Zinc-mediated synthesis of 3-alkynyl-3-hydroxyindolin-2-ones by addition of iodoalkynes to isatins

An efficient and economical method was developed for synthesis of 3 alkynyl-3-hydroxyindolin-2-ones by addition of iodoalkynes to isatins using zinc dust.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic aldol reaction of unactivated ketones with isatins

Enantioselective organocatalytic direct aldol reaction of unactivated ketones with various isatin derivatives was developed using cinchonine based urea ligand employing a noncovalent catalysis mechanism. Using this protocol we can access functionalized 3-alkyl-3-hydroxyindolin-2-ones in high yields with good to excellent enantioselectivities.     

A versatile synthesis of unsymmetrical 3,3'-bioxindoles: stereoselective Mukaiyama aldol reactions of 2-siloxyindoles with isatins

A new synthesis of 3,3'-bioxindoles is reported that is well suited for the preparation of unsymmetrical structures. In the key step, 3-hydroxy-3,3'-bioxindoles are constructed by Mukaiyama aldol reaction of 2-siloxyindoles with isatins. These tertiary carbinols are formed in high diastereoselectivities, with substitution at various positions of the isatin and the 2-siloxyindole being tolerated.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric direct aldol reactions of trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal with aromatic methyl ketones

The organocatalytic asymmetric direct aldol reaction of trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal with aromatic methyl ketones in the presence of a catalytic amount of (S)-5-(pyrrolidin-2-yl)-1H-tetrazole in dichloroethane at 40 °C proceeds smoothly to produce (R)-4,4,4-trifluoro-1-aryl-3-hydroxy-1-butanones in high yields with up to 90% ee.     

Ethyl alpha-fluoro silyl enol ether: stereoselective synthesis and its aldol reaction with aldehydes and ketones

Ethyl alpha-fluoro silyl enol ether is stereoselectively synthesized in high yield from inexpensive chlorofluoroacetate and Mg (or Zn) in DMF (or HMPA). Lewis acid promoted aldol reaction of this enol ether with aldehydes and ketones gives alpha-fluoro-beta-hydroxy esters in good to excellent yields.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric aldol reaction in the presence of water

Water was found to be a suitable solvent for the l-prolinethioamide catalysed aldol reaction of various cyclic ketones with aromatic aldehydes. Treatment of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde with as little as 1.2 equiv. of cyclohexanone in the presence of the protonated catalyst 1-TFA, afforded aldol products in high yields (up to 97%) with high diastereo- and enantioselectivity (up to >5 : 95 dr and 98% ee). The use of a high excess of ketone was avoided by conducting the aldol addition in the presence of water. Furthermore, different 'salting-out' and 'salting-in' salts were investigated and it was proven that the rate of acceleration and the stereochemical outcome of the reaction are affected by hydrophobic aggregation. Scope and limitation studies revealed that electron deficient aldehydes afforded aldol products with high stereoselectivity in the presence of 1-Cl(2)CHCO(2)H. It was shown that various cyclic ketones, under the conditions found, gave aldol products with fair yields, even if they are used in substoichiometric amounts (1.2 to 2.0 equiv.).     

High stereocontrol in aldol reaction with ketones: enantioselective synthesis of beta-hydroxy gamma-ketoesters by ester enolate aldol reactions with 2-acyl-2-alkyl-1,3-dithiane 1-oxides

The asymmetric aldol reaction of 1,2-diketones, masked as nonracemic 2-acyl dithiane oxides, with lithium enolates derived from several esters and lactones, proceeds with a high degree of stereocontrol at both carbonyl and enolate prochiral centers, the stereocontrol mainly determined by the configuration of the sulfoxide sulfur atom. The sense of induced stereochemistry observed for ester enolates is different from that seen for lactone enolates. Hydrolysis of the dithiane oxide units of the major diastereoisomerically pure aldol products affords enantiomerically pure tertiary alpha-substituted beta-hydroxy-gamma-ketoesters.     

Biocatalytic promiscuity: lipase-catalyzed asymmetric aldol reaction of heterocyclic ketones with aldehydes

The new promiscuous activity of lipase from porcine pancreas, type II (PPL II), has been observed to catalyze the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of heterocyclic ketones with aromatic aldehydes. PPL II showed favorable catalytic activity and had a good adaptability to different substrates in the reaction. The enantioselectivities of up to 87% ee and diastereoselectivities of up to 83:17 (anti/syn) were achieved. It is interesting that PPL II possesses the function of aldolase in organic solvents.     

DABCO-catalyzed synthesis of 3-substituted-3-hydroxyindolin-2-ones in aqueous media

An efficient and greener protocol for easy access to 3-susbstituted-3-hydroxy-2-oxindoles by the reaction with various substituted isatins and acetophenones is described. This protocol is widely applicable for a variety of isatins and acetophenones using water as a reaction media and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) as catalyst with shorter reaction time and good to excellent yield of products.     

Organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of substituted 3-hydroxy-2-oxindoles via Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction

We report a highly enantioselective Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction of isatins and acrolein to provide enantiomerically enriched 3-substituted 3-hydroxyoxindoles, which could serve as valuable synthetic building blocks. This is also the first time that a ketone has been used as the electrophile and acrolein as the nucleophile in a highly enantioselective catalytic asymmetric MBH reaction. Hatakeyama's catalyst, β-isocupreidine (1), turned out to be a powerful catalyst for this transformation.     

Organocatalytic direct asymmetric aldol reactions of 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles to ketones: stereocontrolled synthesis of spirooxindoles bearing highly congested contiguous tetrasubstituted stereocenters

The first example of a direct catalytic asymmetric intermolecular aldol reaction of 3-isothiocyanato oxindoles to simple ketones with bifunctional thiourea-tertiary amine as catalyst is reported. This strategy provides a promising approach for the asymmetric synthesis of a range of enantioenriched spirocyclic oxindoles bearing two highly congested contiguous tetrasubstituted carbon stereocenters. Versatile transformations of the spirocyclic oxindole products into other structurally diverse spirocyclic oxindoles have also been demonstrated.     

Proline-catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reaction of trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal with ketones

l-Proline-catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reaction of trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal with unmodified ketones smoothly occurred at ambient temperature to produce β-hydroxy-β-trifluoromethylated ketones with good to excellent diastereo (up to 96% de) and enantioselectivities (up to 91% ee).     

Unnatural tripeptide as highly enantioselective organocatalyst for asymmetric aldol reaction of isatins

The development of unnatural tripeptides as highly enantioselective organocatalysts for the asymmetric aldol reaction of isatins was achieved. H-Pro-Gly-d-Ala-OH with the d-alanine residue as the C-terminal amino acid residue expressed the best enantioselectivity. The H-Pro-Gly-d-Ala-OH-catalyzed reaction of isatins gave various aldol adducts with up to 93% yield and up to 97% ee. Investigation of the transition state via DFT calculation revealed that high optical purity was realized by the d-alanine controlled steric environment.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of 3-hydroxyl-2-oxindoles via enantioselective Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction of isatins

The enantioselective Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction of acrylates to isatins was investigated for the first time, employing bifunctional phosphinothiourea organocatalysts based on chiral cyclohexane scaffold. The 3-hydroxyl-2-oxindole derivatives were obtained in excellent yields with moderate enantioselectivity (up to 69% ee) in the presence of 10 mol % catalyst 1b.     

Catalytic asymmetric borylative aldol reaction of 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one and ketones

A copper(I)-catalyzed asymmetric borylative aldol reaction of 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one and simple ketones (including aromatic ketones and an aliphatic ketone) was disclosed, which afforded a series of chiral diols after an oxidative work-up in moderate yields with moderate to high diastereoselectivity and excellent enantioselectivity. The lactone moiety was easily opened with methanol to generate a chiral triol in moderate yield.     

Organocatalytic stereoselective mannich reaction of 3-substituted oxindoles

The asymmetric Mannich reaction of 3-substituted oxindoles and N-Boc imines was investigated for the first time, employing bifunctional thiourea-tertiary amine organocatalysts based on DPEN scaffold. The novel transformations exhibited high diastereoselectivities, and the Mannich adducts bearing adjacent quaternary and tertiary chiral centers were generally obtained in good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee).     

Organocatalytic asymmetric domino aza-Michael-Mannich reaction: synthesis of tetrahydroimidazopyrimidine derivatives

Highly substituted tetrahydroimidazopyrimidine derivatives with three chiral centers have been synthesized for the first time using an organocatalytic asymmetric domino aza-Michael-Mannich reaction of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and N-arylidene-1H-imidazol-2-amines. This efficient approach furnishes the products in good yields (42-87%) with excellent stereoselectivities (>20:1 dr, up to >99% ee).