 steps).     

A novel one-step approach for the preparation of alpha-amino acids,alpha-amino amides,and dipeptides from azetidine-2,3-diones

A remarkable reaction of azetidine-2,3-diones with primary as well as secondary amines, and water is presented. Simply by varying the nucleophile, an unprecedented one-step synthesis of alpha-amino acids, alpha-amino amides, and dipeptides, was developed in both the racemic and optically pure forms. The current mechanistic hypothesis invokes a concerted process involving CO extrusion. However, a stepwise pathway can also account for these novel transformations.     

Optically active aromatic and heteroaromatic alpha-amino acids by a one-pot catalytic enantioselective addition of aromatic and heteroaromatic C-H bonds to alpha-imino esters

The development of a practical one-pot catalytic enantioselective procedure for the synthesis of non-natural aromatic and heteroaromatic alpha-amino acids is reported. Starting from readily available starting materials and application of a chiral BINAP-Cu(I) catalyst, the optically active products are formed with readily removable N-protecting groups. The scope of the reaction is demonstrated by the addition of substituted furans, thiophenes, pyrroles, and aromatic compounds to N-alkoxycarbonyl-alpha-imino esters in good yields and with enantioselectivities up to 96% ee for the furans, 93% ee for the thiophenes, and 98% for the aromatic compounds. The protecting groups are readily removed, and various transformations of the aromatic and heteroaromatic alpha-amino acids are demonstrated. The coordination of the N-alkoxycarbonyl alpha-imino ester to the chiral BINAP-Cu(I) complex and the enantioselectivity of the catalyst is discussed on the basis of the DFT calculations and X-ray crystallographic data.     

TiCl4-promoted multicomponent reaction: a new entry to functionalized alpha-amino acids

TiCl(4)-promoted multicomponent reactions involving N-tosyl imino ester, cyclic enol ether, and silane reagents in a single one-pot operation provide functionalized alpha-amino acids with multiple stereogenic centers in good to excellent yields. Cis/trans selectivities with optically active substituted dihydrofurans have been investigated.     

A facile approach to the synthesis of chiral 2-substituted benzofurans

An effective route to chiral optically active 2-substituted benzofurans directly from carboxylic acids is reported. This procedure, which allows the preparation of alpha-alkyl-2-benzofuranmethanamines from N-protected alpha-amino acids without sensible racemization phenomena, proceeds in good yields under mild conditions with the help of microwave irradiation.     

Synthesis and antiulcer activity of optical isomers of 2-(4-chlorobenzoylamino)-3-[2(1H)-quinolinon-4-yl]propionic acid (rebamipide).

The enantiomers of 2-(4-chlorobenzoylamino)-3-[2(1H)-quinolinon-4-yl] propionic acid [(+/-)-1, rebamipide, OPC-12759], a new antiulcer agent that enhances mucosal resistance, were synthesized from optically active alpha-amino acid derivatives of 2(1H)-quinolinone. The key intermediates, alpha-amino acid derivatives, were prepared by asymmetric synthesis and optical resolution. The (+)-1 was about 1.7 times as potent as the (-)-isomer in antiulcer activity against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers.     

Michael addition of amine derivatives to conjugate phosphinyl and phosphonyl nitrosoalkenes. Preparation of alpha-amino phosphine oxide and phosphonate derivatives

The synthesis of nitrosoalkenes derived from phosphine oxides and phosphonates generated through base-mediated dehydrohalogenations of readily available alpha-halooximes is reported. These highly reactive intermediates act as Michael acceptors toward nucleophilic reagents such as ammonia, amines, and optically active amino esters, furnishing alpha-amino phosphine oxides and phosphonates in a highly regioselective fashion.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric conjugate addition to allenic esters and ketones

The first example of an organocatalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of cyclic beta-ketoesters and glycine imine derivatives to electron-deficient allenes is described. We disclose that the corresponding chiral beta,gamma-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are formed exclusively under phase-transfer conditions using either cinchona-alkaloid-derived or biphenyl-based chiral quaternary ammonium salts as catalysts. The scope of the reaction for beta-ketoesters is outlined for allenes having a ketone or ester motif as electron-withdrawing group as well as different substituents in the 3-position, giving the optically active products in high yields and excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities (90-96% ee). The conjugate addition also proceeds for a number of cyclic beta-ketoesters having different ring sizes, ring systems, and substituents in high yields and enantioselectivities. Glycine imine derivatives also undergo the asymmetric conjugate addition to electron-deficient allenes in high yields and with enantioselectivities in the range of 60-88% ee, thus providing a rapid entry to optically active alpha-vinyl-substituted alpha-amino acid derivatives. It is shown that the enantioselectivity is strongly dependent on the size of the ester moiety of the nucleophile in combination with the catalytic system used. The high synthetic value of the chiral products arising from these new catalytic processes is demonstrated by two straightforward transformations leading in one case to optically active hexahydrobenzopyranones and in the other to substituted pyroglutamates (gamma-lactames).     

Catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-alder reactions of imines--an approach to optically active nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids

A catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of imines has been developed. The reaction of N-tosyl alpha-imino ester with different dienes including activated, non-activated, cyclic, and acyclic dienes has been investigated in the presence of various chiral Lewis acids. A series of phosphino-oxazoline ligands have been synthesized and evaluated for the reaction. It was found that the combination of phosphino-oxazoline ligands with copper(I) salts gives the best results for the activated dienes, while BINAP-copper(I) complexes are good catalysts for all the dienes studied. In the case of activated acyclic dienes the aza-Diels-Alder products can be obtained in higher than 80% isolated yield and 96% ee, while for the unactivated cyclic dienes the exo diastereomer is formed as the major product in up to 95 % ee. For an activated cyclic conjugated diene, 2-trimethylsilyloxy-1,3-cyclohexadiene, the reaction proceeds as a Mannich-type addition reaction giving optically active gamma-oxo alpha-amino acid derivatives in good yields and up to 96% ee. The reaction of an unactivated acyclic diene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, with the N-tosyl alpha-imino ester gives both the aza-Diels-Alder and aza-ene products, in a ratio of 9:1 favoring the aza-Diels-Alder product. Furthermore, a series of different imines have been synthesized and investigated as possible substrates for the present catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction in order to obtain mechanistic insight. All imines studied gave moderate to high ee. Particularly, the reaction of the N-phenyl and N-p-methoxyphenyl substituted glyoxylate imines with Danishefsky's diene proceeded well affording the corresponding aza-Diels-Alder product in high yield with up to 91% ee at room temperature. The present catalytic enantioselective reaction of imines provided an effective route to optically active nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids. The products of the catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of the cyclic dienes can be used for the preparation of key compounds such as natural products and compounds of pharmaceutical interest. The absolute configurations of five products have been solved by X-ray structural analysis, and it is found that the absolute configuration of the aza-Diels-Alder adduct is dependent on the substituent on the imine nitrogen atom. It turned out that the N-tosyl glyoxylate imine and N-p-methoxyphenyl glyoxylate imine give the aza-Diels-Alder adduct with opposite absolute configuration using the same enantiomer of the catalyst. On the basis of the results the mechanistic aspects for the reactions are discussed.     

General route to racemic and enantiomeric carbo- and heterocyclic vinyl sulfoxides via tandem Michael addition/Horner olefination of alpha-phosphorylvinyl sulfoxides

A new one-pot synthesis of heterocyclic and carbocyclic vinyl sulfoxides has been developed which involves reaction of alpha-phosphorylvinyl sulfoxides with carbonyl compounds bearing oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon nucleophilic centers. Use of optically active alpha-phosphorylvinyl p-tolyl sulfoxides in this tandem Michael addition/Horner olefination reaction leads to the corresponding optically active cyclic sulfoxides. In this way, a variety of optically active chromene, pyrrolizine, chinoline, and cyclopentene sulfoxides have been efficiently prepared.