Catalytic asymmetric addition of dialkylzinc reagents to alpha-aldiminoesters

[reaction: see text] The first catalytic, enantioselective addition of organozinc reagents to alpha-aldiminoesters is described. The use of a Lewis acid/Lewis base containing bifunctional catalyst preorganizes both reactive substrates to promote enantioselective addition over the racemic background reaction and alternative addition modes. Alcohol additives were found to enhance the enantioselection. The addition product was also found to cyclize with remaining substrate to provide imidazolidines.     

Highly enantioselective conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to acyclic nitroalkenes: a catalytic route to beta2-amino acids,aldehydes, and alcohols

Using chiral phosphoramidite ligand (S,R,R)-L1 in the conjugate addition to acyclic nitroalkenes for the first time, we obtained enantioselectivities up to 98%. The use of acyclic substrates with different dialkylzinc reagents provides a catalytic enantioselective route to (functionalized) beta2-amino aldehydes, acids, and alcohols.     

The enantioselective organocatalytic 1,4-addition of electron-rich benzenes to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes

The first enantioselective organocatalytic alkylation of electron-rich benzene rings with alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new strategy for the enantioselective construction of benzylic stereogenicity, an important chiral synthon for natural product and medicinal agent synthesis. The (2S,5S)-5-benzyl-2-tert-butylimidazolidinone amine catalyst has been found to mediate the conjugate addition of a wide variety of substituted and unsubstituted anilines to unsaturated aldehydes. A diverse spectrum of aldehyde substrates can also be accommodated in this new organocatalytic transformation. While catalyst quantities of 10 mol % were generally employed in this study, successful alkylations conducted with catalyst loadings as low as 1 mol % are described.     

The first enantioselective organocatalytic Mukaiyama-Michael reaction: a direct method for the synthesis of enantioenriched gamma-butenolide architecture

The first enantioselective organocatalytic Mukaiyama-Michael reaction using alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes has been accomplished. The use of iminium catalysis has provided a new strategy for the enantioselective addition of 2-silyloxy furans to unsaturated aldehydes to generate a variety of butenolide systems, an important chiral synthon found among many natural isolates. The (2S,5S)-5-benzyl-2-tert-butyl-imidazolidinone amine catalyst has been found to mediate the conjugate addition of a wide variety of substituted and unsubstituted silyloxy furans to unsaturated aldehydes. A diverse range of aldehyde substrates can be accommodated in this new organocatalytic transformation. Application of this new asymmetric technology to the enantioselective total synthesis of spiculisporic acid and the corresponding 5-epi-spiculisporic acid analogue is also discussed.     

Catalytic Enantioselective CH Functionalization of Alcohols by Redox‐Triggered Carbonyl Addition: Borrowing Hydrogen,Returning Carbon

The use of alcohols and unsaturated reactants for the redox‐triggered generation of nucleophile–electrophile pairs represents a broad, new approach to carbonyl addition chemistry. Discrete redox manipulations that are often required for the generation of carbonyl electrophiles and premetalated carbon‐centered nucleophiles are thus avoided. Based on this concept, a broad, new family of enantioselective C? C coupling reactions that are catalyzed by iridium or ruthenium complexes have been developed, which are summarized in this Minireview.     

Rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of organoboronic acids to alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfones

[reaction: see text] A general method for the enantioselective catalytic conjugate addition to acyclic alpha,beta-unsaturated sulfones is described. Using metal-chelating alpha,beta-unsaturated pyridyl sulfones as substrates, the rhodium-catalyzed chiraphos-mediated addition of organoboric acids takes place in excellent yield and high enantioselectivity. The subsequent elimination of the pyridylsulfonyl group by Julia-Kociensky olefination provides a novel approach to the enantioselective synthesis of allylic substituted alkenes.     

Acid-base catalysis of chiral Pd complexes: development of novel catalytic asymmetric reactions and their application to synthesis of drug candidates

Using the unique character of the chiral Pd complexes 1 and 2, highly efficient catalytic asymmetric reactions have been developed. In contrast to conventional Pd(0)-catalyzed reactions, these complexes function as an acid-base catalyst. Thus active methine and methylene compounds were activated to form chiral palladium enolates, which underwent enantioselective carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions such as Michael reaction and Mannich-type reaction with up to 99% ee. Interestingly, these palladium enolates acted cooperatively with a strong protic acid, formed concomitantly during the formation of the enolates to activate electrophiles, thereby promoting the C-C bond-forming reaction. This palladium enolate chemistry was also applicable to electrophilic enantioselective fluorination reactions, and various carbonyl compounds including beta-ketoesters, beta-ketophosphonates, tert-butoxycarbonyl lactone/lactams, cyanoesters, and oxindole derivatives could be fluorinated in a highly enantioselective manner (up to 99% ee). Using this method, the catalytic enantioselective synthesis of BMS-204352, a promising anti-stroke agent, was achieved. In addition, the direct enantioselective conjugate addition of aromatic and aliphatic amines to alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compound was successfully demonstrated. In this reaction, combined use of the Pd complex 2 having basic character and the amine salt was the key to success, allowing controlled generation of the nucleophilic free amine. This aza-Michael reaction was successfully applied to asymmetric synthesis of the CETP inhibitor torcetrapib.     

Nickel-catalyzed enantioselective three-component coupling of bis-1,3-dienes, aldehydes, and dimethylzinc

Nickel-catalyzed three-component coupling of bis-1,3-dienes, aldehyde, and dimethylzinc was investigated. In the presence of catalytic amounts of Ni(acac)2 and PPh3, bis-1,3-dienes smoothly react with an aldehyde and dimethylzinc via intramolecular cyclodimerization of bis-1,3-diene moiety. The reaction proceeds through formation of a cyclic bis-allylnickel complex, insertion of an aldehyde, and addition of dimethylzinc to the resulting oxanickellacycle intermediate. An enantioselective coupling was also achieved by the use of a chiral monodentate phosphine ligand, H-MOP.     

Amine-salt-controlled, catalytic asymmetric conjugate addition of various amines and asymmetric protonation

The combined use of chiral Pd complex 2 and amine salt enabled completely regulated release of free nucleophilic amine. Under these conditions, an efficient catalytic asymmetric conjugate addition of various amines was achieved to afford beta-amino acid derivatives in high chemical yields with up to 98% ee. Furthermore, a highly enantioselective protonation in 1,4-addition of amine was also developed. [reaction: see text]     

Facile, mild, and highly enantioselective alkynylzinc addition to aromatic aldehydes by BINOL/N-methylimidazole dual catalysis

The dual Lewis acid/base catalytic system, generated from N-methylimidazole (NMI), (R)-1,1'-bi-2-naphthol [(R)-BINOL], and Ti(OiPr)4, effectively catalyzes the enantioselective alkynylation of aldehydes in the presence of Et2Zn in good yields and excellent enantioselectivities of up to 94% ee at room temperature. The mild reaction conditions make it possible to use functional alkynes in this asymmetric addition.     

Enantioselective, facially selective carbomagnesation of cyclopropenes

Described is the facially selective and enantioselective addition of carbon nucleophiles to prochiral 3-hydroxymethylcyclopropenes. The process creates up to four stereocenters in a tandem addition/capture sequence that combines three simple materials to give complex and diverse products. The asymmetry is induced by the inexpensive and recoverable ligand (S)-N-methylprolinol. The enantioselectivity (90-98% ee with MeMgCl) is high for a range of cyclopropenes and electrophiles. Importantly, the diastereoselectivity is complementary to that obtained by enantioselective cyclopropanation with aryldiazoacetates. High enantioselectivities are obtained only when methoxide is included in the reaction. Evidence is provided that at least two chiral ligands are involved in the enantioselectivity-determining step.     

Enantioselective formal hydration of alpha,beta-unsaturated imides by Al-catalyzed conjugate addition of oxime nucleophiles

The (salen)Al-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of salicylaldoxime to alpha,beta-unsaturated imides is the key step in an efficient and highly enantioselective two-step formal hydration of these electron-deficient olefins. This reaction constitutes the first example of an enantioselective conjugate addition of an oxygen-centered nucleophile to alpha,beta-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives. Application of this method to chiral, nonracemic substrates revealed a high level of catalyst-induced diastereoselectivity, underscoring its potential utility for polyketide natural product synthesis.     

DoE-Driven Development of an Organocatalytic Enantioselective Addition of Acetaldehyde to Nitrostyrenes in Water**

The development of an enantioselective enamine-catalysed addition of masked acetaldehyde to nitroalkenes via a rational approach helped to move away from the use of chloroform. The presented research allows the use of water as a reaction medium, therefore improving the industrial relevance of a protocol to access very important pharmaceutical intermediates. Critical to the success is the use of chemometrics-assisted ‘Design of Experiments’ (DoE) optimisation during the development of the presented new synthetic approach, which allows to investigate the chemical space in a rational way.     

Diastereoselective Prins-type reaction of cycloalkenylcyclopropanol silyl ethers and alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde acetals

Electrophilic addition of 1-(1-cyclohexenyl)-1-cyclopropanol trimethylsilyl ether to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde acetals under Lewis acidic conditions proceeds with good to excellent diastereoselectivity to afford spirocyclobutanones containing three contiguous stereocenters. A convenient entry to enantioselective syntheses is available by use of a nonracemic C2-symmetric acetal. Elaboration of the resulting adducts provides ready access to medium-sized carbocycles.     

Ligand differentiated complementary Rh-catalyst systems for the enantioselective desymmetrization of meso-cyclic anhydrides

Two distinct systems for the rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective desymmetrization of meso-cyclic anhydrides have been developed. Each system has been optimized and are compatible with the use of in situ prepared organozinc reagents. Rhodium/PHOX species efficiently catalyze the addition of alkyl nucleophiles to glutaric anhydrides, while a rhodium/phosphoramidite system is effective in the enantioselective arylation of succinic and glutaric anhydrides.     

A novel,stereoselective silyl-directed Stevens [1,2]-shift of ammonium ylides

[reaction: see text] The silyl group of 2-silylpyrrolidines such as 1 plays several critical roles: a stereochemical control element in a facially selective carbenoid addition to the ring nitrogen, a stereochemical "placeholder" during regioselective 1,2-migration with retention by the resulting spirocyclic ammonium ylide, and a hydroxyl surrogate for an eventual stereoselective Fleming-Tamao oxidation. This chemistry represents a novel use of the Stevens rearrangement and offers a short, enantioselective route to hydroxylated quinolizidines such as 3 from Boc-pyrrolidine.     

Kinetic resolution of diarylmethanols using a mutated variant of lipase CALB

An enzymatic kinetic resolution of diarylmethanols via acylation has been developed. This was achieved by the use of a mutated variant of CALB that accepts larger substrates compared to the wild type. By the use of diarylmethanols with two differently sized aryl groups, enantioselective transformations were achieved. A larger size-difference led to a higher enantioselectivity. In addition, substrates with electronically different aryl groups, such as phenyl and pyridyl, also gave an enantioselective reaction. The highest E value was observed with a substrate where steric and electronic effects were combined.     

Enantioselective Alkynylation of Benzaldehyde Catalyzed by New Chiral Lewis Acid Ligand: Zinc-Amide Complex

The enantioselective alkynylzinc addition to aldehydes is very useful for the synthesis of chiral propargyl alcohols which are important versatile building blocks of many biologically active compounds and natural products1. A series of chiral oxazolidines were conveniently synthesized from amino acids in three steps with good yields. The use of chiral Lewis acid ligand: zinc-amide complex in situ generated from this oxazolidine with alkylzinc as chiral catalysts for the enantioselective alkyny…     

Enantioselective hydride abstraction in organic substrates: a novel use for chiral carbenium ions

[reaction: see text] It is surprising that chiral cations have not been used to distinguish between prochiral hydrides when converse notions, such as asymmetric addition of a hyride to a prochiral functional group or use of a chiral anion to distinguish between a pair of prochiral protons, are methods employed everyday in enantioselective synthesis. To the best of our knowledge, this Letter describes the first example of an oxidative enantioselective hydride transfer process.     

First catalytic enantioselective synthesis of the cocaine abuse therapeutic agent (S)-(+)-1-(4-{2-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy]ethyl}piperazin-1-yl)-2-phenyl-2-propanol

(S)-(+)-1-(4-{2-[Bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy]ethyl}piperazin-1-yl)-2-phenyl-2-propanol, which is a promising candidate as a cocaine abuse therapeutic agent, is prepared in several steps. The key asymmetric step is the catalytic enantioselective addition of dimethylzinc to either 2-chloro or 2-bromoacetophenone catalyzed by the use of different chiral isoborneolsulfonamide ligands in the presence of titanium tetraisopropoxide. The synthesis of a new isoborneolsulfonamide ligand bearing a trifluromethyl substituent and its use in this addition is also presented.