Catalysis of 3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid and related pyrrolidine derivatives in enantioselective anti-Mannich-type reactions: importance of the 3-acid group on pyrrolidine for stereocontrol

The development of enantioselective anti-selective Mannich-type reactions of aldehydes and ketones with imines catalyzed by 3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid and related pyrrolidine derivatives is reported in detail. Both (3R,5R)-5-methyl-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid and (R)-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid efficiently catalyzed the reactions of aldehydes with alpha-imino esters under mild conditions and afforded anti-Mannich products with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities (anti/syn up to 99:1, up to >99% ee). For the reactions of ketones with alpha-imino esters, (R)-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid was an efficient catalyst (anti/syn up to >99:1, up to 99% ee). Evaluation of a series of pyrrolidine-based catalysts indicated that the acid group at the beta-position of the pyrrolidine ring of the catalyst played an important role in forwarding the carbon-carbon bond formation and in directing anti-selectivity and enantioselectivity.     

Direct asymmetric anti-Mannich-type reactions catalyzed by a designed amino acid

The development of catalysts for Mannich-type reactions that afford anti-products with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities under mild conditions and low catalyst loadings (1-5 mol %) is reported. Based on principles gained from the study of (S)-proline-catalyzed Mannich-type reactions that afford enantiomerically enriched syn-products, (3R,5R)-5-methyl-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid (RR35) has been designed to catalyze the direct enantioselective anti-selective Mannich-type reactions. Computational studies of the above reaction using HF/6-31G* level of theory suggested that this design would be highly effective. The catalyst was subsequently synthesized and studied in organocatalytic Mannich-type reactions between unmodified aldehydes and N-PMP-protected alpha-imino esters. In accord with the design principles and in quantitative agreement with the theoretical predictions, reactions catalyzed by this catalyst afforded anti-products in good yields with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities (anti:syn 94:6 to 98:2, >97 to >99% ee).     

Highly efficient asymmetric anti-Mannich reactions of carbonyl compounds with N-carbamoyl imines catalyzed by amino-thiourea organocatalysts

A series of pyrrolidine-based organocatalysts which bear three synergistic features, i.e. secondary amino group, various H-bond donor groups at the 4-position and a stereocontrol silyl ether group at the α-position of the pyrrolidine nitrogen atom, were developed. They were screened in anti-Mannich reactions of carbonyl compounds with preformed or in situ generated N-protected α-imino ethylglyoxylate and aldehydes with preformed or in situ generated N-carbamoyl imines. The influence of H-bond donor ability at the 4-position was also investigated. Among all the catalysts, 2a was identified as a general efficient organocatalyst suitable for various types of anti-Mannich reactions and broad substrate scope. Excellent results (up to 98% yield, >99% ee and >99 : 1 dr) were achieved with 5 mol% catalyst load. Sulfones with ortho substituents or very strong withdrawing groups on the aromatic ring, which have been regarded as challenging substrates in the direct anti-Mannich reactions of aldehydes with in situ generated N-carbamoyl imines, also worked well. The optimization of our catalytic system also offered alternative and easily operational protocols to access anti-Mannich products with orthogonal N-Boc or N-Cbz protecting groups.     

Chiral Diamine-catalyzed Asymmetric Aldol Reaction

A highly efficient catalytic system composed of a simple and commercially available chiral primary diamine (1R,2R)-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine(6) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was employed for asymmetric Aldol reaction in em-PrOH at room temperature. A loading of 10%(molar fraction) catalyst 6 with TFA as a cocatalyst could catalyze the Aldol reactions of various ketones or aldehydes with a series of aromatic aldehydes, furnishing Aldol pro- ducts in moderate to high yields(up to >99%) with enantioselectivities of up to >99% and diastereoselectivities of up to 99:1.     

Enantio- and diastereoselective, stereospecific mannich-type reactions in water

Catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reactions in water proceeded in high yields and selectivities using a combination of ZnF2 and a chiral diamine that has the methoxy groups on the aromatic rings. In these reactions, either syn- or anti-Mannich adducts were stereospecifically obtained from (E)- or (Z)-silicon enolate, in contrast with most asymmetric Mannich-type reactions.     

Mannich-type reactions of aromatic aldehydes, anilines, and methyl ketones in fluorous biphase systems created by rare earth (III) perfluorooctane sulfonates catalysts in fluorous media

Rare earth (III) perfluorooctane sulfonates (RE(OPf)₃) catalyze the three-component Mannich-type reactions of different ketones with various aromatic aldehydes and aromatic amines in fluorous media to give various β-arylamino ketones in good yields. By simple separation of the fluorous phase containing only catalyst, reaction can be repeated several times.     

Catalytic,asymmetric Mannich-type reactions of N-acylimino esters: reactivity,diastereo- and enantioselectivity,and application to synthesis of N-acylated amino acid derivatives

In the presence of a catalytic amount of Cu(OTf)(2)-chiral diamine 3e complex, N-acylimino esters reacted with silyl enol ethers to afford the corresponding Mannich-type adducts in high yields with high enantioselectivities. A wide variety of silyl enol ethers derived from ketones, as well as esters and thioesters, reacted smoothly. In the reactions of alpha-substituted silyl enol ethers (alpha-methyl or benzyloxy), the desired syn-adducts were obtained in high yields with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities. Several intermediates for the synthesis of biologically important compounds were prepared using this novel catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reaction, and at the same time, absolute and relative stereochemical assignments were made. In addition, it has been revealed that alkyl vinyl ethers reacted with N-acylimino esters in the presence of a catalytic amount of the Cu(II) catalyst to give the corresponding Mannich-type adducts in high yields with high enantioselectivities. This is the first example of catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reactions with alkyl vinyl ethers. The reaction mechanism, structure of chiral catalyst-electrophile complexes, and transition states of these catalytic asymmetric reactions were assumed based on X-ray crystallographic analysis of the Cu(II)-chiral amine complex, PM3 calculations, and FT-IR analyses, etc. Finally, (1R,3R)-N-(3-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-3-phenylpropyl)dodecanamide (HPA-12, 1), a new inhibitor of ceramide trafficking from endoplasmic reticulum to the site of sphingomyerin (SM) synthesis, has been synthesized efficiently using the present Mannich-type reaction as a key step. The synthesis involved three steps (two-pot), and total yield was 82.9%.     

Catalysis of highly stereoselective Mannich-type reactions of ketones with α-imino esters by a pyrrolidine-sulfonamide. Synthesis of unnatural α-amino acids

The novel pyrrolidine-sulfonamide I has been prepared and used successfully to catalyze Mannich-type reactions between ketones and α-imino esters. The process is used to efficiently synthesize functionalized α-amino acid derivatives with excellent levels of regio-, diastereo-, and enantio-selectivity.     

Direct catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reactions of gamma-butenolides: effectiveness of Brønsted acid in chiral metal catalysis

Direct catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reactions of gamma-butenolides are described. A chiral Lewis acid/amine base/Br?nsted acid combination was used to catalyze a gamma-addition of gamma-butenolides to N-diphenylphosphinoyl imines, affording the products in up to >99% yield, anti/syn = >97:3, and 84% ee. The use of a catalytic amount of TfOH in addition to La(OTf)3/Me-PyBox/TMEDA was important for improving yield and stereoselectivity.     

Amino acid catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reactions: a bioorganic approach to catalytic asymmetric carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions.

Direct asymmetric catalytic aldol reactions have been successfully performed using aldehydes and unmodified ketones together with commercially available chiral cyclic secondary amines as catalysts. Structure-based catalyst screening identified L-proline and 5,5-dimethyl thiazolidinium-4-carboxylate (DMTC) as the most powerful amino acid catalysts for the reaction of both acyclic and cyclic ketones as aldol donors with aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes to afford the corresponding aldol products with high regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivities. Reactions employing hydroxyacetone as an aldol donor provide anti-1,2-diols as the major product with ee values up to >99%. The reactions are assumed to proceed via a metal-free Zimmerman-Traxler-type transition state and involve an enamine intermediate. The observed stereochemistry of the products is in accordance with the proposed transition state. Further supporting evidence is provided by the lack of nonlinear effects. The reactions tolerate a small amount of water (<4 vol %), do not require inert reaction conditions and preformed enolate equivalents, and can be conveniently performed at room temperature in various solvents. In addition, reaction conditions that facilitate catalyst recovery as well as immobilization are described. Finally, mechanistically related addition reactions such as ketone additions to imines (Mannich-type reactions) and to nitro-olefins and alpha,beta-unsaturated diesters (Michael-type reactions) have also been developed.     

Direct catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reaction of hydroxyketone using a Et2Zn/linked-BINOL complex: synthesis of either anti- or syn-beta-amino alcohols

Full details of a direct catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reaction of a hydroxyketone using a Et2Zn/(S,S)-linked-BINOL complex are described. By choosing the proper protective groups on imine nitrogen, either anti- or syn-beta-amino alcohol was obtained in good diastereomeric ratio, yield, and excellent enantiomeric excess using the same zinc catalysis. N-Diphenylphosphinoyl (Dpp) imine 3 gave anti-beta-amino alcohols in anti/syn = up to >98/2, up to >99% yield, and up to >99.5% ee, while Boc-imine 4 gave syn-beta-amino alcohols in anti/syn = up to 5/95, up to >99% yield, and up to >99.5% ee. The high catalyst turnover number (TON) is also noteworthy. Catalyst loading was successfully reduced to 0.02 mol % (TON = up to 4920) for the anti-selective reaction and 0.05 mol % (TON = up to 1760) for the syn-selective reaction. The Et2Zn/(S,S)-linked-BINOL complex exhibited far better TON than in previous reports of catalytic asymmetric Mannich-type reactions. Mechanistic studies to clarify the reason for the high catalyst efficiency as well as transformations of Mannich adducts are also described.     

Application of chiral mixed phosphorus/sulfur ligands to enantioselective rhodium-catalyzed dehydroamino acid hydrogenation and ketone hydrosilylation processes

Chiral mixed phosphorus/sulfur ligands 1-3 have been shown to be effective in enantioselective Rh-catalyzed dehydroamino acid hydrogenation and ketone hydrosilylation reactions (eqs 1, 2). After assaying the influence of the substituents at sulfur, the substituents on the ligand backbone, the relative stereochemistry within the ligand backbone, and the substituents at phosphorus, ligands 2c (R = 3,5-dimethylphenyl) and 3 were found to be optimal in the Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation of a variety of alpha-acylaminoacrylates in high enantioselectivity (89-97% ee). A similar optimization of the catalyst for the Rh-catalyzed hydrosilylation of ketones showed that ligand 3 afforded the highest enantioselectivities for a wide variety of aryl alkyl and dialkyl ketones (up to 99% ee). A model for asymmetric induction in the hydrogenation reaction is discussed in the context of existing models, based on the absolute stereochemistry of the products and the X-ray crystal structures of catalyst precursors and intermediates.     

Functional ionic liquid from biorenewable materials: synthesis and application as a catalyst in direct aldol reactions

A new room temperature ionic liquid (IL) (2-hydroxyethyl)-trimethyl-ammonium (S)-2-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid salt ([Choline][Pro]) has been synthesized from biorenewable and nontoxic raw materials (choline chloride and l(−)-proline) in a simple and relative green route. The IL has been demonstrated to be the efficient catalyst of the direct aldol reactions between ketones and aromatic aldehydes in water at room temperature. The aldol products can be obtained with good yields and the IL in aqueous phase can be separated easily and reused.     

New simple and recyclable O-acylation serine derivatives as highly enantioselective catalysts for the large-scale asymmetric direct aldol reactions in the presence of water

New classes of O-acylation serine derived organocatalysts have been synthesized one-step by rational combination of serine with acyl chlorides at room temperature in trifluoroacetic acid. No protecting groups or chromatographic techniques are involved in any of the procedures, and certain combined serine-surfactant organocatalysts mediate the direct aldol reactions of ketones with a series of aromatic aldehydes to provide the aldol products in high yields (up to 99%) and enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee). The catalyst 1b can be easily recovered and reused, and without significant decrease of enantioselectivity was observed for five cycles. This novel catalyst can be efficiently used in large-scale reactions with the enantioselectivities being maintained at the same level, which offers a great possibility for application in industry.     

Stereoselective synthesis of β-amino ketones via direct Mannich-type reaction catalyzed with silica sulfuric acid

At room temperature, the direct Mannich-type reaction of a variety of in situ generated aldimines using aldehydes and anilines with ketones in a three-component reaction was efficiently catalyzed by silica sulfuric acid (SSA) in EtOH. This rapid reaction afforded the corresponding β-amino ketones in good yields with excellent stereoselectivities and catalyst was recyclable.     

Chiral Sulfinamide Bisphosphine Catalysts: Design,Synthesis, and Application in Highly Enantioselective Intermolecular Cross‐Rauhut–Currier Reactions

A novel type of highly efficient chiral sulfinamide bisphosphine catalysts (Wei‐Phos) were developed. These could be easily prepared from commercially available starting materials. Wei‐Phos has shown good performance in the very challenging intermolecular cross‐Rauhut–Currier reactions of vinyl ketones and 3‐acyl acrylates or 2‐ene‐1,4‐diones, leading to the R‐C products in high yields with up to 99 % ee under 2.5–5 mol% catalyst loading. The highly regio‐ and enantio‐selective cross‐Rauhut–Currier reactions of 2‐ene‐1,4‐diones and vinyl ketone have yet reported so far.     

Acyclic β-amino acid catalyzed asymmetric anti-selective Mannich-type reactions

The ability of a primary amine containing acyclic β³-amino acids to catalyze direct asymmetric anti-selective Mannich-type reactions is presented. The reactions are generally highly diastereo- and enantioselective to give the corresponding Mannich products with up to >19:1 dr (anti/syn) and 88–99% ee.     

Enantio- and diastereoselective Michael addition reactions of unmodified aldehydes and ketones with nitroolefins catalyzed by a pyrrolidine sulfonamide

Chiral (S)-pyrrolidine trifluoromethanesulfonamide has been shown to serve as an effective catalyst for direct Michael addition reactions of aldehydes and ketones with nitroolefins. A wide range of aldehydes and ketones as Michael donors and nitroolefins as acceptors participate in the process, which proceeds with high levels of enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee) and diastereoselectivity (up to 50:1 d.r.). The methodology has been employed successfully in an efficient synthesis of the potent H(3) agonist Sch 50917. In addition, a practical three-step procedure for the preparation of (S)-pyrrolidine trifluoromethanesulfonamide has been developed. The high levels of stereochemical control attending Michael addition reactions catalyzed by this pyrrolidine sulfonamide, have been investigated by using ab initio and density functional methods. Transition state structures for the rate-limiting C--C bond-forming step, corresponding to re- and si-face addition to the reactive conformation of the key enamine intermediates have been calculated. Analysis of these structures indicates that hydrogen bonding plays an important role in catalysis and that the energy barrier for si-face attack in reactions of aldehydes to form 2R,3S products is lower than that for the re-face attack leading to 2S,3R products. In contrast, the energy barrier for re-face addition is lower than that for si-face addition in reactions of ketones. The computational results, which are in good agreement with the experimental observations, are discussed in the context of the stereochemical course of these Michael addition reactions.     

Ring-opening reactions of oxabicyclic alkene compounds: enantioselective hydride and ethyl additions catalyzed by group 4 metals

Titanium and zirconium catalysts selectively catalyze either the ethyl or hydride addition to [2.2.1] 4, 5-bis(methoxymethyl)-7-oxabicycloheptene (6); the ring-opened products formed depend on catalyst, temperature, alkylaluminum reagent, and the concentration of alkylaluminum. Bis(neoisomenthylindenyl)zirconium dichloride catalyzes the ethyl addition ring-opening of 6 to produce (1R,2S,3S,6R)-2, 3-bis(methoxymethyl)-6-ethylcyclohex-4-enol (7) in 96% ee. Zirconium catalysts catalyze the ring-opening of [3.2.1] 2, 4-dimethyl-3-(benzyloxy)-8-oxabicyclo-6-octene (7) when ethylmagnesium bromide is used as a reagent. Both hydride and ethyl addition products are obtained at all conditions studied. Bis(neoisomenthylindenyl)zirconium dichloride catalyzes the ethyl addition ring-opening of 7 to produce (1S,2R,3S,4S,7S)-2, 4-dimethyl-3-(benzyloxy)-7-ethyl-5-cyclohexen-1-ol (8) in 48% ee.     

The development of scalemic multidentate niobium complexes as catalysts for the highly stereoselective ring opening of meso-epoxides and meso-aziridines

The discovery and development of a new Lewis acid system based on a complex formed from niobium(V) methoxide and (R)-3,3'-bis(2-hydroxy-3-isopropylbenzyl)-1,1'-binaphthalene-2,2'-diol, a novel tetradentate BINOL derivative, is presented. The system was shown to be extremely effective in promoting the desymmetrative ring opening of linear and cyclic meso-epoxides using anilines as nucelophiles, delivering the corresponding (R,R) anti-amino alcohols in good to excellent yields (up to quantitative) and excellent enantioselectivity (up to 96% ee). Furthermore, the catalyst system displays a remarkable sensitivity to steric bulk at the beta-carbon of the epoxide, selectively facilitating ring opening of smaller epoxides in the presence of more sterically hindered epoxides. This property was confirmed by a series of competition reactions using a mixture of meso-2-butene oxide and another aliphatic meso-epoxide, with the result that the former, less encumbered epoxide reacted preferentially with up to 98% chemical selectivity. While it was found to be most convenient to conduct the reactions with 10 mol % catalyst loading at 0.16 M, at higher overall concentration the reaction still proceeded efficiently with as little as 0.25 mol % catalyst to give the desired products with no significant reduction in yields or enantioselectivities. In addition, the current catalyst system was also found to mediate the asymmetric ring opening of nonsymmetrical cis-2-alkene oxides with anilines to give preferentially the corresponding (2R,3R)-2-amino-3-ols arising from ring opening at the methyl terminus, in excellent yields (up to quantitative) and good to excellent regio- and enantioselectivities (up to 18:1 and >99% ee, respectively). Intriguingly, it was discovered that the same catalyst system also promoted the ring-opening desymmetrization of aziridines with aniline nucleophiles to give the corresponding (S,S) vicinal diamines in good to excellent yields and enantioselectivity (up to 95% and 84% ee [>99% ee following a single recrystallization]). Catalyst systems that promote closely related reactions with opposite stereochemical outcomes in high selectivity such as the current niobium system are extremely unusual. To the best of our knowledge, this report constitutes not only the first example of the catalytic desymmetrization of both meso-epoxides and meso-aziridines but also a rare example of such complementary stereoselectivity in a catalytic reaction.