Recent advances in indoline synthesis

Indoline is an important structural motif present in several biologically active compounds from both natural and synthetic origins. The occurrence of this heterocyclic unity in these compounds is closely related to the biological activities they exhibit. This fact stimulated efforts that have been made worldwide to develop new synthetic approaches to prepare indolines. In this paper we reviewed critically the methods for indoline synthesis developed in the last years (from 2010 to 2018).     

Recent advances in organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of polysubstituted pyrrolidines

Chiral substituted pyrrolidines are important N-heterocyclic structural motifs, existing in many natural products, drug candidates, ligands and organocatalysts. We summarise herein the recent (between January 2010 and July 2013) developments on synthesising the chiral polysubstituted pyrrolidines through asymmetric organocatalysis. The organocatalytic strategies for constructing the pyrrolidine scaffolds can be divided into one-step and sequential approaches, respectively. The straightforward one-step approach is mainly the [3+2] cycloaddition based on the iminium activation, chiral Brønsted acid catalysis, bifunctional organocatalysis and SOMO activation. In the sequential approach (multi-step or one-pot reactions), the primary construction of chiral linear precursors is followed by the sequential cyclisation. Other important strategies, such as the organocatalytic bromoaminocyclisation were also described. These organocatalytic strategies have enriched the synthetic chemistry of chiral pyrrolidines, especially towards the target-, diversity- and application-oriented synthesis. New organocatalytic approaches are thus expected for the facile construction of polysubstituted pyrrolidines with well-controlled stereochemistry and for the practical synthesis of pyrrolidine-related natural alkaloids, drug candidates and functional proline derivatives.     

First asymmetric syntheses of 6-substituted nipecotic acid derivatives

Various nipecotic acid derivatives are known to be potent GABA uptake inhibitors thus being useful in the treatment of a number of neurological and psychological disorders. In this paper, the first asymmetric syntheses of 6-substituted nipecotic acid derivatives are presented. The synthetic strategy was designed to provide access to a large variety of enantiomerically pure 6-substituted nipecotic acid derivatives. The synthesis starts from the chiral N-acyldihydropyridines 15 and 16 obtained via asymmetric electrophilic α-amidoalkylation reaction of a chiral N-acylpyridinium ion. These were utilized for the preparation of enantiomerically pure 6-(4,4-diphenylbutyl)nipecotic acids and 6-(4,4-diphenylbutenyl)nipecotic acids in a multistep synthesis, including the removal of the dimethylphenylsilyl blocking group from the dihydropyridine ring, the reduction of the dihydropyridine heterocycle, a Horner-Wittig reaction and the removal of the chiral auxiliary. The obtained target molecules, however, showed only negligible affinity to the GAT-1- and GAT-3 transport proteins.     

Application of the 2-Azaallyl Anion Cycloaddition Method to an Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (+)-Coccinine

A highly functionalized perhydroindole is formed by the intramolecular [π4s+π2s] cycloaddition of a 2-azaallyl anion with a vinyl sulfide [Eq. (a)]. This is the key step in the total synthesis of (+)-coccinine, the enantiomer of the Amaryllidaceae alkaloid (−)-coccinine.     

A novel synthesis of indolines by reaction of ortho-nitrophenylmalonates with bis(dimethylamino)methane

We report here a new and efficient synthesis of substituted indolines via reaction of dimethyl 2,4-dinitrophenyl-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)malonates with bis(dimethylamino)methane.     

Recent advances on copper-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis and their potential biological applications

An asymmetric catalysis is a form of catalytic reaction wherein a chiral catalyst controls the production of a chiral molecule to favour the synthesis of one stereoisomer over another. It's a good way to make stereoisomeric molecules for pharmacological purposes. Among the transition metals, copper is a cost-effective, plentiful, and less poisonous metal. This review focused on the asymmetric transformations in the last fifteen years.     

An asymmetric nickel-chromium coupling toward the synthesis of Baylis-Hillman adducts

An asymmetric nickel-chromium coupling strategy has been employed in the generation of enantioenriched Baylis-Hillman adducts with selectivities reaching >90% ee and in fair to moderate yields (up to 65%) using a chiral sulfonamide ligand. The reaction conditions appear to show reasonable generality and are compatible with both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. Utilizing such a strategy not only allows for the preparation of products which contain substitution at the β-position on the olefin but also allows for the separation of olefin isomers in this transformation.     

The reactions of 3-ethoxycarbonylmethylene-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-one and its derivatives in the synthesis of benzodiazepines and benzimidazoles: reinvestigation,structural reassignment,and new insight

The reaction of 3-ethoxycarbonylmethylene-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-one with the Vilsmeier reagent, the treatment of 3-(3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2(1H)-on-3-yl)-1,2-dihydro-1,5-benzodiazepin-2(1H)-one hydrochloride with 10% sodium hydroxide and 3-benzimidazoylquinoxalin-2(1H)-one with both 1,2-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride, and the reactions of 1,2-phenylenediamine have been reinvestigated and the structures of these reaction products have been revised. It has been shown that in all the three cases other regioisomers of products have been formed as distinct from the literature data. The mechanisms to explain the formation of the products are suggested.     

Recent advances in the asymmetric catalytic synthesis of chiral 3-hydroxy and 3-aminooxindoles and derivatives: Medicinally relevant compounds

Several oxindole derivatives, of natural or synthetic origin, have been identified as medicinally appealing compounds, with a plethora of bioactivities reported. Chiral 3-hydroxy and 3-aminooxindole scaffolds have captured the attention of several research groups, due to their importance in drug discovery. In this review, we systematically address the wide variety of asymmetric catalytic methodologies employed in the preparation of these relevant chiral scaffolds, present in many biologically active compounds and/or natural products. Special focus will be given to the nature of the catalyst used.     

Asymmetric synthesis of 2-substituted cyclic amines

Cyanomethylenetributylphosphorane-mediated ring closure for the asymmetric synthesis of 2-substituted cyclic amines such as azetidines, pyrrolidines and a piperidine is reported. The desired stereochemistry at the 2-position was fixed using (S)-tert-butyl sulfinamide as a chiral auxiliary.     

Chiral Aziridines—Their Synthesis and Use in Stereoselective Transformations

The preparation of enantiomerically pure compounds is one of the major areas of organic chemistry. Much emphasis is placed on the elaboration of naturally occurring starting materials and on the development of techniques for enantio-selective transformations of achiral substrates. In this field, chiral aziridines form an attractive class of compounds, since they are available in enantiomerically pure (or highly enriched) form by a variety of procedures and can be used for asymmetric synthesis in a number of different ways. The chemistry of aziridines is dominated by ring-opening reactions, the driving force for which is relief of ring strain. By suitable choice of sub-stituents on the carbon and nitrogen atoms, excellent stereo- and regiocontrol can be attained in ring-opening reactions with a wide variety of nucleophiles, including organometallic reagents; this makes chiral aziridines useful as substrates for the synthesis of important biologically active species including alkaloids, amino acids, and /Mactam antibiotics. Substrate-controlled diastereo-selective synthesis is also possible by use of aziridines as removable chiral auxiliaries, while metalation at a ring carbon atom allows aziridines to be used as chiral reagents for asymmetric synthesis. Chiral bisaziridines can act as ligands for transition metals, and applications in the challenging field of enantioselective catalysis can be envisioned. Today, the exclusion of three-membered carbo- and heterocycles from the arsenal of the organic chemist is inconceivable.

1 H. Heimgartner, Angew. Chem. 1991 , 103, 271; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 1991 , 30, 238.

     

Se-mediated one-pot synthesis of 2-substituted benzoselenazole derivatives from 2 to iodoanilines and arylacetic acids/arylmethyl chlorides

A general approach to the formation of 2-substituted benzoselenazoles from the three-component reactions of 2-iodoanilines, selenium powder, arylacetic acids or benzyl chlorides is described. The use of copper salt as catalyst and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent are crucial to afford the title compounds in moderate to good yields (45–88%) with good functional group tolerance on the aromatic and heteroaromatic substrates.     

Recent advances in asymmetric synthesis with CO_2

Carbon dioxide(CO_2) is an important and appealing C1 building block in chemical synthesis due to its nontoxicity, abundance,availability and sustainability. Tremendous progress has been achieved in the chemical transformation of CO_2 into high valueadded organic chemicals. However, the asymmetric synthesis with CO_2 to form enantioenriched molecules, especially the catalytic process, has lagged far behind. The enantioselective incorporation of CO_2 into organic compounds is highly desirable,as the corresponding chiral products, such as carboxylic acids and amino acids, are common structural units in a vast array of natural products and biologically active compounds. Herein, we discuss recent progress toward the enantioselective incorporation of CO_2 into organic molecules, which mainly rely on three strategies: 1) kinetic resolution or desymmetrization of epoxides with CO_2 to form chiral cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates; 2) nucleophilic attack of O-or N-nucleophiles to CO_2 in tandem with asymmetric C–O bond formation to prepare chiral cyclic carbonates and carbamates; 3) direct enantioselective nucleophilic attack of organometallic reagents to CO_2 with asymmetric C–C bond formation. Finally, challenges and future outlook in this area are also presented.     

Metallation–substitution of an α-oxygenated chiral nitrile

Deprotonation of a chiral alpha-oxygenated nitrile with the base 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidylmagnesium chloride, TMPMgCl, gives rise to a chiral magnesiated nitrile, and this anion has sufficient configurational stability at low temperature to allow the formation of highly enantiomerically enriched substituted nitrile products after electrophilic quench.     

Recent advances towards catalytic asymmetric Conia-ene-type reactions

Conia-ene reactions,as a type of ene reactions,have not become a remarkable focus until the beginning of21~(st) century,when Lewis acids served as powerful catalysts and found an increasingly broad utilization in this field.Consequently,the catalytic Conia-ene reactions have gained great significance in synthetic chemistry due to their high efficiency and atom economy on the construction of valuable cyclic molecules.During the past two decades,the rapid development of transition-metal catalysis and organocatalysis has imposed a profound impact on the exploration of asymmetric Conia-ene reactions.As a result,several strategies have been developed and applied successfully.Organized on the basis of the catalytic system,this review comprehensively presents a summary of recent progress achieved in this emerging domain,aimed at highlighting the reactions' features,practicalities,and the mechanistic rationale is presented where possible.     

Structure effect of TsDPEN derivatives on enantioselectivity of asymmetric transfer hydrogenation

TsDPEN derivative (3,3′,5,5′-TMTsDPEN) was synthesized and applied in asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of ketones. The influence of chiral ligands’ NCCN dihedral angles to the enantioselectivities of the reaction was discussed.     

Application of modular nucleophilic glycine equivalents for truly practical asymmetric synthesis of β-substituted pyroglutamic acids

A new series of achiral glycine equivalents have been evaluated with respect to their synthetic utility for the production of β-substituted pyroglutamic acid derivatives. Among them, the piperidine-derived complex was found to be a superior glycine derivative for the Michael additions with various (R)-N-(E-enoyl)-4-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-ones representing a general and practical synthesis of sterically constrained β-substituted pyroglutamic acids. In particular, application of complex allowed for the first time preparation of the corresponding isopropyl derivatives thus increasing the synthetic efficiency and expanding generality these Michael addition reactions.