Asymmetric aziridination: a new entry to optically active non-N-protected aziridines

A newly designed robust Ru(salen)(CO) complex 3 was found to catalyze asymmetric aziridination using azide compounds carrying p-nitrobenzenesulfonyl and 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethanesulfonyl (SES) groups, which are easily removable N-protecting groups under mild conditions, as a nitrene precursor in a highly enantioselective manner. In particular, the reactions with SES azide showed excellent enantioselectivity greater than 90% ee, except for one example.     

Asymmetric synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids by diastereoselective alkylation of camphor-based tricyclic iminolactone

A novel and convenient route for the preparation of chiral tricyclic iminolactones 9 and 10 from camphorquinone has been developed. Alkylation of iminolactones 9 and 10 provided iminolactones 16 and 17 in high yields which were, in turn, alkylated again to afford the alpha,alpha-disubstituted products in good yields (70-90%) and excellent diastereoselectivities (>98%). Hydrolysis of the alkylated iminolactones furnished the desired alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids in good yields and high enantiomeric excesses with good recovery yields of the chiral auxiliary 12 and 13. The extremely high endo-face selectivity for alkylation is discussed using semiempirical (MOPAC 93) calculations.     

GaCl3-catalyzed skeletal rearrangement of alpha,alpha,alpha-trisubstituted aldehydes

[Reaction: see text] GaCl3 is found to be a superior catalyst for the skeletal rearrangement of alpha,alpha,alpha-trisubstituted aldehydes to ketones. The rearrangement can proceed smoothly in the presence of a catalytic amount of GaCl3, and even substrates having no heteroatoms alpha to the carbonyl group or without steric strains can be used. Double activation of a carbonyl group by two molecules of GaCl3 was supported on the basis of experimental data and a DFT study.     

Asymmetric 1,4-addition of oxazolones to nitroalkenes by bifunctional cinchona alkaloid thiourea organocatalysts: synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids

An easy and simple synthetic approach to optically active alpha,alpha-quaternary alpha-amino acids using asymmetric organocatalysis is presented. The addition of oxazolones to nitroalkenes catalyzed by thiourea cinchona derivatives provides the corresponding alpha,alpha-quaternary alpha-amino acid derivatives with good yields, excellent diastereoselectivities (up to 98 % dr), and from moderate to good enantioselectivities (up to 92 % ee). The reaction can be performed on a large scale. The optically active oxazolone-nitroalkene addition products can be opened in a one-pot reaction to the corresponding ester-amide derivatives. Additional transformations are also presented, such as the synthesis of amino esters, amino acids, and transformation into 3,4-disubstituted pyrrolidin-2-ones.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids and derivatives

It is shown that racemic oxazolones are excellent reagents for the synthesis of chiral quaternary amino acids and its derivatives by the diastereo- and enantioselective nucleophilic addition to alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes catalyzed by diarylprolinol silyl ethers. The scope of this new organocatalytic reaction is demonstrated for different oxazolones having aromatic and alkyl groups at the reactive carbon atom and different aromatic and aliphatic substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes, for which the stereoselective reaction proceeds with good yield, moderate to good to very high diastereoselectivity, and very high enantioselectivity. The potential of the reaction is shown for the synthesis of optically active alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids, alpha-quaternary proline derivatives, amino alcohols, lactams, and tetrahydropyranes. Furthermore, we have calculated by DFT-methods the transition-state structures that account for both the diastereo- and enantioselectivity observed for the addition of oxazolones to the alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes. For one class of compounds, the stereoselectivity is controlled by a hydrogen-bonding interaction of the enolate-form of the oxazolone with an ortho-hydroxy-phenyl substituent of the alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde, whereas the benzhydryl-protecting group in the oxazolone determines the diastereo- and enantioselectivity in a more general manner for both aromatic and aliphatic alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehydes.     

Asymmetric synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids using (S,S)-cyclohexane-1,2-diol as a chiral auxiliary

Diastereoselective alkylation of ethyl 2-methyl- and/or 2-ethylacetoacetates using the (S,S)-cyclohexane-1,2-diol as an acetal chiral auxiliary afforded enol ethers (2a-f and 5a-f) of 92->95% de in 31-70% yields. Removal of the cyclohexane-1,2-diol with BF(3)-OEt(2) afforded beta-keto esters (3 and 6) bearing a chiral quaternary carbon. The beta-keto esters could be easily converted into optically active alpha-methylated and/or alpha-ethylated alpha,alpha-disubstituted amino acids (12 and 13) in 21-99% yields using Schmidt rearrangement.     

光学活性N,N-二烷基-β-氨基醇硼烷配合物对酮的不对称还原反应

从天然氨基酸出发制得的九种新的光学活性N,N-二烷基-β-氨基醇,分别与硼烷反应生成相应的手性恶唑硼烷配合物并将其用于不对称还原反应中. 硼烷-手性恶唑硼烷-还原体系能将脂肪酮和芳香酮还原为仲醇, 化学还原收率可达100%,光学收率也比较高.并简单讨论了立体效应, 反应温度和溶剂效应对此还原反应的影响.     

Asymmetric synthesis by chiral cobalt catalysts: Homogeneous reduction of ketones to optically active alcohols

The hydrogenation of ketones with Co₂(CO)₆(PR₃)₂ (PR₃ = PPh₂-neomenthyl, PPh₂ -6-deoxo-1,2:3,4-diisopropylidene d-galactose and PMe₂ -menthyl) as catalysts gives optically active alcohols in optical yields of 1.6 to 5%.     

Asymmetric addition of phenylacetylene to aldehydes catalyzed by soluble optically active polybinaphthols ligand

A chiral polymer ligand was synthesized by the polymerization of (S)-5,5′-dibromo-6,6′-dibutyl-2,2′-binaphthol (S-M-1) with (S)-2,2′-bishexyloxy-1,1′-binaphthyl-6,6′-boronic acid (S-M-2) via Pd-catalyzed Suzuki reaction. The application of the chiral polymer ligand to the asymmetric addition of phenylethynyl zinc to various aldehydes has been studied. The results show that the soluble chiral polybinaphthols ligand in combination with Et₂Zn and Ti(OⁱPr)₄ can exhibit excellent enantioselectivity for phenylacetylene addition to both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. The catalytically active center of the repeating unit S-1 used as a catalyst produced the opposite configuration of the propargylic alcohols to that of S-1, on the contrary, the chiral polymer gave the same configuration as the optically active binaphthol moiety of the polybinaphthols ligand. Moreover, the chiral polymer ligand can be easily recovered and reused without loss of catalytic activity as well as enantioselectivity.     

Recent approaches towards the asymmetric synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids

The class of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids has gained considerable attention in the past decades and continues doing so. The ongoing interest in biological and chemical properties of the substance class has inspired the development of many new methodologies for their asymmetric construction, which have not found their way into the general focus of organic chemistry yet. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the developments in the field since 1998.     

An easy entry to optically active alpha-amino phosphonic acid derivatives using phase-transfer catalysis (PTC)

The unprecedented use of phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) in an asymmetric hydrophosphonylation reaction allows the obtainment of a range of optically active alpha-amino phosphonic acid derivatives directly from alpha-amido sulfones.     

Asymmetric exchange of cyclopalladated ligands: A new route to optically active phosphapalladacycles

An asymmetric version of the cyclopalladated ligand exchange reaction was developed. This procedure involves the use of prochiral phosphines in an aprotic medium. A benzylaminate palladacycle bearing the primary amino group and the bulky But substituent at the C* stereo-center serves as a chirality inductor. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2112–2129, December, 2006.     

Proline-catalysed asymmetric amination of alpha,alpha-disubstituted aldehydes: synthesis of configurationally stable enantioenriched alpha-aminoaldehydes

Proline-catalysed amination of alpha,alpha-disubstituted racemic aldehydes with azodicarboxylates proceeds smoothly to give configurationally stable scalemic aldehydes and oxazolidinones in up to 86% ee.     

Three component coupling of alpha-iminoesters via umpolung addition of organometals: synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids

The synthesis of alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids by means of a three component coupling is reported. The coupling occurs through umpolung addition of organometallic reagents to the nitrogen of alpha-iminoesters. The resulting enolate intermediates subsequently react with electrophiles (aldehydes, imines, alpha,beta-unsaturated nitro, alkyl halides, acyl cyanides) to form a quaternary center. Tethering of the electrophile and nucleophile components provides cyclic alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acid derivatives.     

Efficient synthesis of serically constrained smmetrically alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids under operationally convenient conditions

Homologation of the nucleophilic glycine equivalent Ni-Gly-PABP [Ni(II) complex of glycine Schiff base with 2-[N-(alpha-picolyl)amino]benzophenone (PABP)] 2 via alkyl halide alkylations and Michael addition reactions was systematically studied as a general method for preparing symmetrically alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino acids (sym-alpha,alpha-AA). The dialkylation reactions are conducted under operationally convenient conditions without recourse to inert atmosphere, dried solvents, and low temperatures, thus enjoying key advantages of the experimental simplicity and attractive cost structure. The method has been shown to be particularly successful for the dialkylation of complex 2 with activated and nonactivated alkyl halides, including propargyl derivatives, affording a generalized and practical access to the corresponding sym-alpha,alpha-AA. This study has also shown some limitation of the method, as it cannot be extended to alpha- or beta-branched alkyl halides or Michael acceptors to be used for the dialkylation of glycine equivalent 2. High chemical yields of the dialkylated products, combined with the simplicity of the experimental procedure, render this method worth immediate use for multigram scale preparation of the sym-alpha,alpha-AA.     

Synthesis of spirohydantoins and spiro-2,5-diketopiperazines via resin-bound cyclic alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino esters

A seven-step solid-phase synthesis of spirohydantoins and an eight-step solid-phase synthesis of spiro-2,5-diketopiperazines is reported. Key intermediate in the synthesis of both compound libraries is the resin-bound cyclic alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino ester, which can be obtained after selective homogeneous reduction of the aliphatic nitro ester using tin(II) chloride dihydrate. Nitro ester, in turn, is synthesized by a high-pressure-assisted [4 + 2] cycloaddition of resin-bound nitro alkene and butadiene, whereas nitro alkene is obtained by a Knoevenagel condensation of resin-bound nitro acetate with an imine. Novel spirohydantoins are obtained by isocyanate coupling with the resin-bound amino ester 5, followed by cyclization cleavage using a base. Novel spiro-2,5-diketopiperazines are obtained by PyBOP coupling of a Fmoc-protected amino acid with resin-bound amino ester, followed by Fmoc deprotection and an acid-assisted cyclization cleavage. After preparation of seven different resin-bound alpha,alpha-disubstituted alpha-amino esters, a 7 x 8 compound library of spirohydantoins was synthesized using eight different isocyanates, and a 7 x 8 compound library of spiro-2,5-diketopiperazines was synthesized using eight different Fmoc amino acids.