Quantitative characterization of the global electrophilicity pattern of some reagents involved in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions

The global electrophilicity power, ω, of a series of dipoles and dipolarophiles commonly used in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions may be conveniently classified within a unique relative scale. The effects of chemical substitution on the electrophilicity of molecules have been evaluated using a representative set of electron-withdrawing and electron-releasing groups for a series of dipoles including nitrone, nitrile oxide and azide derivatives. The absolute scale of electrophilicity is used to rationalize the chemical reactivity of these species as compared to the static reactivity pattern of the reagents involved in the Diels-Alder reactions.     

Cu-Fesulphos complexes: efficient chiral catalysts for asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides

The Cu^I-Fesulphos catalyst system (≤3 mol %) shows an excellent performance in the asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides. High to very high levels of reactivity, endo/exo selectivity, and enantioselectivity (69->99% ee) are generally achieved with a very wide range of azomethine ylides and dipolarophiles. Based on experimental and computational studies data, a model that accounts for this high enantiocontrol is proposed.     

Synthesis and thermal transformations of spiro-fused N-phthalimidoaziridines

Oxidation of N-aminophthalimide in the presence of 2-arylideneinden-1,3-diones with electron-withdrawing substituents gives the corresponding 3-aryl-1-phthalimidospiro[aziridine-2,2′-indene]-1′,3′-diones in good yields. Heating these aziridines with standard dipolarophiles (N-phenylmaleimide, dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, maleate, and fumarate) leads, in most cases, to spiro[inden-2,2′-pyrrole] derivatives as products of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the intermediate azomethine ylides with up to 70–95% yields in the case of N-phenylmaleimide. As is typical for 2-acylaziridines, the competing rearrangement into 2-aryl-4H-indeno[2,1-d][1,3]oxazol-4-ones prevails for less active dipolarophiles. Increasing the electron-releasing properties of the 3-aryl ring allows the observation of the push–pull effect of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents on the ease of the three-membered ring-opening.     

Reactivity and regioselectivity in Stille couplings of 3-substituted 2,4-dichloropyridines

The influence of substituents at C-3 of 2,4-dichloropyridines on their reactivity and regioselectivity in Pd-catalyzed cross-couplings is studied. As a model reaction, the (Ph₃P)₂PdCl₂-catalyzed Stille coupling between 2-furyl(tributyl)tin and pyridines is chosen. Increased electron-withdrawing ability of a substituent at the pyridine 3-position improves the overall reactivity. Absolute selectivity for coupling at C-2 is achieved with an amino group at C-3, and the selectivity is totally reversed when the amino group is exchanged for a nitro substituent.     

trans-3,4-Disubstituted pyrrolidines by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition: enantioselective approaches and their limitations

In the presence of a chiral Lewis acid as co-catalyst, the acid-catalysed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction yielding trans-3,4-disubstituted pyrrolidines from an azomethine ylide and achiral α,β-unsaturated dipolarophiles proceeded with low enantioselectivity. Therefore a number of α,β-unsaturated dipolarophiles linked to chiral auxiliaries were examined as substrates. Camphorsultam was the best auxiliary and gave good diastereoselectivity (dr=74:26). When combining chiral Lewis acids with a dipolarophile linked to a chiral auxiliary, the enantioselectivity could be slightly increased. As judged by ¹³C NMR, the small effect of the chiral Lewis acids on selectivity was probably due to breakdown of the initially formed complex with the dipolarophile caused by the dipole precursor.     

`Thiobenzophenone S‐Methylide' (=(Diphenylmethylidenesulfonio)methanide), and C,C Multiple Bonds: Cycloadditions and Dipolarophilic Reactivities

Thiobenzophenone and diazomethane afford thiadiazoline 1 at −78°. By elimination of N₂ from 1 at −45° (t_1/2 ca. 1 h), (diphenylmethylidenesulfonio)methanide ( 2 ), which cannot be isolated but is interceptible by dipolarophiles, is set free. The nucleophilic 1,3‐dipole 2 undergoes cycloadditions with electrophilic C,C multiple bonds; the structures of 16 cycloadducts were elucidated. One‐step and two‐step cycloaddition pathways are discussed in the light of the steric course observed for (E)/(Z)‐isomeric ethylene derivatives. Competition experiments with pairs of dipolarophiles at −45° and HPLC analysis of the adducts provided relative rate constants of 26 dipolarophiles, involving 2 C≡C, 13 C=C, 9 C=S, and 2 N=N bonds. In accordance with Sustmann`s reactivity model of concerted cycloadditions, 2 shows the highest selectivity of all known 1,3‐dipoles, i.e., the largest spread of rate constants (k_rel=1 for methyl propiolate and 33×10⁶ for TCNE). As a consequence of low LU energies, thiones are very active dipolarophiles, and fluorene‐9‐thione (k_rel=79×10⁶) stands at the top.     

A novel and facile stereocontrolled synthetic method for polyhydro-quinolines and pyridopyridazines via a diene-transmissive Diels-Alder reaction involving inverse electron-demand hetero Diels-Alder cycloaddition of cross-conjugated azatrienes

Cross-conjugated azatrienes bearing an electron-withdrawing sulfonyl or benzoyl group on the nitrogen atom underwent, on heating or in the presence of a Lewis acid (TMSOTf), an initial inverse electron-demand hetero Diels-Alder reaction with electron-rich dienophiles (vinyl ether, vinyl thioether, and allenyl ether) to produce 1:1 cycloadducts with high endo selectivity. The initial cycloadducts thus obtained underwent a second Diels-Alder reaction stereoselectively on the newly formed diene unit with electron-deficient dienophiles to give the crossed bis-cycloadducts, octahydroquinolines, with high diastereo-π-facial selectivity. The N-sulfonylazatrienes tethering an ortho-cinnamyloxyphenyl dienophile at the triene terminal underwent an initial intramolecular hetero Diels-Alder reaction of the inverse electron-demand type. The subsequent second Diels-Alder reaction of the formed mono-cycloadducts completed the diene-transmissive hetero Diels-Alder protocol to give benzopyrano[3,4-c]quinolines in a highly stereoselective manner.     

Synthesis of new calix[4]pyrrole derivatives via 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions

Octamethylcalix[4]pyrrole-2-carbaldehyde 1 and 3-(octamethylcalix[4]pyrrol-2-yl)propenal 5 were used as precursors of azomethine ylides, which were trapped in situ with a range of dipolarophiles, such as 1,4-benzoquinone, 1,4-naphthoquinone, and fumaronitrile. Aldehyde 1 showed very low reactivity but the azomethine ylide generated from the reaction of aldehyde 5 with N-methylglycine could be trapped with those dipolarophiles to afford new β-substituted octamethylcalix[4]pyrrole derivatives in moderate yields. The resulting cycloadducts show high affinity constants for fluoride and acetate anions; compounds 7 and 8 display sharp changes in color in the presence of these anions.     

Selective reduction of organic compounds with Al-acetoxy- and Al-trifluoroacetoxydiisobutylalane

The new MPV-type reagents, Al-acetoxydiisobutylalane (DIBAOAc) and Al-trifluoroacetoxydiisobutylalane (DIBAO₂CCF₃), have been prepared and their reducing characteristics in the reduction of selected organic compounds containing representative functional groups have been examined in order to find out a new reducing system with unique applicability in organic synthesis. In general, the reactivity of DIBAO₂CCF₃ appears to be much stronger than that of DIBAOAc, presumably due to the acidity increase by the electron-withdrawing fluorine-substituent. Both reagents reduce aldehydes and ketones relatively slowly, but show an excellent selectivity in 1,2-reduction of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds to produce the corresponding allylic alcohols in an absolutely 100% purity. In addition, the reagents achieve the regioselective cleavage of phenyl- or alkyl-substituted epoxides to the less substituted alcohols in an excellent selectivity. Moreover, both reagents show interesting features in the stereoreduction of cyclic ketones. However, these reagents show a very low or/and no reactivity toward most organic functional groups other than carbonyl and epoxy function.     

Structural defects in poly(vinyl chloride)—V. Thermal and photodegradation of copolymers of vinyl chloride with various acetylene derivatives

Vinyl chloride has been copolymerized with various acetylene derivatives in bulk at 50. It has been shown by ozonolysis that these copolymers contain a significantly increased amount of internal double bonds. A comparison of the thermal and photodegradation behaviours of the copolymers has been made. The built-in double bonds show an effect on the reactivity of the adjacent allylic chlorine depending on the electron-withdrawing or repelling nature of the substituent. Among the comonomers investigated, copolymers containing 3-chloropropine have the least reactive defect sites, because of the electron-withdrawing chloromethyl substituent. On the contrary, the electron-repelling n-butyl group, built-in by using hexine-1 as comonomer, results in enhanced reactivity of the allylic chlorines.     

Origins of the Reactivity in 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions of Acyl Isocyanide Ylides

1,3-Dipolar cycloadditions are the preferred method to generate five-membered heterocyclic rings. Surprisingly, cycloadditions based on acyl-isocyanide ylides have remained underexplored by the chemical community. Acyl-isocyanide ylides readily react with dipolarophiles, such as substituted alkenes, to yield Δ¹-pyrroline derivatives. As an explanation for the observed reactivity of this reaction is lacking, extensive density functional theory calculations were performed to scrutinize the mechanistic features of the transformation. Herein we explain the experimental outcome of the reaction using a variety of reactivity theories and predict opposed regioselectivity for electron-poor and electron-rich dipolarophiles. With the insights obtained, we hope to incentivize the design of new cycloaddition reactions based on the acyl-isocyanide ylides motif.     

Asymmetric Michael addition reactions of chiral Ni(II)-complex of glycine with (N-trans-enoyl)oxazolidines: improved reactivity and stereochemical outcome

Application of the (N-trans-enoyl)oxazolidines as Michael acceptors in the kinetically controlled additions with a Ni(II)-complex of the chiral Schiff base of glycine with (S)-o-[N-(N-benzylprolyl)amino]benzophenone 1 was shown to be synthetically advantageous over the alkyl enoylates, allowing for remarkable improvement in reactivity and, in most cases, diastereoselectivity of the reactions. While the stereochemical outcome of the Michael additions of the aliphatic (N-trans-enoyl)oxazolidines with complex 1 depended on the steric bulk of the alkyl group on the starting oxazolidines, the diastereoselectivity of the aromatic (N-trans-enoyl)oxazolidines reactions was found to be controlled by the electronic properties of the aryl ring. In particular, the additions of complex 1 with (N-cinnamoyl)oxazolidines, bearing electron-withdrawing substituents on the phenyl ring, afforded the (2S,3R)-configured products with synthetically useful selectivity and in quantitative chemical yield, thus allowing an efficient access to sterically constrained β-substituted pyroglutamic acids and related compounds.     

Role of Water in the Reaction Mechanism and endo/exo Selectivity of 1,3-Dipolar Cycloadditions Elucidated by Quantum Chemistry and Machine Learning

Asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of azomethine ylides with activated olefins are among the most important and versatile methods for the synthesis of enantioenriched pyrroline and pyrrolidine derivatives. Despite both theoretical and practical importance, the role of water molecules in the reactivity and endo/exo selectivity remains unclear. To explore how water accelerates the reactions and improves the endo/exo selectivity of the cycloadditions of 1,3-dipole phthalazinium-2-dicyanomethanide ( 1 ) and two dipolarophiles, an ab initio-quality neural network potential that overcomes the computational bottleneck of explicitly considering water molecules was used. It is demonstrated that not only the nature of both the dipolarophile and the 1,3-dipole, but also the solvent medium, can perturb or even alter the reaction mechanism. An extreme case was found for the reaction of 1,3-dipole 1 with methyl vinyl ketone, in which the reaction mechanism changes from a concerted to a stepwise mode on going from MeCN to H₂O as solvent, with formation of a zwitterionic intermediate that is a very shallow minimum on the energy surface. Thus, high stereocontrol can still be expected despite the stepwise nature of the mechanism. The results indicate that water can induce global polarization along the reaction coordinate and highlight the role of microsolvation effects and bulk-phase effects in reproducing the experimentally observed aqueous acceleration and enhanced endo/exo selectivity.     

Asymmetric synthesis of pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline derivatives by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of stabilized isoquinolinium N-ylides with sulfinyl dipolarophiles

Enantiomerically pure pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline derivatives are obtained by 1,3-dipolar reactions of isoquinolinium azomethine ylides with enantiopure 3-p-tolylsulfinylacrylonitriles, tert-butyl (2E)-4,4-diethoxy-2-p-tolylsulfinylbut-2-enoate, and 5-ethoxy-3-p-tolylsulfinylfuran-2(5H)-ones. Reactions evolve through the anti conformation of the ylide with complete regioselectivity. The facial selectivity is completely controlled by the configuration of the sulfinyl sulfur for acyclic dipolarophiles, whereas it is high (dr 83/17 or 89/11) but controlled by the C-5 configuration for sulfinylfuranones. Complete endo selectivity is observed with cyclic dipolarophiles and substituted acrylonitriles, but it is low with butenoate. The sulfinyl group also exerts a positive influence on the dipolarophilic reactivity toward these ylides.     

Chiral spiro-β-lactams from 6-diazopenicillanates

Chiral spiro-β-lactam derivatives have been prepared via stereoselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 6-diazopenicillanates. Using dipolarophiles such as acrylonitrile, acrylates or methyl vinyl ketone spiro-2-pyrazoline-β-lactams were obtained, whereas the cycloaddition with N-substituted-maleimides afforded spiro-1-pyrazoline-β-lactams. 6-Diazopenicillanates also reacted with electron-deficient alkynes to give the corresponding spiro-3H-pyrazole-β-lactam as single product. The observed stereoselectivity can be explained considering that the major product results from the addition to the less sterically hindered α-side of the β-lactam. Microwave-induced denitrogenation of spiro-1-pyrazoline-β-lactams allowed the stereoselective synthesis of novel spirocyclopropyl-β-lactams. The rationalization of the observed selectivity was supported by electronic structure calculations.     

Antiinflammation Derived Suzuki-Coupled Fenbufens as COX-2 Inhibitors: Minilibrary Construction and Bioassay

A small fenbufen library comprising 18 compounds was prepared via Suzuki Miyara coupling. The five-step preparations deliver 9–17% biphenyl compounds in total yield. These fenbufen analogs exert insignificant activity against the IL-1 release as well as inhibiting cyclooxygenase 2 considerably. Both the para-amino and para-hydroxy mono substituents display the most substantial COX-2 inhibition, particularly the latter one showing a comparable activity as celecoxib. The most COX-2 selective and bioactive disubstituted compound encompasses one electron-withdrawing methyl and one electron-donating fluoro groups in one arene. COX-2 is selective but not COX-2 to bioactive compounds that contain both two electron-withdrawing groups; disubstituted analogs with both resonance-formable electron-donating dihydroxy groups display high COX-2 activity but inferior COX-2 selectivity. In silico simulation and modeling for three COX-2 active—p-fluoro, p-hydroxy and p-amino—fenbufens show a preferable docking to COX-2 than COX-1. The most stabilization by the p-hydroxy fenbufen with COX-2 predicted by theoretical simulation is consistent with its prominent COX-2 inhibition resulting from experiments.     

Synthesis and reactivity of 5-methylenehydantoins

5-Methylenehydantoin, as well as the N-mono- and N,N-di-protected derivatives, can be obtained by different synthetic routes. These compounds can undergo a large variety of reactions, such as Diels-Alder, epoxidation, methanol addition and conjugate addition reactions of different types of nucleophiles, including carbon (cyanide), nitrogen (piperidine) and sulfur (thiols, thioacetate) nucleophiles. The reactivity with electrophilic reagents, such as m-CPBA or methanol in acidic medium, and the need for Lewis acids to promote the conjugate addition reactions indicate that hydantoin is a poor electron-withdrawing group.     

Microbial asymmetric reduction of α-hydroxyketones in the anti-Prelog selectivity

Yamadazyma farinosa IFO 10896 was found to reduce α-hydroxyketones bearing a phenyl ring to give optically active diols with anti-Prelog selectivity. The distance between the carbonyl group and the phenyl ring was shown to have an interesting effect on the reactivity and selectivity of the enzyme system.     

First example of Diels-Alder reaction in the 2,3,4,4a-tetrahydroquinoline series. Synthesis of hydrogenated 5,8-ethanoquinolines

Diels-Alder reactions in the 2,3,4,4a-tetrahydroquinolines series were studied for the first time. It was shown that these dienes demonstrate only moderate reactivity. [4+2] Cycloaddition occurs stereo- and regioselectively only for alkenes bearing an electron-withdrawing group (acrylonitrile, maleic anhydride, dimethyl acetylene dicarboxylate, methyl propiolate). In this case, endo-Diels-Alder adducts, spiroannelated 5,8-ethanoquinolines, are formed in a high yield. Cyclopentadiene, being a highly reactive diene component, reacts with 2,3,4,4a-tetrahydroquinolines as the dienophile. Electron-rich unsaturated compounds (N-vinylpyrrolidone, vinylethyl ether, phenylacetylene) are inert to this cycloaddition reaction.     

2H-Azirines as dipolarophiles

2H-Azirine-3-carboxylates unsubstituted at C-2 act as dipolarophiles in the reaction with diazomethane giving new 4,5-dihydro-3H-pyrazole derivatives. The synthesis of a pyrimidine was also achieved via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of methyl 2-bromo-3-phenyl-2H-azirine-2-carboxylate with an azomethine ylide.