Stereocontrolled synthesis of vicinal diamines by organocatalytic asymmetric Mannich reaction of N-protected aminoacetaldehydes: formal synthesis of (-)-agelastatin A

The 1,2-diamine (vicinal diamine) motif is present in a number of natural products with interesting biological activity and in many chiral molecular catalysts. The efficient and stereocontrolled synthesis of enantioenriched vicinal diamines is still a challenge to modern chemical methodology. We report here both syn- and anti-selective asymmetric direct Mannich reactions of N-protected aminoacetaldehydes with N-Boc-protected imines catalyzed by proline and the axially chiral amino sulfonamide (S)-3. This organocatalytic process represents the first example of a Mannich reaction using Z- or Boc-protected aminoacetaldehyde as a new entry of α-nitrogen functionalized aldehyde nucleophile in enamine catalysis. The obtained optically active vicinal diamines are useful chiral synthons as exemplified by the formal synthesis of (-)-agelastatin A.     

A practical enantioselective fluorescent sensor for mandelic acid

A novel optically active bisbinaphthyl fluorescent sensor, (S,S)- or (R,R)-1, is designed for the recognition of chiral alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids. A convenient method has been developed to synthesize this compound. It is observed that (S)-mandelic acid enhances the fluorescence intensity of the (S,S)-sensor significantly more than (R)-mandelic acid does. The enantioselective fluorescent response is confirmed with the observation of a mirror image relationship for the interaction of (S,S)- and (R,R)-sensors with mandelic acid. The enantioselectivity in fluorescence response [(I(S) - I(0))/(I(R) - I(0)) = 2.49] is quite high, which makes the sensor useful for practical application. The fluorescence intensity change of the sensor is found to be linearly related to the enantiomeric composition of mandelic acid. This sensor is potentially useful for the combinatorial search of chiral catalysts for the asymmetric synthesis of alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids.     

Thiourea-catalyzed enantioselective iso-Pictet-Spengler reactions

A one-pot condensation of isotryptamines and aldehydes that affords enantiomerically enriched 4-substituted tetrahydro-γ-carbolines is reported. The reaction is induced by a chiral thiourea/benzoic acid dual catalyst system. Purification of the N-Boc-protected products by trituration or crystallization provides the optically pure tetrahydro-γ-carboline derivatives in a scalable and highly practical procedure.     

Anthracene-labeled pyridinium-based symmetrical chiral chemosensor for enantioselective recognition of l-tartrate

A new anthracene-based chiral chemosensor 1 has been designed and synthesized. l-Valine has been used as the chiral source in the design. The chemosensor 1 has been established as an efficient enantioselective sensor for l-tartrate. While in the presence of l-tartrate the fluorescent sensor 1 in DMSO exhibits considerable increase in emission, the isomeric tartrate brings relatively small change. The enantiomeric fluorescence difference ratio (ef) has been determined to be 29.38.     

Enantioselective organocatalytic synthesis of quaternary α-amino acids bearing a CF3 moiety

A highly enantioselective Friedel-Crafts reaction catalyzed by a chiral phosphoric acid was developed. N-Boc-protected ethyl trifluoropyruvate imine was activated by 6 mol % of catalyst and reacted with a wide variety of indole derivatives to afford quaternary α-amino acids in excellent yields (up to 99%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 98:2 er).     

用于手性识别α-氨基酸的方酰胺荧光探针分子

以天然氨基酸为手性原料合成了4种新型的手性方酰胺荧光探针分子(5~8), 该合成路线简短, 后处理简单, 无需柱层析纯化. 以荧光光谱为检测手段, 测试了此类探针分子对苯丙氨酸、 缬氨酸和脯氨酸的手性识别效果, 结果表明, 探针分子5可以有效识别苯丙氨酸的2个对映异构体. 当加入L-苯丙氨酸后, 探针分子5的荧光强度显著增强, 而加入D-苯丙氨酸后探针分子5的荧光强度显著减弱, 2种异构体的荧光强度比(I_L/I_D)可达2.4.     

Fluorescent sensors for the enantioselective recognition of mandelic acid: signal amplification by dendritic branching

Novel chiral bisbinaphthyl compounds have been synthesized for the enantioselective fluorescent recognition of mandelic acid. By introducing dendritic branches to the chiral receptor unit, the fluorescence signals of the receptors are significantly amplified because of the light-harvesting effect of the dendritic structure. This has greatly increased the sensitivity of the sensors in the fluorescent recognition. Study of the three generation sensors demonstrates that the generation zero sensor is the best choice for the recognition of mandelic acid because of its greatly increased fluorescence signal over the core and its high enantioselectivity. This sensor is potentially useful for the high throughput screening of chiral catalysts for the asymmetric synthesis of alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids.     

A chiral porous metal-organic framework for highly sensitive and enantioselective fluorescence sensing of amino alcohols

A highly porous and fluorescent metal-organic framework (MOF), 1, was built from a chiral tetracarboxylate bridging ligand derived from 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL) and a cadmium carboxylate infinite-chain secondary building unit. The fluorescence of 1 can be effectively quenched by amino alcohols via H-bonding with the binaphthol moieties decorating the MOF, leading to a remarkable chiral sensor for amino alcohols with greatly enhanced sensitivity and enantioselectivity over BINOL-based homogeneous systems. The higher detection sensitivity of 1 is due to a preconcentration effect by which the analytes are absorbed and concentrated inside the MOF channels, whereas the higher enantioselectivity of 1 is believed to result from enhanced chiral discrimination owing to the cavity confinement effect and the conformational rigidity of the BINOL groups in the framework. 1 was quenched by four chiral amino alcohols with unprecedentedly high Stern-Volmer constants of 490-31200 M(-1) and enantioselectivity ratios of 1.17-3.12.     

Synthesis and enantioselective recognition of an (S)-BINOL-based colorimetric chemosensor for mandelate anions

New chiral receptors 1 and 2 based on (S)-BINOL and thiourea units were synthesized. The chiral recognition of receptors for chiral anions were studied by fluorescence, UV–vis, and ¹H NMR spectra. The results of the non-linear curve fitting indicated that the receptors and guest anions formed a 1:1 stoichiometric complex. The obvious color change of receptor 2 can be observed by the naked eye when the enantiomers of mandelate anions were added, which demonstrates that receptor 2 may be used as a colorimetric sensor for mandelate anions.     

Furo-fused BINOL based crown as a fluorescent chiral sensor for enantioselective recognition of phenylethylamine and ethyl ester of valine

A furo-fused BINOL based chiral crown was developed as an enantioselective chiral sensor for phenylethylamine and ethyl ester of valine. Fusion of furan to BINOL has resulted in a highly stereo-discriminating backbone for the chiral crown developed. This chiral crown exhibited a fluorescence enhancement difference of 2.97 times between two enantiomers of phenylethylamine and 2.55 times between two enantiomers of ethyl ester of valine. The ratio of association constants for two diastereomeric complexes of two enantiomers of phenylethylamine was found to be 11.30, and the ratio for two enantiomers of ethyl ester of valine was 7.02.     

Chiral mono boronic acid as fluorescent enantioselective sensor for mono alpha-hydroxyl carboxylic acids

New mono boronic acid was found to be an enantioselective fluorescent chemosensor for mono alpha-hydroxyl carboxylic acids, such as mandelic acid and lactic acid. The chiral sensor shows lower background fluorescence, higher fluorescence enhancement, and enantioselective recognition kinetics toward mandelic acids and lactic acids.     

A helical chiral polymer‐based chromo‐fluorescence and CD response sensor for selective detection of trivalent cations

A novel chiral (S)‐BINAM‐based fluorescent polymer sensor was designed and synthesized by the polymerization of 4,4′‐((2,5‐dibutoxy‐1,4‐phenylene)bis(ethyne‐2,1‐diyl))‐dibenzaldehyde ( M‐1 ) with (S)‐2,2′‐binaphthyldiamine (S‐BINAM, M‐2 ) via Schiff's base formation. The resulting helical chiral polymer sensor exhibited remarkable “turn‐on” bright blue fluorescence color upon the addition of trivalent metal ions under a commercially available UV lamp; this change can be clearly observed by the naked eye for direct visual discrimination at low concentration. More importantly, the addition of trivalent metal cations can lead to a most pronounced change of CD spectra of the chiral polymer indicating this kind chiral sensor can also be used as a sole probe for selective recognition of trivalent metal cations based on CD spectra. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 4070–4075     

S-adenosylhomocysteine analogues with the carbon-5' and sulfur atoms replaced by a vinyl unit

Cross-metathesis of suitably protected 5'-deoxy-5'-methyleneadenosines with racemic and chiral N-Boc-protected six-carbon amino acids bearing a terminal double bond in the presence of the Hoveyda-Grubbs catalyst gave adenosylhomocysteine analogues with the C5'-C6' double bond. Bromination with pyridinium tribromide and dehydrobromination with DBU followed by standard deprotections yielded the 5'-(bromo)vinyl analogue. [structure: see text]     

Pd(II)-catalyzed asymmetric addition of malonates to dihydroisoquinolines

We have developed a highly efficient reaction for catalytic asymmetric addition of malonates to dihydroisoquinolines using chiral Pd(II) complexes. In the reactions, substrates with various substitution patterns were available, and the reactions were complete within several hours (<3 h in most cases) under mild reaction conditions, affording various optically active C1-substituted tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives (up to 98% yield, up to 97% ee). Furthermore, slow addition of DDQ allowed the in situ generation of the reactive intermediate from the corresponding N-Boc-protected amine, and dehydrogenative addition reaction was successfully demonstrated.     

A highly enantioselective chiral Schiff-base fluorescent sensor for mandelic acid

A chiral Schiff-base compound, 4-methyl-2,6-bis-[(2-hydroxy-1-phenylethylimino)methyl]phenol, is found to act as highly enantioselective fluorescent agent for α-hydroxycarboxylic acid, e.g., mandelic acid. It is observed that, within a certain concentration range, one enantiomer of the chiral acid can increase the fluorescence intensity of the Schiff-base compound 122-fold while the other enantiomer enhances the intensity only 42-fold. Such highly enantioselective responses towards the chiral acid make the unusual Schiff-base compound attractive as a fluorescent sensor for determining the enantiomeric composition of α-hydroxycarboxylic acids.     

Enantioselective recognition of α-hydroxycarboxylic acids and N-Boc-amino acids by counterion-displacement assays with a chiral nickel(II) complex

A new chiral sensor based on an N,N'-dioxide nickel(II) complex was prepared, which could visually recognize a series of chiral α-hydroxycarboxylic acid enantiomers by coordination and self-assembly forming into nanospheres or nanofibers. With the help of various techniques, the morphology structures of the colloid or suspension were obtained and the counterion-displacement assays were also confirmed. In addition, this metal complex could act as a highly enantioselective fluorescence sensor to recognize N-Boc-amino acids and chiral α-hydroxycarboxylic acids.     

Preparation and intramolecular [2+2]-photocycloaddition of 1,5-dihydropyrrol-2-ones and 5,6-dihydro-1H-pyridin-2-ones with C-, N-, and O-linked alkenyl side chains at the 4-position

The 1,5-dihydropyrrol-2-ones 2, 6, 9, and 11 were prepared from methyl tetramates (1a-c), N-Boc-protected tetramic acid (3), or N-Boc-protected tetramic acid bromide (7) in short reaction sequences and in very good overall yields. The homologous 5,6-dihydro-1H-pyridin-2-ones 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, and 27 were prepared along analogous routes starting from piperidin-2,4-dione (19) or from its N-tert-butyl derivative 15. Optimized conditions for the [2+2]-photocycloaddition include the use of dichloromethane as the solvent and an irradiation with a mercury low-pressure lamp (lambda = 254 nm). Upon applying these conditions at ambient temperature, the corresponding intramolecular photocycloaddition products 28-37 were obtained in good yields (52-79%) and with perfect diastereoselectivity. The constitution and configuration of the products was elucidated by NMR-spectroscopy. For the O-tethered substrates 2a and 20, a strong decrease of the photocycloaddition rate with temperature was observed. The effect was less pronounced for N- and C-tethered substrates 6, 9, 23, and 27. The use of a chiral complexing agent to achieve enantioselective reactions appears viable. Complexing agent (-)-38, however, is not suited because of its instability at lambda = 254 nm.     

Structural optimization of a chiral selector for use in preparative enantioselective chromatography

Utilizing the immobilized-target strategy, the structure of a proline-derived chiral stationary phase was optimized for use in the preparative chromatographic separation of the enantiomers of two chiral selectors used in commercial chiral stationary phases. In this study, various N-acylated proline anilides were prepared and chromatographed on the commercial Pirkle-1J and -Burke 2 chiral stationary phases. The analyte which displayed the greatest retention without sacrifice of enantioselectivity (the 3,5-dimethoxyanilide of N-undecenoyl proline) was chosen for incorporation into the preparative chiral stationary phase. Once prepared, this phase shows increased analyte retention and enantioselectivity comparable to that of earlier phases derived from 3,5-dimethyl anilides of proline. The increased retention allows one to use mobile phases in which the target analytes are more soluble, hence greatly facilitating an increase in the through-put of a column of a given size.     

Enantioselective recognition of mandelic acid by a 3,6-dithiophen-2-yl-9H-carbazole-based chiral fluorescent bisboronic acid sensor

We have prepared chiral fluorescent bisboronic acid sensors with 3,6-dithiophen-2-yl-9H-carbazole as the fluorophore. The thiophene moiety was used to extend the π-conjugation framework of the fluorophore in order to red-shift the fluorescence emission and, at the same time, to enhance the novel process where the fluorophore serves as the electron donor of the photoinduced electron transfer process (d-PET) of the boronic acid sensors; i.e., the background fluorescence of the sensor 1 at acidic pH is weaker compared to that at neutral or basic pH, in stark contrast to the typical a-PET boronic acid sensors (where the fluorophore serves as the electron acceptor of the photoinduced electron transfer process). The benefit of the d-PET boronic acid sensors is that the recognition of the hydroxylic acids can be achieved at acidic pH. We found that the thiophene moiety is an efficient π-conjugation linker and electron donor; as a result, the d-PET contrast ratio of the sensors upon variation of the pH is improved 10-fold when compared to the previously reported d-PET sensors without the thiophene moiety. Enantioselective recognition of tartaric acid was achieved at acid pH, and the enantioselectivity (total response K(D)I(F)(D)/K(L)I(F)(L)) is 3.3. The fluorescence enhancement (I(F)(Sample)/I(F)(Blank)) of sensor 1 upon binding with tartaric acid is 3.5-fold at pH 3.0. With the fluorescent bisboronic acid sensor 1, enantioselective recognition of mandelic acid was achieved for the first time. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the mandelic acid has been enantioselectively recognized using a chiral fluorescent boronic acid sensor. Chiral monoboronic acid sensor 2 and bisboronic acid sensor 3 without the thiophene moiety failed to enantioselectively recognize mandelic acid. Our findings with the thiophene-incorporated boronic acid sensors will be important for the design of d-PET fluorescent sensors for the enantioselective recognition of α-hydroxylic acids such as mandelic acid, given that it is currently a challenge to recognize these analytes with boronic acid fluorescent molecular sensors.     

Macrocyclic bisbinaphthyl fluorophores and their acyclic analogues: signal amplification and chiral recognition

A series of optically active macrocyclic and acyclic bisbinaphthyls have been synthesized and characterized. The structure of one of the bisbinaphthyl macrocycles has been established by a single-crystal X-ray analysis. The UV and fluorescence spectra of these chiral compounds in various solvents and at different concentrations are studied. Formation of excimers is observed for the macrocyclic bisbinaphthyl compounds. Introduction of conjugated substituents to the 6,6'-positions of the binaphthyl units in the macrocycles leads to greatly amplified fluorescence signals. Using the 6,6'-substituted bisbinaphthyl macrocycles in place of the unsubstituted macrocycles allows a 2 orders of magnitude reduction in the sensor concentration for the fluorescence measurements. These macrocycles have exhibited highly enantioselective fluorescent enhancements in the presence of chiral alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids and N-protected alpha-amino acids. They are useful as fluorescent sensors for chiral recognition. The macrocycles show much greater enantioselectivity in the substrate recognition than their acyclic analogues.