Catalytic, efficient, and syn-selective construction of deoxypolypropionates and other chiral compounds via Zr-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination of allyl alcohol

An efficient, syn-selective, all catalytic asymmetric protocol for the synthesis of alpha,omega-diheterofunctional deoxypolypropionates via Zr-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination (ZACA reaction) was developed. The success of the method critically hinges on the one-pot conversion of unprotected allyl alcohol into TBS-protected (R)- or (S)-3-iodo-2-methyl-1-propanol (1) of 91% enantiomeric purity in 82% yield via (i) Zr-catalyzed asymmetric methylalumination, (ii) iodination, and (iii) protection with TBSCl. After zincation of 1, its Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling with various organic halides can give various organic derivatives, including 3 and 4, which can serve as key intermediates for efficient and selective syntheses of deoxypolypropionates, such as doliculide and 2,4,6,8-tetramethyldecanoic acid, and other chiral compounds, such as callystatin A. Selective monocarboalumination of 1,4-pentadiene (5 equiv) gave, after oxidation, the expected product 5, but it was 0% ee. A plausible mechanism for racemization has been proposed and experimentally supported.     

One-pot, catalytic, asymmetric synthesis of polypropionates

[reaction: see text] The opening of methylketene dimer, followed by aldol reactions of the resulting enolate, provides a convenient access to syn,syn-dipropionate aldol adducts of a variety of aldehydes. These aldol adducts are useful precursors in the synthesis of complex polypropionates.     

Fully reagent-controlled asymmetric synthesis of (-)-spongidepsin via the Zr-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination of alkenes (ZACA reaction)

The ZACA reaction has been shown to proceed satisfactorily with internally OH-substituted 1-alkenes, provided that the OH group is unprotected and non-allylic. This reaction was used for reagent-controlled asymmetric construction of 3. Allylic alcohol was converted to 2 in seven steps via iterative ZACA processes and simple chromatography. (-)-Spongidepsin (1) was synthesized by using 2 and 3 through application of the esterification-amidation-ring-closing metathesis protocol previously reported.     

Efficient and selective synthesis of (S,R,R,S,R,S)-4,6,8,10,16,18-hexamethyl-docosane via Zr-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination of alkenes (ZACA reaction)

(S,R,R,S,R,S)-4,6,8,10,16,18-Hexamethyldocosane (1) was synthesized in 11% yield in 11 steps in the longest linear sequence from > or =98% pure (S)-beta-citronellal and 6 additional steps for the preparation of 11 in 23% yield from propene. Five of the six asymmetric carbon centers were generated catalytically and stereoselectively by the ZACA reaction (5 times), one lipase-catalyzed acetylation, and two chromatographic operations.     

Zirconium-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination (ZACA reaction) of 1,4-dienes

Variously substituted 1,4-dienes containing a terminal vinyl (H₂CCH) group, readily undergo the ZACA reaction with Me₃Al and higher alkylalanes in a 1:1 molar ratio in the presence of a catalytic amount (1–5 mol %) of bis[(1-neomenthyl)indenyl]zirconium dichloride in good yields and in good enantioselectivity (70–92% ee), thereby providing an efficient and convenient route to various alkene-containing chiral natural products. Only the reaction of the parent 1,4-pentadiene is accompanied by extensive racemization.     

Enantioselective synthesis of DIANANE, a novel C2-symmetric chiral diamine for asymmetric catalysis

DIANANE (endo,endo-2,5-diaminonorbornane) is a novel chiral C(2)-symmetric diamine, based on the rigid bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane scaffold. Schiff-base ligands derived from DIANANE have already found use in asymmetric catalysis, e.g., in the highly enantioselective Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi reaction. We herein describe a practical synthesis of enantiomerically pure DIANANE, starting from norbornadiene in four steps: (i) Pd-MOP catalyzed Hayashi-hydrosilylation/Tamao-Fleming oxidation, (ii) oxidation to norbornane-2,5-dione, (iii) endo-selective reductive amination with benzylamine, and (iv) hydrogenolytic debenzylation. None of the steps involves chromatographic purification. For the Tamao-Fleming oxidation, the use of hydrogen peroxide in the form of its urea clathrate instead of aqueous solution proved beneficial. By the above sequence, enantiomerically pure (ee >or=99%) DIANANE was obtained from norbornadiene in 40-50% overall yield. The relative and absolute configuration of DIANANE was confirmed by X-ray crystallography of the DIANANE bis-tosylamide, and of its bis-camphorsulfonamide. Furthermore, the synthesis and X-ray crystal structure of the Schiff-base ligand derived from DIANANE and 3,5-di-tert-butyl salicylic aldehyde are reported.     

First synthesis of (1S,2S)- and (1R,2R)-1-amino-2-isopropylcyclobutanecarboxylic acids by asymmetric Strecker reaction from 2-substituted cyclobutanones

An efficient and easy one-pot reaction from readily available racemic 2-substituted cyclobutanones gave, by means of asymmetric Strecker synthesis in the presence of an amine chiral auxiliary, two major aminonitriles with excellent diastereoselectivity. After separation, the major cis-aminonitriles were hydrolysed and hydrogenolysed to lead for the first time to pure non-racemic (+)-1-amino-2-isopropylcyclobutanecarboxylic acid (ACBC) and its antipode.     

1,4-Pentenyne as a five-carbon synthon for efficient and selective syntheses of natural products containing 2,4-dimethyl-1-penten-1,5-ylidene and related moieties by means of Zr-catalyzed carboalumination of alkynes and alkenes

Two highly efficient protocols for enantioselective synthesis of 2,4-dimethyl-1-penten-1,5-ylidene derivatives involve the combined use of the Zr-catalyzed methylalumination of alkynes (ZMA) and the Zr-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination of alkenes (ZACA). The ZMA/ZACA protocol has been applied to the synthesis of a nafuredin intermediate 14 and a potential intermediate 18 for milbemycin beta 3, while the ZACA/ZMA protocol has been applied to the synthesis of a (-)-bafilomycin A(1) intermediate 25.     

The use of solid-supported reagents for the multi-step synthesis of analytically pure alpha,beta-unsaturated compounds in miniaturized flow reactors

Micro reaction technology offers a safe, controllable and information rich technique suitable for the long-term production of pharmaceutical agents and fine chemicals. To date however, few of the syntheses performed using this technology have addressed the problems associated with product purification. With this in mind, we report herein the incorporation of multiple supported reagents into EOF-based miniaturized flow reactors for the two-step synthesis of analytically pure compounds. Using this approach, the successful synthesis of 20 alpha,beta-unsaturated compounds in excellent yields (>99.1%) and purities (>99.9%) has been achieved, illustrating significant improvements compared to traditional batch techniques.     

Solid-phase synthesis of asymmetrically substituted "AB3-type" phthalocyanines

Synthesis of phthalocyanines with asymmetrical substitution on the periphery is often difficult due the problems in purification of the phthalocyanine mixtures obtained. Using a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based support with a Wang-type linker, we have developed the synthesis of monohydroxylated, oligoethylene glycol substituted phthalocyanines utilizing an amidine-base-promoted phthalonitrile tetramerization reaction. The use of a hydrophilic support allows symmetrical phthalocyanine product formed in solution to be readily and completely removed by washing while leaving the "AB3" product on the support. Acid cleavage with 10% trifluoroacetic acid provides the pure unsymmetrically substituted Pc. This method was applied to several metallo Pcs. Additionally, methods to avoid premature reactions on-resin that give A2B2 products are provided.     

Solution- and soluble-polymer supported asymmetric syntheses of six-membered ring prostanoids

An asymmetric synthesis of prostanoids containing a six-membered ring core structure (11a-homoprostaglandins), both in solution and using non-cross-linked polystyrene (NCPS) as a soluble support, was developed. Target molecule 1 was generated in a convergent fashion using a three-component coupling strategy, wherein chiral enone (R)-2 was the precursor of the central ring and the cuprate 3 and triflate 4 were used to introduce the side chains. The chiral center of (R)-2 directed the facial selectivity of the conjugate addition reaction which then dictated the stereochemical outcome of the subsequent alpha alkylation. Attachment of a six-membered ring scaffold to NCPS facilitated purification without compromising synthetic yields, still allowed 1H-NMR analysis of the intermediates in the synthesis, and provided an avenue for the construction of six-membered ring prostanoid libraries.     

New chiral didehydroamino acid derivatives from a cyclic glycine template with 3,6-dihydro-2H-1,4-oxazin-2-one structure: applications to the asymmetric synthesis of nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids

New chiral (Z)-alpha,beta-didehydroamino acid (DDAA) derivatives with 3,5-dihydro-2H-1,4-oxazin-2-one structure 11a-f have been stereoselectively prepared after condensation of chiral glycine equivalent 7 with aldehydes in the presence of K(2)CO(3) under mild solid-liquid phase-transfer catalysis reaction conditions. These new systems have been used in diastereoselective cyclopropanation reactions using Corey's ylide for the asymmetric synthesis of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acids (ACCs) such as allo-corononamic and allo-norcoronamic acids. The hydrogenation reaction of these systems at ambient pressure in the presence of formaldehyde affords saturated oxazinones and N-methylated oxazinones which have been transformed into the N-methyl-alpha-amino acids (N-MAAs) (S)-2-(methylamino)butanoic acid and (S)-N-methylleucine. In addition, the parent alpha, beta-didehydroalanine derivative 11g has been prepared by a direct aminomethylation-elimination sequence from 7 and Eschenmoser's salt and has been used in Diels-Alder cycloaddition with endo selectivity for the synthesis of the enantiomerically pure bicyclic alpha-amino acids (-)-2-aminobicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2-carboxylic and (-)-2-aminobicyclo[2.2.2]octane-2-carboxylic acids.     

Synthesis of beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters and beta-amino-alpha-azido ester by Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation, byproducts analysis

[reaction: see text] Synthesis of enantiomerically pure beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters (1, 2) and beta-amino-alpha-azido ester (3) using Sharpless AA as a key step is described. A hitherto unreported side reaction, the oxidation of the beta-hydroxy-alpha-amino ester (5) into the alpha,alpha-di-tert-butyloxycarbamoyl-beta-ketoester (8) under AA conditions, is documented.     

Improved asymmetric synthesis of dopamine D1 full agonist, dihydrexidine, employing chiral ligand-controlled asymmetric conjugate addition of aryllithium to a nitroalkene

Asymmetric conjugate addition of 2-trityloxymethylpheyllithium to a nitroalkene was mediated by a chiral ligand to give the key intermediate for dopamine D1 full agonist dihydrexidine 1. The shortcut of both Curtius rearrangement and Pictet-Spengler type cyclization, which were the drawback of the previously reported synthesis involving asymmetric conjugate addition of phenyllithium to an enoate, was realized by the newly developed asymmetric reaction. Short and efficient synthetic way gave optically pure dihydrexidine in 45% overall yield via eight steps. Improved synthesis of the best chiral ligand 13 was realized under the Buchwald conditions.     

Click mechanochemistry: quantitative synthesis of "ready to use" chiral organocatalysts by efficient two-fold thiourea coupling to vicinal diamines

Mechanochemical methods of neat grinding and liquid-assisted grinding have been applied to the synthesis of mono- and bis(thiourea)s by using the click coupling of aromatic and aliphatic diamines with aromatic isothiocyanates. The ability to modify the reaction conditions allowed the optimization of each reaction, leading to the quantitative formation of chiral bis(thiourea)s with known uses as organocatalysts or anion sensors. Quantitative reaction yields, combined with the fact that mechanochemical reaction conditions avoid the use of bulk solvents, enabled solution-based purification methods (such as chromatography or recrystallization) to be completely avoided. Importantly, by using selected model reactions, we also show that the described mechanochemical reaction procedures can be readily scaled up to at least the one-gram scale. In that way, mechanochemical synthesis provides a facile method to fully transform valuable enantiomerically pure reagents into useful products that can immediately be applied in their designed purpose. This was demonstrated by using some of the mechanochemically prepared reagents as organocatalysts in a model Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction and as cyanide ion sensors in organic solvents. The use of electronically and sterically hindered ortho-phenylenediamine revealed that mechanochemical reaction conditions can be readily optimized to form either the 1:1 or the 1:2 click-coupling product, demonstrating that reaction stoichiometry can be more efficiently controlled under these conditions than in solution-based syntheses. In this way, it was shown that excellent stoichiometric control by mechanochemistry, previously established for mechanochemical syntheses of cocrystals and coordination polymers, can also be achieved in the context of covalent-bond formation.     

Alpha,gamma-diamino acids: asymmetric synthesis of new constrained 6-amino-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-6-carboxylic acids

The synthesis of two new diastereomeric 6-amino-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-6-carboxylic acids exo- and endo-8,9 is reported using exo- and endo-norbornene amino acids as chiral building blocks. This method provides a fast access to optically pure amino acids 8 and 9 which can be considered both alpha,gamma- and alpha,delta-diamino acids containing sterical constraints and characterized by alpha,alpha-disubstitution.     

Development of a custom high-throughput preparative liquid chromatography/mass spectrometer platform for the preparative purification and analytical analysis of compound libraries

Solution-phase parallel synthesis has had a profound impact on the speed of compound synthesis delivering relatively pure compounds (>80%) in short order. However, to develop structure activity relationships (SAR) for a compound series, each library member should preferably be >95% pure. Historically, achieving and quantifying such high-purity criteria for each library member proved to be the slow step for most lead discovery groups. To address this issue, significant modifications have been made to a commercial Agilent preparative LC/MS system to allow for the general mass-guided purification of diverse compound libraries. The custom modifications include (1) the "DMSO slug" approach for the purification of samples with poor solubility; (2) an active splitter to reduce system back-pressure, reduce the delay volume, and allow for a variable split ratio; (3) a sample loading pump for the quick purification of large, dilute samples; (4) a preparative column-selection valve to quickly change column selectivity or sample loading; and (5) an analytical injector with a separate flow path for crude reaction or fraction analyses.     

Synthesis of a peroxime proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) alpha/gamma agonist via stereocontrolled Williamson ether synthesis and stereospecific SN2 reaction of S-2-chloro propionic acid with phenoxides

The stereospecific synthesis of the PPAR alpha/gamma agonist 1 was accomplished via ethylation of the optically pure trihydroxy derivative 6, itself derived via an enzymatic resolution. The ethylation can be accomplished without epimerization only under strict control of the reaction conditions and the choice of base (sodium tert-amylate), temperature (-30 degrees C), order of addition, and solvent (DMF). The key diastereospecific SN2 reaction of the phenol 4 with S-2-chloropropionic acid is best achieved via the sodium phenoxide of 4 derived from Na0 as the reagent of choice. The structure elucidation and key purification protocols to achieve pharmaceutical purity will also be described.     

Investigation of the asymmetric ionic Diels-Alder reaction for the synthesis of cis-decalins

The ionic Diels-Alder reaction, whereby an alpha,beta-unsaturated acetal in combination with a Lewis or Bronsted acid forms an equilibrium concentration of an activated dienophile, has been developed to provide an enantioselective synthesis of cis-decalins. Cyclohex-2-enone type chiral acetals of (2R,3R)-butane-2,3-diol have been screened against Lewis and Br?nsted acids with a variety of dienes and are efficient for the synthesis of a limited subset of cis-decalin structures. Diastereoselectivities of 73% and 82% have been found for the asymmetric ionic Diels-Alder reaction between the chiral acetal derivatives of cyclohex-2-enone (6) and 2-methylcyclohex-2-enone (18) with 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene (7). Terminal substituents on the diene partner in general render the system unreactive. However a synthetically useful cis-decalin 31, derived from the reaction of 2-methylcyclohex-2-enone and Z-3-t-butyldimethyl-silyloxypenta-1,3-diene has been prepared in enantiomerically pure form in 74% isolated yield using this asymmetric ionic Diels-Alder protocol.     

Ag-catalyzed asymmetric mannich reactions of enol ethers with aryl, alkyl, alkenyl, and alkynyl imines

An efficient catalytic and enantioselective method (up to >98% ee) for Mannich reactions between trimethylsilyl enol ethers derived from acetone and acetophenone and aryl, alkenyl, alkynyl, and alkyl imines is disclosed. A large variety of beta-amino ketones can be synthesized in the presence of 1-5 mol % AgOAc and an inexpensive and readily available amino acid-derived phosphine. All Ag-catalyzed asymmetric Mannich reactions can be run in undistilled THF and air. The o-anisyl activating groups of product amines can be removed in >70% isolated yield through a single vessel operation. The synthetic utility of the catalytic asymmetric method is illustrated by a four-pot synthesis of optically pure alkaloid (-)-sedamine.