Catalytic Enantioselective Synthesis of a 3‐Aryl‐3‐benzyloxindole (=3‐Aryl‐3‐benzyl‐1,3‐dihydro‐2H‐indol‐2‐one) Exhibiting Antitumor Activity

A palladium‐catalyzed intramolecular α‐arylation of an amide in the presence of a bulky chiral N‐heterocyclic carbene ligand is the key step in the first catalytic synthesis of (3R)‐6‐chloro‐3‐(3‐chlorobenzyl)‐1,3‐dihydro‐3‐(3‐methoxyphenyl)‐2H‐indol‐2‐one ((R)‐ 5 ). This oxindole, in racemic form, had been shown previously to be an anticancer agent. (R)‐ 5 was obtained with an overall yield of 45% and with 96% enantioselectivity.     

Attempted synthesis of ethyl 3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐1,4‐benzoxazine‐3‐carboxylate and 3‐acetate derivatives

Ethyl 3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐1,4‐benzoxazine‐3‐carboxylate derivatives 2 were obtained and isolated in low yields from the condensation of 2‐aminophenol and ethyl 2,3‐dibromopropanoate. They can be obtained by hydrogenation of ethyl 2H‐1,4‐benzoxazine‐3‐carboxylate in satisfactory yield. Using 2‐iminophenol did not direct the condensation with ethyl 2,3‐dibromopropanoate towards 2 but was fruitfull for the preparation of ethyl 2‐(4‐benzyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐1,4‐benzoxazin‐3‐yl)acetate from ethyl bromocrotonate.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of 4‐Substituted 3,4‐Dihydro‐3‐methoxyisocoumarins via Carboxylation of α‐Substituted 2‐Lithio‐β‐methoxystyrenes with Carbon Dioxide

A new type of isocoumarins (=1H‐isochromen‐1‐ones=1H‐2‐benzopyran‐1‐ones), 4‐substituted 3,4‐dihydro‐3‐methoxyisocoumarins 2 , can be obtained by a one‐pot process from α‐substituted 2‐bromo‐β‐methoxystyrenes 1 . Thus, lithium 2‐(1‐aryl(or methyl)‐2‐methoxyethenyl)benzoates are conveniently generated via the Br/Li exchange between 1 and BuLi, followed by the action of CO₂ on the resulting α‐substituted 2‐lithio‐β‐methoxystyrenes. Upon treating with concentrated HCl at room temperature, these lithium benzoates undergo lactonization to provide the desired 3,4‐dihydroisocoumarins 2 in relatively good yields.     

Convenient Entry to α‐Amino‐β‐hydroxy‐γ‐methyl Carboxylic Acids. Diastereoselective Formation and Directed Homogeneous Hydrogenation of 3‐(3‐Aryl‐1‐hydroxy‐2‐methylprop‐2‐enyl)‐1,4‐benzodiazepin‐2‐ones

Aldol reaction of 7‐chloro‐1,3‐dihydro‐1‐methyl‐5‐phenyl‐2H‐1,4‐benzodiazepin‐2‐one ( 1 ) with 4‐substituted α‐methylcinnamaldehydes 2 – 5 afforded a mixture of threo‐ and erythro‐3‐(3‐aryl‐1‐hydroxy‐2‐methylprop‐2‐enyl)‐7‐chloro‐1,3‐dihydro‐1‐methyl‐5‐phenyl‐2H‐1,4‐benzodiazepin‐2‐ones 6 – 13 . The chromatographically separated threo diastereoisomers 6, 8, 10 , and 12 and erythro diastereoisomers 7, 9, 11 , and 13 were submitted to ‘directed' homogeneous hydrogenation catalyzed by [Rh^I(cod)(diphos‐4)]ClO₄ (cod=cycloocta‐1,5‐diene, diphos‐4=butane‐1,4‐diylbis[diphenylphosphine]. From the erythro‐racemates 9, 11 , and 13 , the erythro,erythro/erythro,threo‐diastereoisomer mixtures 16 / 17, 20 / 21 , and 24 / 25 were obtained in ratios of 20 : 80 to 28 : 72 (HPLC), which were separated by chromatography. From the threo racemates 8, 10 , and 12 , the threo,threo/threo,erythro‐diastereoisomer mixtures were obtained in a ratio of ca. 25 : 75 (¹H‐NMR). The relative configurations were assigned by means of ¹H‐NMR data and X‐ray crystal‐structure determination of 21 . Hydrolysis of 21 afforded the diastereoisomerically pure N‐(benzyloxy)carbonyl derivative 27 of α‐amino‐β‐hydroxy‐γ‐methylpentanoic acid 26 , representative of the novel group of polysubstituted α‐amino‐β‐hydroxycarboxylic acids.     

Preparation of Protected β2‐ and β3‐Homocysteine, β2‐ and β3‐Homohistidine,and β2‐Homoserine for Solid‐Phase Syntheses

The Ser, Cys, and His side chains play decisive roles in the syntheses, structures, and functions of proteins and enzymes. For our structural and biomedical investigations of β‐peptides consisting of amino acids with proteinogenic side chains, we needed to have reliable preparative access to the title compounds. The two β³‐homoamino acid derivatives were obtained by Arndt–Eistert methodology from Boc‐His(Ts)‐OH and Fmoc‐Cys(PMB)‐OH (Schemes 2–4), with the side‐chain functional groups' reactivities requiring special precautions. The β²‐homoamino acids were prepared with the help of the chiral oxazolidinone auxiliary DIOZ by diastereoselective aldol additions of suitable Ti‐enolates to formaldehyde (generated in situ from trioxane) and subsequent functional‐group manipulations. These include OH→O^tBu etherification (for β²hSer; Schemes 5 and 6), OH→STrt replacement (for β²hCys; Scheme 7), and CH₂OH→CH₂N₃→CH₂NH₂ transformations (for β²hHis; Schemes 9–11). Including protection/deprotection/re‐protection reactions, it takes up to ten steps to obtain the enantiomerically pure target compounds from commercial precursors. Unsuccessful approaches, pitfalls, and optimization procedures are also discussed. The final products and the intermediate compounds are fully characterized by retention times (t_R), melting points, optical rotations, HPLC on chiral columns, IR, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, elemental analyses, and (in some cases) by X‐ray crystal‐structure analysis.     

Synthesis of Potentially Antiviral 2′,3′‐Dideoxy‐2′‐fluoro‐3′‐(hydroxyamino)nucleosides

A series of novel 3′‐(alkyl(hydroxy)amino)‐2′‐fluoronucleoside analogs were prepared via conjugate addition of N‐methylhydroxylamine to various 2‐fluorobutenolides. The adducts 13a and 16 were obtained as single isomers under absolute control of stereochemistry. The crucial N‐demethylation of 23 – 25 was readily achieved by means of DDQ oxidation, followed by nitrone/oxime exchange reaction. By this procedure, a variety of alkyl groups could be efficiently introduced at the 3′‐N‐atom of the nucleoside analogs, some of which might display potentially interesting anti‐HIV properties.     

Action of Hydrazines on 2‐(2‐Oxindolin‐3‐ylidene)malononitrile, (E,Z)‐Ethyl 2‐cyano‐2‐(2‐oxindolin‐3‐ylidene)acetate and Isatin‐β‐thiosemicarbazone as a Source of Spiro Indoline‐pyrazole Systems

2‐(2‐Oxindolin‐3‐ylidene)malononitrile ( 1a ) or (E,Z)‐ethyl 2‐cyano‐2‐(2‐oxindolin‐3‐ylidene)acetate ( 1b ) or isatin‐β‐thiosemicarbazone ( 1c ) undergoes reactions with prototype hydrazine hydrate itself and some of its simple congeners to give hydrazone derivatives bearing indoline‐2‐one moiety ( 2 ). The hydrazone derivatives ( 2 ) when heated with acetyl acetone or ethyl acetoacetate in dry pyridine afforded the spiro indoline derivatives ( 3a , 3b ). Also, cinnoline derivative ( 9 ) is obtained by action of hydrazine hydrate on the N‐acetyl derivative of ( 6a ). The structures of the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated by IR, ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy, mass spectra and elemental analyses.     

cyclo(β‐Asp‐β3‐hVal‐β3‐hLys) – Solid‐Phase Synthesis and Solution Structure of a Water Soluble β‐Tripeptide. Preliminary Communication

The H₂O‐soluble cyclic β³‐tripeptide cyclo(β‐Asp‐β³‐hVal‐β³‐hLys) ( 4 ) was obtained by on‐resin cyclization of the side‐chain‐anchored β‐peptide 3 (Scheme). In aqueous solution, 4 adopts a structure with uniformly oriented amide bonds and all side chains in lateral positions (Fig. 3).     

Synthesis of 4‐(trihalomethyl)dipyrimidin‐2‐ylamines from β‐alkoxy‐α,β‐unsaturated trihalomethyl ketones

The synthesis of a novel series of twelve 4‐(trihalomethyl)dipyrimidin‐2‐ylamines, from the cyclo‐condensation reaction of 4‐(trichloromethyl)‐2‐guanidinopyrimidine, with β‐alkoxyvinyl trihalomethyl ketones, of general formula: X₃C‐C(O)‐C(R²)=C(R¹)‐OR, where: X = F, Cl; R = Me, Et, ‐(CH₂)₂‐, ‐(CH₂)₃‐; R¹ = H, Me; R² = H, Me, ‐(CH₂)₂‐, ‐(CH₂)₃‐, is reported. The reactions were carried out in acetonitrile under reflux for 16 hours, leading to the dipyrimidin‐2‐ylamines in 65‐90% yield. Depending on the substituents of the vinyl ketone, tetrahydropyrimidines or aromatic pyrimidine rings were obtained from the cyclization reaction. When X = Cl, elimination of the trichloromethyl group was observed during the cyclization step. The structure of 4‐(trihalomethyl)dipyrimidin‐2‐ylamines was studied in detail by ¹H‐, ¹³C‐ and 2D‐nmr spectroscopy.     

固相β-环糊精包结物诱导7-羟基-2-甲氧基-2-甲基色满的不对称合成

研究了室温下间苯二酚和甲基乙烯基酮分别与β-环糊精（ β-CD）形成包结物后的几种不同固相反应,结果表明包结物A（间苯二酚/β-CD）与包结物B（甲基乙烯基酮/β-CD）反应能够很好地得到目的产物,产率及ee值分别为82.8%和78.4%;间苯二酚与包结物B反应仅得到低光学活性产物（ee值为19.5%）;包结物A与甲基乙烯基酮反应却没有得到手性目的产物。以熔点、X-粉末衍射、固相核磁碳谱及ROESY多种方法对所形成的包结物进行了表征,包结物中主客体的比例（1：1）通过¹H NMR (400 MHz)得以确定,文章对固相环加成反应的机制也进行了初步探讨。     

Phosphorylation of 2‐(3‐methyl‐1,3‐diazabuten‐1‐yl)‐3‐ethoxycarbonylthiophenes with phosphorus(III) halides

2‐(3‐Methyl‐1,3‐diazabuten‐1‐yl)‐3‐ethoxycarbonylthiophenes are phosphorylated with phosphorus(III) halides in basic media at position 5 of the thiophene ring. Up to three heteroaromatic substituents can be introduced one by one at the same phosphorus atom. On this basis, mono‐, bis‐, and trishetaryl substituted P(III) and P(V) derivatives have been obtained. Phosphorylated 2‐(N,N‐dimethylformamidino)‐3‐ethoxycarbonylthiophenes provide a synthetic access to phosphorylated thienopyrimidines. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 12:641–651, 2001     

Transferred multipolar atom model for 10β,17β‐dihydroxy‐17α‐methylestr‐4‐en‐3‐one dihydrate obtained from the biotransformation of methyloestrenolone

Biotransformation is the structural modification of compounds using enzymes as the catalysts and it plays a key role in the synthesis of pharmaceutically important compounds. 10β,17β‐Dihydroxy‐17α‐methylestr‐4‐en‐3‐one dihydrate, C₁₉H₂₈O₃·2H₂O, was obtained from the fungal biotransformation of methyloestrenolone. The structure was refined using the classical independent atom model (IAM) and a transferred multipolar atom model using the ELMAM2 database. The results from the two refinements have been compared. The ELMAM2 refinement has been found to be superior in terms of the refinement statistics. It has been shown that certain electron‐density‐derived properties can be calculated on the basis of the transferred parameters for crystals which diffract to ordinary resolution.     

Polymeric (μ2‐nitrato‐κ2O:O′)(μ2‐nitrato‐κ2O:O)(μ4‐pyridinium‐4‐thiol­ato‐κ4S:S:S:S)­disilver(I)

The title compound, [Ag₂(NO₃)₂(C₅H₅NS)]_n, was obtained from the reaction of silver nitrate with bis(4‐pyridyl) disufide (4‐PDS) in a mixture of ethanol and water, which suggests that the di­sulfide bond of 4‐PDS can be cleaved under mild conditions. The structure of the title compound is a two‐dimensional infinite array in which the asymmetric unit contains two Ag atoms, a pyridinium‐4‐thiol­ate mol­ecule and two nitrate groups. Each pyridinium‐4‐thiol­ate mol­ecule acts as a μ₄ bridge, linking four Ag atoms, with Ag—S bond distances of 2.4870 (19), 2.5791 (19), 2.5992 (19) and 2.848 (2) Å. The Ag⋯Ag distances lie in the range 2.889 (2)–3.049 (1) Å.     

Synthesis of 3‐Ω‐amino‐2‐thiohydantoins

In the reaction of ethyl isothiocyanatoacetate with diamines, followed by cyclization of the intermediate product, 3‐monosubstituted thiohydantoins have been obtained. It was found that the reaction course depends on the purity of the isothiocyanate used and also, in the case of dialkylaminoamines, the self‐cyclization occurs. Besides the dialkylamino derivatives of 3‐monosubstituted 2‐thiohydantoins also new monoalkylamino, amino and heterocyclic derivatives were synthesized. The aryldiazonium derivative of 3‐monosubstituted 2‐thiohydantoin yielded both respective phenol derivative after hydrolysis and the product of coupling with 2‐naphthol.     

Chemical transformations of 3‐amino‐2‐quinolones

In order to find new antimalarial drugs, an exploration about the chemical properties of the starting compounds 3‐amino‐6‐chloro‐4‐phenyl‐1H‐quinolin‐2‐one ( 1 ) and 3‐amino‐4‐methyl‐1H‐quinolin‐2‐one ( 2 ) was developed. Acylation with acyl chloride, sulfonyl chloride and acetic anhydride were carried out. Despite a previous report [2], when acetyl chloride or acetic anhydride were assayed on 1 , only the diacetyl derivative 7 was obtained. When this compound was heated at reflux temperature in a mixture of acetic acid and acetic anhydride, it was transformed in the oxazoloquinoline 8 . Further reactions of the acyl derivatives with diazomethane afforded 1‐methylated compounds. Compound 2 gave the imine 16 by condensation with 4‐nitrobenzaldehyde.     

Synthesis of (E)‐1,1‐Diethoxy‐3‐(3‐hydroxy‐3‐arylfuro[2,3‐b]quinoxalin‐2(3H)‐ylidene)propan‐2‐ones via Acid‐Catalyzed,Stereoselective 5‐Exo‐Dig Cyclization

A number of 3‐(4,4,5,5‐tetraethoxy‐1‐hydroxy‐1‐arylpent‐2‐ynyl)quinoxalin‐2(1H)‐ones, obtained by reacting the lithium acetylide of 3,3,4,4‐tetraethoxybut‐1‐yne (TEB) with 3‐aroylquinoxalin‐2(1H)‐ones, appeared to undergo stereoselective cyclization in the 5‐exo‐Dig manner when heated at reflux in acidic, aqueous THF. In each case, the products were the corresponding (E)‐1,1‐diethoxy‐3‐(3‐hydroxy‐3‐arylfuro[2,3‐b]quinoxalin‐2(3H)‐ylidene)propan‐2‐ones and 1,1‐diethoxy‐3‐hydroxy‐3‐(3‐arylfuro[2,3‐b]quinoxalin‐2‐yl)propan‐2‐one, which were isolated in an approximate ratio of 2:1 in high total yield. Irrespective of the structure of the aryl group, both compounds were stable solids when kept in a refridgerator (3 °C), but when the latter product was dissolved in chloroform and stored at room temperature, it rearranged smoothly and quantitatively to the former compound within a few days.     

Methyl 2‐acetamido‐2‐deoxy‐β‐d‐glucopyranoside dihydrate and methyl 2‐formamido‐2‐deoxy‐β‐d‐glucopyranoside

Methyl 2‐acetamido‐2‐deoxy‐β‐d ‐glucopyranoside (β‐GlcNAcOCH₃), (I), crystallizes from water as a dihydrate, C₉H₁₇NO₆·H₂O, containing two independent molecules [denoted (IA) and (IB)] in the asymmetric unit, whereas the crystal structure of methyl 2‐formamido‐2‐deoxy‐β‐d ‐glucopyranoside (β‐GlcNFmOCH₃), (II), C₈H₁₅NO₆, also obtained from water, is devoid of solvent water molecules. The two molecules of (I) assume distorted ⁴C₁ chair conformations. Values of ϕ for (IA) and (IB) indicate ring distortions towards B_C2,C5 and ^C3,O5B, respectively. By comparison, (II) shows considerably more ring distortion than molecules (IA) and (IB), despite the less bulky N‐acyl side chain. Distortion towards B_C2,C5 was observed for (II), similar to the findings for (IA). The amide bond conformation in each of (IA), (IB) and (II) is trans, and the conformation about the C—N bond is anti (C—H is approximately anti to N—H), although the conformation about the latter bond within this group varies by ∼16°. The conformation of the exocyclic hydroxymethyl group was found to be gt in each of (IA), (IB) and (II). Comparison of the X‐ray structures of (I) and (II) with those of other GlcNAc mono‐ and disaccharides shows that GlcNAc aldohexopyranosyl rings can be distorted over a wide range of geometries in the solid state.     

Synthesis of 3‐aminoalkyl‐2‐arylaminoquiazolin‐4(3H)‐ones and 3,3′‐disubstituted bis‐2‐arylaminoquinazolin‐4(3H)‐ones via reactions of 1‐aryl‐3‐(2‐ethoxycarbonylphenyl)carbodiimides with diamines

1‐Aryl‐3‐(2‐ethoxycarbonylphenyl)carbodiimides 2 , obtained from aza‐Wittig reactions of iminophosphorane 1 with aryl isocyanates, reacted with primary diamines in 1:1 and 2:1 molar ratio under mild conditions to give selectively the regioisomers 3‐aminoalkyl‐2‐arylaminoquinazolin‐4(3H)‐ones 3 and 3,3′‐disubstituted bis‐2‐arylaminoquinazolin‐4(3H)‐ones 4 in good yields, respectively. To fully characterize the regioselectivity of aza‐Wittig reactions of 1‐aryl‐3‐(2‐ethoxycarbonylphenyl)carbo‐diimides with primary diamines, crystals of 4e were obtained, and its structure was determined by X‐ray crystallography.     

Synthesis and isolation of bromo‐β‐carbolines obtained by bromination of β‐carboline alkaloids

β‐Carbolines ( 1–5 ) undergo electrophilic aromatic substitution with N‐bromosuccinimide under different experimental conditions. Although 6‐bromo‐nor‐harmane ( la ) obtained by bromination of nor‐harmane ( 1 ) was isolated and fully characterized sometime ago, the other bromoderivatives of nor‐harmane ( 1b‐1e ) and harmane ( 2a‐2e ) were partially described as part of the reaction mixtures. The preparation and subsequent isolation, purification and full characterization of 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e are reported (mp, R _f, ¹H‐nmr, ¹³C‐nmr and ms) together with the preparation, isolation and charaterization, for the first time, of the bromoderivatives obtained from harmine ( 3a‐3e ), harmol ( 4a, 4b ) and 7‐acetylharmol ( 5a‐5c ). As brominating reagent N‐bromosuccinimide and N‐bromosuccinimide‐silica gel in dichloromethane and in chloroform as well as the β‐carboline ‐ N‐bomosuccinimide solid mixture have been used and their uses have been compared. Semiempirical AMI and PM3 calculations have been performed in order to predict reactivity in terms of the energies of HOMO, HOMO‐LUMO difference and in terms of the charge density of β‐carbolines ( 1–5 ) and bromo‐β‐carbolines ( 1a‐1e, 2a‐2e, 3a‐3e, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b and 5c ) (Scheme 1). Theoretical and experimental results are discussed briefly.     

Catalytic Asymmetric 1,3‐Dipolar Cycloaddition of β‐Fluoroalkylated α,β‐Unsaturated 2‐Pyridylsulfones with Nitrones for Chiral Fluoroalkylated Isoxazolidines and γ‐Amino Alcohols

2‐Pyridylsulfone‐ and fluoroalkylated group‐activated olefins underwent highly efficient diastereo‐ and enantioselective 1,3‐dipolar cycloadditions across various aromatic and aliphatic nitrones in the presence of a chiral Ni^II/bis(oxazoline) catalyst. The process was tuned by 4 Å molecular sieves, chiral bis(oxazoline) ligands, reaction solvents, and temperature. A wide array of optically pure fluoroalkylated isoxazolidines were obtained, thus facilitating the asymmetric synthesis of an enantioenriched α‐trifluoromethylated γ‐amino alcohol in gram‐scale and a trifluoromethylated derivative of 1,3‐oxazinan‐2‐one with potential pharmaceutical interest. A stereochemical model, based on the absolute configuration of one adduct and some control experiments, was postulated to account for the observed endo‐ and enantioselectivity.