Chiral Brønsted Acid Catalyzed Enantioconvergent Propargylic Substitution Reaction of Racemic Secondary Propargylic Alcohols with Thiols

Despite the significant progress of the enantioselective reaction using chiral catalysts, the enantioselective nucleophilic substitution reaction at the chiral sp³-hybridized carbon atom of a racemic electrophile has not been largely explored. Herein, we report the enantioconvergent propargylic substitution reaction of racemic propargylic alcohols with thiols using chiral bis-phosphoric acid as the chiral Brønsted acid catalyst. The substitution products were formed in high yields with high enantioselectivities in most cases. The cation-stabilizing effect of the sulfur functional group introduced at the alkynyl terminus is the key to achieving the efficient enantioconvergent process, in which chiral information originating from not only the racemic stereogenic center but also the formed contact ion pair is completely eliminated from the present system.     

"Chiral perturbation factor" approach reveals importance of entropy term in stereocontrol of the 2,4-pentanediol-tethered reaction

The stereocontrol mechanism of the 2,4-pentanediol (PD)-tethered reaction was studied in detail using a reaction system consisting of phenyl and rhodium carbenoid moieties. Different tethers were examined to analyze the effects of the methyl groups on the PD tether. Among the reactions with these tethers, the PD tether achieves an unmeasurably high stereoselectivity in a diastereomeric ratio of >500. Another tether showing a high but measurable stereoselectivity in a ratio of 41 is mostly controlled by the entropy term. To clarify the role of the methyl groups on the chiral tethers, which are the origin of the stereocontrol, the "chiral perturbation factor" is introduced. This parameter is defined as the rate of a chiral reaction relative to that of an achiral reference reaction. By analyzing the temperature dependence of the chiral perturbation factors for different chiral-tethered reactions, high potentials of the PD-tethered reaction in its stereocontrol are concluded to be due to the entropy term.     

Enantioselective Friedel–Crafts Alkylation Reaction of Heteroarenes with N-Unprotected Trifluoromethyl Ketimines by Means of Chiral Phosphoric Acid

An enantioselective Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction of pyrroles and indoles with N-unprotected trifluoromethyl ketimines by use of chiral phosphoric acid provided α-trifluoromethylated primary amines bearing chiral tetrasubstituted carbon centers in high yields and with high to excellent enantioselectivities. The present reaction is unique to N-unprotected trifluoromethyl ketimines. No reaction took place with N-p-methoxyphenyl (PMP)-substituted ketimine. Corresponding α-trifluoromethylated amines were transformed without loss of enantioselectivity.     

Organocatalytic Formation of Chiral Trisubstituted Allenes and Chiral Furan Derivatives

A novel reaction that provides chiral allenes by amino catalytic activation of either aldehydes or α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes for reaction with alkynyl‐substituted enones is presented. The reaction forms a variety of trisubstituted allenes in high yields and with excellent stereoselectivities. The utility of the reaction concept is demonstrated by the synthesis of chiral furan derivatives in high yields and stereoselectivities.     

Truly catalytic and enantioselective pinacol coupling of aryl aldehydes mediated by chiral Ti(III) complexes

A variety of chiral Ti(IV) complexes were reduced in situ with zinc in acetonitrile. The resulting chiral Ti(III) complexes were found to catalyze the pinacol coupling reaction stereoselectively. The best results were obtained from the Ti-SALEN complex, which was found to be an efficient catalyst at 10 mol % concentration. Various aromatic aldehydes were coupled to obtain chiral hydrobenzoin derivatives with high diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity. A plausible mechanism is proposed that rationalizes the stereochemical outcome of the reaction.     

Catalytic Enantioselective Reaction of α‐Aminoacetonitriles Using Chiral Bis(imidazoline) Palladium Catalysts

The catalytic enantioselective reaction of diphenylmethylidene‐protected α‐aminoacetonitriles with imines has been developed. Good yields and diastereo‐ and enantioselectivities were observed for the reaction of various imines using chiral bis(imidazoline)/Pd catalysts. The reaction of α‐aminonitriles with di‐tert‐butyl azodicarboxylate afforded chiral α,α‐diaminonitriles in high yields with high enantioselectivities.     

Synthesis of Chiral Ionic Polymers Containing Quaternary Ammonium Sulfonate Structure and their Catalytic Activity in Asymmetric Alkylation

Repeated reaction between chiral quaternary ammonium dimer and disodium disulfonate gave the ionic polymer, which contains chiral quaternary ammonium sulfonate structure as a repeating unit. This chiral ionic polymer showed an excellent catalytic activity in asymmetric alkylation reaction. With the chiral ionic polymer catalysts, high level of enantioselectivities up to 97% ee were attained.     

Enantiodivergent Atroposelective Synthesis of Chiral Biaryls by Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation: Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Dynamic Kinetic Resolution

Reported herein is an enantiodivergent synthesis of chiral biaryls by a chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation reaction. Upon treatment of biaryl lactols with aromatic amines and a Hantzsch ester in the presence of chiral phosphoric acid, dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) involving a reductive amination reaction proceeded smoothly to furnish both R and S isomers of chiral biaryls with excellent enantioselectivities by proper choice of hydroxyaniline derivative. This trend was observed in wide variety of substrates, and various chiral biphenyl and phenyl naphthyl adducts were synthesized with satisfactory enantioselectivities in enantiodivergent fashion. The enantiodivergent synthesis of synthetically challenging, chiral o‐tetrasubstituted biaryls were also accomplished, and suggests high synthetic potential of the present method.     

镍催化硅基保护烯丙醇的烯氢化反应:一种合成含有手性季碳中心高烯丙醇的有效方法

报道了一例手性螺环亚磷酰胺配体和镍的络合物催化的硅基保护烯丙醇的不对称烯氢化反应,以较高的收率(最高达97%)和对映选择性(最高达95%ee)合成了一系列含有手性季碳中心的高烯丙醇.该反应为含有手性季碳中心的双官能团化合物的合成提供了新的有效方法.     

Nickel-catalyzed enantioselective hydrovinylation of silyl-protected allylic alcohols: An efficient access to homoallylic alcohols with a chiral quaternary center

Asymmetric hydrovinylation of silyl-protected allylic alcohols catalyzed by nickel complexes of chiral spiro phosphoramidite ligands was developed. A series of homoallylic alcohols with a chiral quaternary center were produced in high yields (up to 97%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee). The reaction provides an efficient method for preparing bifunctional compounds with a chiral quaternary carbon center.     

Modular synthesis of chiral homo- and heterotrisoxazolines. Improving the enantioselectivity in the asymmetric Michael addition of indole to benzylidene malonate

A simple approach to a diverse set of chiral trisoxazolines is described. Deprotonation of bisoxazolines 2, followed by treatment of 2-chloromethyloxazolines 3, affords chiral trisoxazolines, including chiral homo- and hetero-trisoxazolines in good to high yields. These trisoxazolines are successfully applied in the asymmetric reaction of indole with benzylidene malonate, and ee's up to 93% were obtained.     

Rhodium complex-catalyzed Pauson-Khand-type reaction with aldehydes as a CO source

With aldehydes as a CO source under solvent-free conditions, rhodium complex efficiently catalyzed an intramolecular carbonylative alkene-alkyne coupling (Pauson-Khand-type reaction) and various bicyclic enones were obtained in high yield. Experiments under argon flow and a 13C-labeling experiment suggested that almost no free carbon monoxide was generated in this reaction. When noncationic rhodium complex with chiral phosphine was used as a chiral catalyst, the reaction proceeded enantioselectively to give various chiral cyclopentenones in up to 90% ee under solvent-free conditions.     

Organocatalytic enantioselective domino synthesis of highly functionalized cyclohexanes with an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter

A highly enantioselective organocatalytic domino Michael/aldol reaction is presented. The reaction is catalyzed by chiral amines and gives access to highly functionalized cyclohexanes with one all-carbon quaternary stereocenter and multiple chiral stereocenters in high yields and 83-98% ee.     

Kinetic Resolution of Tertiary 2‐Alkoxycarboxamido‐Substituted Allylic Alcohols by Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Intramolecular Transesterification

A highly enantioselective kinetic resolution of tertiary 2‐alkoxycarboxamido allylic alcohols has been achieved through a chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed intramolecular transesterification reaction. Both alkyl,aryl‐ and dialkyl‐substituted tertiary allylic alcohols were resolved with excellent efficiencies, affording both the recovered tertiary alcohols and the carbamate products with high enantioselectivities (with s factors up to 164.6). A gram‐scale reaction with 1 mol % catalyst loading and the facile conversion of the enantioenriched products into useful chiral building blocks, such as chiral oxazolidinones and β‐amino alcohols, demonstrate the value of this reaction.     

有机小分子催化的不对称Strecker反应研究进展

有机小分子催化的不对称合成反应是目前研究最为活跃的领域之一. 不对称Strecker反应是合成光学活性α-氨基酸衍生物的有效手段. 目前报道的催化不对称Strecker反应的有机催化剂主要有手性胍类、手性(硫)脲衍生物、氮-氧偶极化合物、手性Brønsted酸等, 取得了良好的催化活性和对映选择性. 对各类有机小分子催化剂在有机催化不对称Strecker反应中的应用研究进展, 以及催化剂结构与反应条件对催化活性和不对称诱导作用的影响进行了简要评述.     

Enantioselective analysis of bambuterol in human plasma using microwave‐assisted chiral derivatization coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

In this study, an enantioselective analytical method based on microwave‐assisted chiral derivatization coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of bambuterol enantiomers in human plasma. The chiral derivatization reaction was greatly accelerated by microwave irradiation. Under the optimized conditions, both the derivatization time and separation time on column was only 3 min, and the lower limit of quantification was 2.5 pg/mL. The recoveries were in the range of 90.1–93.0% without significant matrix effect. Compared with the conventional heating chiral derivatization, microwave‐assisted chiral derivatization obtained higher chiral derivatization yields with much shorter time due to the effect of microwave irradiation. Furthermore, the racemization during the derivatization reaction was systematically investigated. The results showed the concentration of acetic acid and the reaction time had significant effects on the racemization, which could be well controlled during microwave‐assisted chiral derivatization for the short reaction time. Finally, this novel approach was demonstrated by determining bambuterol in human plasma of a clinical pharmacokinetic study in eight healthy volunteers. On the basis of the results, microwave‐assisted chiral derivatization coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry as a simple and effective enantioselective analysis technique for the determination of chiral drugs in complex biological samples showed great promise.     

Asymmetric Synthesis of Chiral 1,4‐Enynes through Organocatalytic Alkenylation of Propargyl Alcohols with Trialkenylboroxines

A highly enantioselective synthesis of 1,4‐enynes is described that proceeds through an organocatalytic reaction between propargyl alcohols and trialkenylboroxines. Our strategy relies on acid‐mediated generation of the carbocationic intermediate from propargyl alcohols followed by enantioselective alkenylation with trialkenylboroxines. A range of chiral 1,4‐enynes were obtained in moderate to good yields with high levels of enantioselectivity. Use of a highly acidic chiral N‐triflyl phosphoramide catalyst, which has two distant Lewis basic oxygen atoms, was found to be crucial for both high reactivity and selectivity in the present reaction.     

Rh-catalyzed cyclization of diynes and enynes initiated by carbonyl-directed activation of aromatic and vinylic C-H bonds

The Rh-catalyzed hydroarylative and hydrovinylative cyclization of diynes with aryl ketones or enones gave monocyclic 1,3-dienes. Enynes also underwent the same reaction and chiral products were obtained with high ee using a chiral Rh catalyst. Carbonyl-directed activation of aromatic and vinylic C-H bonds is likely the initial step in the present transformation.     

Transition‐Metal‐Free Hydrogen Autotransfer: Diastereoselective N‐Alkylation of Amines with Racemic Alcohols

A practical method for the synthesis of α‐chiral amines by alkylation of amines with alcohols in the absence of any transition‐metal catalysts has been developed. Under the co‐catalysis of a ketone and NaOH, racemic secondary alcohols reacted with Ellman's chiral tert‐butanesulfinamide by a hydrogen autotransfer process to afford chiral amines with high diastereoselectivities (up to >99:1). Broad substrate scope and up to a 10 gram scale production of chiral amines were demonstrated. The method was applied to the synthesis of chiral deuterium‐labelled amines with high deuterium incorporation and optical purity, including examples of chiral deuterated drugs. The configuration of amine products is found to be determined solely by the configuration of the chiral tert‐butanesulfinamide regardless of that of alcohols, and this is corroborated by DFT calculations. Further mechanistic studies showed that the reaction is initiated by the ketone catalyst and involves a transition state similar to that proposed for the Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley (MPV) reduction, and importantly, it is the interaction of the sodium cation of the base with both the nitrogen and oxygen atoms of the sulfinamide moiety that makes feasible, and determines the diastereoselectivity of, the reaction.     

Cover Picture: Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society 7/2012

Repeated reaction between chiral quaternary ammonium halide dimer and disodium disulfonate gave the ionic polymer, which contains chiral quaternary ammonium sulfonate structure as a repeating unit. This chiral ionic polymer showed an excellent catalytic activity in asymmetric benzylation reaction. With the chiral ionic polymer catalysts, high level of enantioselectivities up to 97% ee were attained. For more details on this figure, please see pp 815～821 in this issue.