Anion–π Catalysis of Diels–Alder Reactions

Among concerted cycloadditions, the Diels–Alder reaction is the grand old classic, which is usually achieved with acid catalysis. In this report, hydroxypyrones, oxa‐, and thiazolones are explored because they provide access to anionic dienes. Their [4+2] cycloaddition with cyclic and acyclic dienophiles, such as maleimides and fumarates, affords bicyclic products with four new stereogenic centers. Bifunctional anion–π catalysts composed of amine bases next to the π surface of naphthalenediimides (NDIs) are shown to selectively stabilize the “open”, fully accessible anionic exo transition state on the π‐acidic aromatic surface. Our results also include reactivities that are hard to access with conventional organocatalysts, such as the exo ‐specific and highly enantioselective Diels–Alder reaction of thiazolones and maleimides with complete suppression of the otherwise dominant Michael addition. With increasing π acidity of the anion–π catalysts, the rates, chemo‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselectivities increase consistently.     

Palladium‐Mediated Arylation of Lysine in Unprotected Peptides

A mild method for the arylation of lysine in an unprotected peptide is presented. In the presence of a preformed biarylphosphine‐supported palladium(II)–aryl complex and a weak base, lysine amino groups underwent C−N bond formation at room temperature. The process generally exhibited high selectivity for lysine over other amino acids containing nucleophilic side chains and was applicable to the conjugation of a variety of organic compounds, including complex drug molecules, with an array of peptides. Finally, this method was also successfully applied to the formation of cyclic peptides by macrocyclization.     

Cobalt‐Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation Enabled by Organophotoredox Catalysis

Co‐catalyzed allylic substitution reactions have received little attention, arguably because of the lack of any known advantage of Co catalysis over either Rh or Ir catalysis. Described here is a general and regioselective Co‐catalyzed allylic alkylation using an in situ catalyst activation by organophotoredox catalysis. This noble‐metal‐free catalytic system exhibits unprecedentedly high reactivities and regioselectivities for the allylation with an allyl sulfone, for the first time, representing the unique synthetic utility of the Co‐catalyzed method compared to the related Rh‐ and Ir‐catalyzed reactions.     

Substrate‐Assisted,Transition‐Metal‐Free Diboration of Alkynamides with Mixed Diboron: Regio‐ and Stereoselective Access to trans‐1,2‐Vinyldiboronates

A substrate‐assisted diboration of alkynamides using the unsymmetrical pinacolato‐1,8‐diaminonaphthalenato diboron (pinBBdan) is described. The transition‐metal‐free reaction proceeds in a regio‐ and stereoselective fashion to exclusively afford trans ‐vinyldiboronates in good to excellent yields. Notably, Bdan and Bpin are installed on the α‐ and β‐carbon atoms, respectively.     

Biocatalytic Friedel–Crafts Alkylation Using a Promiscuous Biosynthetic Enzyme

The Friedel–Crafts alkylation is commonly used in organic synthesis to form aryl–alkyl C?C linkages. However, this reaction lacks the stereospecificity and regiocontrol of enzymatic catalysis. Here, we describe a stereospecific, biocatalytic Friedel–Crafts alkylation of the 2‐position of resorcinol rings using the cylindrocyclophane biosynthetic enzyme CylK. This regioselectivity is distinct from that of the classical Friedel–Crafts reaction. Numerous secondary alkyl halides are accepted by this enzyme, as are resorcinol rings with a variety of substitution patterns. Finally, we have been able to use this transformation to access novel analogues of the clinical drug candidate benvitimod that are challenging to construct with existing synthetic methods. These findings highlight the promise of enzymatic catalysis for enabling mild and selective C?C bond‐forming synthetic methodology.