Assembly of Fluorinated Quaternary Stereogenic Centers through Catalytic Enantioselective Detrifluoroacetylative Aldol Reactions

A Cu‐catalyzed asymmetric detrifluoroacetylative aldol addition reaction of 2‐fluoro‐1,3‐diketones/hydrates to aldehydes in the presence of base and chiral bidentate ligand was developed. The reaction was carried out under convenient conditions and tolerated a wide range of substrates, resulting in fluorinated quaternary stereogenic α‐fluoro‐β‐hydroxy ketone products with good chemical yields, diastereo‐ and enantioselectivities. This catalytic asymmetric detrifluoroacetylative aldol addition reaction provides a new approach for the preparation of biologically relevant products containing C? F quaternary stereogenic centers.     

Validity of Inorganic Nanosheets as an Efficient Planar Substituent To Enhance the Enantioselectivity of Transition‐Metal‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Synthesis

Effectively enhancing the enantioselectivity is a persistent challenge in heterogeneous asymmetric catalysis. Here, the validity of a layered double hydroxides (LDH) nanosheet as an efficient planar substituent to enhance the enantioselectivity has been investigated theoretically; first in vanadium‐catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols, and then in zinc‐catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol addition. The computational predication is further confirmed experimentally in zinc‐catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol addition by controlling the location of catalytic sites.     

Nanosheet‐Enhanced Asymmetric Induction of Chiral α‐Amino Acids in Catalytic Aldol Reaction

An efficient ligand design strategy towards boosting asymmetric induction was proposed, which simply employed inorganic nanosheets to modify α‐amino acids and has been demonstrated to be effective in vanadium‐catalyzed epoxidation of allylic alcohols. Here, the strategy was first extended to zinc‐catalyzed asymmetric aldol reaction, a versatile bottom‐up route to make complex functional compounds. Zinc, the second‐most abundant transition metal in humans, is an environment‐friendly catalytic center. The strategy was then further proved valid for organocatalyzed metal‐free asymmetric catalysis, that is, α‐amino acid catalyzed asymmetric aldol reaction. Visible improvement of enantioselectivity was experimentally achieved irrespective of whether the nanosheet‐attached α‐amino acids were applied as chiral ligands together with catalytic Zn^II centers or as chiral catalysts alone. The layered double hydroxide nanosheet was clearly found by theoretical calculations to boost ee through both steric and H‐bonding effects; this resembles the role of a huge and rigid substituent.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Mannich Reactions with Fluorinated Aromatic Ketones: Efficient Access to Chiral β‐Fluoroamines

Reported herein is a Zn/Prophenol‐catalyzed Mannich reaction using fluorinated aromatic ketones as nucleophilic partners for the direct enantio‐ and diastereoselective construction of β‐fluoroamine motifs featuring a fluorinated tetrasubstituted carbon. The reaction can be run on a gram scale with a low catalyst loading without impacting its efficiency. Moreover, a related aldol reaction was also developed. Together, these reactions provide a new approach for the preparation of pharmaceutically relevant products possessing tetrasubstituted C? F centers.     

Total Syntheses of (+)‐Polygalolide A and (+)‐Polygalolide B: Elucidation of the Absolute Stereochemistry and Biogenetic Implications

The total syntheses of (+)‐polygalolide A and (+)‐polygalolide B have been completed by using a carbonyl ylide cycloaddition strategy. Three of the four stereocenters, including two consecutive tetrasubstituted carbon atoms at C2 and C8, were incorporated through internal asymmetric induction from the stereocenter at C7 by a [Rh₂(OAc)₄]‐catalyzed carbonyl ylide formation/intramolecular 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition sequence. The arylmethylidene moiety of these natural products was successfully installed by a Mukaiyama aldol‐type reaction of a silyl enol ether with a dimethyl acetal, followed by elimination under basic conditions. We have also developed an alternative approach to the carbonyl ylide precursor based on a hetero‐Michael reaction. This approach requires 18 steps, and the natural products were obtained in 9.8 and 9.3 % overall yields. Comparison of specific rotations of the synthetic materials and natural products suggests that polygalolides are biosynthesized in nearly racemic forms through a [5+2] cycloaddition between a fructose‐derived oxypyrylium zwitterion with an isoprene derivative.     

Carbene‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Aldol Reaction: Post‐Aldol Stereochemistry Control and Formation of Quaternary Stereogenic Centers

The dominated approaches for asymmetric aldol reactions have primarily focused on the aldol carbon–carbon bond‐forming events. Here we postulate and develop a new catalytic strategy that seeks to modulate the reaction thermodynamics and control the product enantioselectivities via post‐aldol processes. Specifically, an NHC catalyst is used to activate a masked enolate substrate (vinyl carbonate) to promote the aldol reaction in a non‐enantioselective manner. This reversible aldol event is subsequently followed by an enantioselective acylative kinetic resolution that is mediated by the same (chiral) NHC catalyst without introducing any additional substance. This post‐aldol process takes care of the enantioselectivity issues and drives the otherwise reversible aldol reaction toward a complete conversion. The acylated aldol products bearing quaternary/tetrasubstituted carbon stereogenic centers are formed in good yields and high optical purities.     

Zinc(II)‐Catalyzed Intermolecular Hydrative Aldol Reactions of 2‐En‐1‐ynamides with Aldehydes and Water to form Branched Aldol Products Regio‐ and Stereoselectively

This work describes zinc(II)‐catalyzed hydrative aldol reactions of 2‐en‐1‐ynamides with aldehydes and water to afford branched aldol products regio‐ and stereoselectively. The anti and syn selectivity can be modulated by the sizes of sulfonamides to yield E‐ and Z‐configured zinc(II) dienolates selectively. This new reaction leads to enantiopure aldol products by using a cheap chiral sulfonamide. The mechanistic analysis reveals that the sulfonamide amides of the substrates can trap a released proton to generate dual acidic sites to activate a carbonyl allylation reaction.     

Synthesis of polymers bearing proline moieties in the side chains and their application as catalysts for asymmetric induction

Novel polyphenylacetylene and polystyrene derivatives carrying L ‐proline moieties at the side chains were synthesized by the rhodium‐catalyzed and radical polymerizations of the corresponding monomers. The polyphenylacetylene derivatives showed Cotton effects at the absorption region of the main chain, indicating that the polymers adopt helical conformations with predominantly one‐handed screw sense. The polymers catalyzed the asymmetric aldol reactions of acetone with aromatic aldehydes, and cyclohexanone with p‐nitrobenzaldehyde. The enantioselectivities largely depended on the reaction conditions. In the asymmetric aldol reaction of acetone with aromatic aldehydes, the R‐enantiomeric products were predominantly obtained except the cases with the polymer catalyst in CHCl₃. The ee of the products became higher as the reaction temperature was decreased. The polymeric catalysts were recoverable from the reaction mixture by filtration, and the recovered ones catalyzed the asymmetric aldol reaction of acetone with p‐nitrobenzaldehyde without decreasing the product yield and ee. The ee was improved using the copolymers of L ‐proline‐based and nonchiral monomers as catalysts. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Sodium phenoxide-phosphine oxides as extremely active Lewis base catalysts for the Mukaiyama aldol reaction with ketones

A highly efficient Mukaiyama aldol reaction between ketones and trimethylsilyl enolates catalyzed by sodium phenoxide-phosphine oxides as simple homogeneous Lewis base catalysts (0.5-10 mol %) was developed, which minimized competing retro-aldol reaction. For a variety of aromatic ketones and aldimines, aldol and Mannich-type products with an alpha-quaternary carbon center were obtained in good to excellent yields. Up to 100 mmol scale of benzophenone and trimethylsilyl enolate with 0.5 mol % of catalyst was established in 97% yield (34.8 g).     

Current applications of organocatalysts in asymmetric aldol reactions: An update

The aldol reaction is one of the most important carbon–carbon bond formations in synthetic organic chemistry. An enantioselective aldol reaction should provide an enantioenriched product. The organocatalytic asymmetric aldol reaction via an in situ generated enamine intermediate is one of the most powerful synthetic tools to achieve enantiomerically pure products. This approach is often used to obtain chiral β-hydroxycarbonyl compounds with excellent enantioselectivity. In this report, we update our previous review regarding the applications of organocatalysts in asymmetric aldol reactions leading to chiral β-hydroxycarbonyl compounds as versatile synthetic motifs frequently found in pharmaceutically desired intermediates and biologically active naturally occurring compounds.     

Chiral Allenes via Alkynylogous Mukaiyama Aldol Reaction

Herein we describe the development of a catalytic enantioselective alkynylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction. The reaction is catalyzed by a newly designed chiral disulfonimide and delivers chiral allenoates in high yields and with excellent regio‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselectivity. Our process tolerates a broad range of aldehydes in combination with diverse alkynyl‐substituted ketene acetals. The reaction products can be readily derivatized to furnish a variety of highly substituted enantiomerically enriched building blocks.     

Formation of Dimers of Some 2‐Substituted Indan‐1‐one Derivatives during Base‐Mediated Cross‐Aldol Condensation

Unexpected dimers of some 2‐substituted indan‐1‐one derivatives were isolated during aldol condensation of indan‐1‐one with various aldehydes in the presence of KOH (see Scheme). Monomeric products, usually expected from aldol condensation, further underwent a base‐catalyzed nucleophilic addition reaction to their dimeric form in some cases. The structures of these dimers were characterized by using various spectral techniques and in one case, structural details were determined from a high‐resolution crystallographic analysis.     

Condensation of Indoline with Some 1,2‐ and 1,3‐Diketones

Bismuth nitrate catalyzed condensation reactions of indoline with 1,2‐ and 1,3‐diketones were investigated and were reported to proceed via different reaction pathways with the involvement of one or two of the carbonyl groups. While the reaction of indoline with cyclohexane‐1,3‐dione ( 4 ) gave solely condensation product, the reaction between the acetylacetone ( 5 ) and indoline provided N‐acetyl indoline as single products on retro‐aldol process. In contrast to 1,3‐diketones, the reaction with benzil ( 17 ) was performed under difficult conditions and proceeded to give secondary products.     

N-Heterocyclic Carbenes Catalyzed Phospho-Aldol Reaction of Aldehydes

An efficient phospho-aldol reaction of aldehydes catalyzed by N-heterocyclic carbenes （NHCs） has been developed. With 10 mol% stable NHC 1,3-bis（2,6-diisopropylphenyl）imidazol-2-ylidene, various aldehydes reacted with dialkylphosphites smoothly to provide a-hydroxy phosphonates in 59%--99% yield. In this process, NHC was assumed to function as a carbon-centered bronsted base.     

Access to All‐Carbon Spirocycles through a Carbene and Thiourea Cocatalytic Desymmetrization Cascade Reaction

A new catalytic approach for rapid asymmetric access to spirocycles is disclosed. The reaction involves a carbene‐ and thiourea‐cocatalyzed desymmetrization process with the simultaneous installation of a spirocyclic core. The use of a thiourea cocatalyst is critical to turn on this reaction, as no product was formed in the absence of a thiourea. Our study constitutes the first success in the carbene‐catalyzed enantioselective synthesis of all‐carbon spirocycles. The reaction products can be readily transformed into sophisticated multicyclic molecules and chiral ligands.     

Asymmetric Aldol Synthesis: Choice of Organocatalyst and Conditions

This is the first report of a successful asymmetric aldol reaction of acetone and 4‐nitrobenzaldehyde catalyzed by only 0.01 mol % of proline tetrazole (5‐pyrrolidin‐2‐yltetrazole). Amazingly, 3 mol % of water as an additive has significantly improved the efficiency of the aldol reaction in terms of yield and enantioselectivity, up to a 0.1‐mol‐scale production (up to 99 % isolated yield, 84 % ee ).     

Diastereo- and enantioselective direct catalytic aldol reaction of 2-hydroxyacetophenones with aldehydes promoted by a heteropolymetallic complex: catalytic asymmetric synthesis of anti-1,2-diols

An anti-selective direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction of 2-hydroxyacetophenones with aldehydes is described. The reaction is catalyzed by a heteropolymetallic complex to afford anti-alpha,beta-dihydroxy ketones as the major diastereomer with excellent enantioselectivity. The use of 2-hydroxyacetophenones bearing electron-donating groups at the phenyl moiety enabled efficient transformation of the aldol products (alpha,beta-dihydroxy ketones) into the corresponding alpha,beta-dihydroxy ester derivatives via Baeyer-Villiger oxidation. A plausible reaction mechanism is also discussed based on the stereochemistry of the products.     

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.     

Construction of Chiral 2,3‐Allenols through a Copper(I)‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Direct Alkynylogous Aldol Reaction

Chiral 2,3‐allenols were constructed through copper(I)‐catalyzed asymmetric direct alkynylogous aldol reaction. With aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes, the alkynylogous aldol reaction with (R)‐DTBM‐SEGPHOS as the ligand proceeded smoothly to furnish the products in excellent regioselectivity with good to high diastereoselectivity and excellent enantioselectivity. In the cases of aliphatic aldehydes, esters of but‐2‐yn‐1‐ol as the substrates and (R,R)‐Ph‐BPE as the ligand were found to be crucial to get good to high regio‐ and diastereoselectivity. The produced chiral 2,3‐allenols are easily transformed into synthetically useful 2‐furanones through cyclization. Finally, the developed method was successfully applied in the rapid synthesis of two chiral intermediates toward the synthesis of two pharmaceutically active compounds that have been proposed for the treatment of neurological disorders.     

Acyclic amino acid-catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reactions: alanine, the simplest stereoselective organocatalyst

The linear amino acid-catalyzed direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reaction is presented; simple amino acids such as alanine, valine, isoleucine, aspartate, alanine tetrazole and serine catalyzed the direct catalytic asymmetric intermolecular aldol reactions between unmodified ketones and aldehydes with excellent stereocontrol and furnished the corresponding aldol products in up to 98% yield and with up to > 99% ee.