Enantioselective intramolecular α-amidoalkylation reaction in the synthesis of pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines

BINOL-derived chiral Brønsted acids are capable of carrying out the intramolecular α-amidoalkylation of a tertiary N-acyliminium ions when a methoxylated benzene ring is used as internal π nucleophile. The reaction can be applied to the synthesis of pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines and use of the sterically congested acid 3e is determinant to obtain good levels of enantioselection.     

Reaction of adenine with an α-chlorooxetane: An approach to the synthesis of oxetane nucleosides

The reaction of adenine with 3,5-anhydro-5R-chloro-1,2-O- isopropylidenexylofuranose, a stable α-chlorooxetane, gives a mixture of the two epimers of 5-[9-adenyl]-3,5-anhydro- 1,2-O-isopropylidenexylofuranose; the structure of 5R-[9- adenyl)-3,5-anhydro-1,2-O-isopropylidenexylofuranose was established by X-ray crystallography.     

Enantioselective synthesis of α,α-disubstituted amines from nitroalkenes

Disubstituted nitroalkenes were converted into enantiomerically enriched amines (isolated as their hydrochloride salts) with enantiomeric excesses of 88 to >95% in three steps: (a) highly stereoselective conjugate addition of the potassium salt of 4-phenyloxazolidin-2-one; (b) radical-mediated removal of the nitro group; (c) cleavage of the oxazolidinone.     

Novel approach to the synthesis of aliphatic and aromatic α-keto acids

A new practical and efficient synthesis of α-keto acids was accomplished starting from the synthon 1,4-diacetylpiperazine-2,5-dione. The synthesis encompasses both aromatic and aliphatic substrates proving to be versatile and innovative with excellent carbon economy and recycling of the glycine by-product.     

Palladium-catalyzed intramolecular carbonyl α-arylation for the synthesis of 2-tetralones

The synthesis of 2-tetralone analogues via the palladium-catalyzed intramolecular α-arylation of 2-(2-bromoaryl)-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds has been described.     

Stereoselective synthesis of α,α-difluoro-β,γ-alkenyl ketones by free-radical reaction of iododifluoromethyl ketones with alkynes

A method for stereoselective synthesis of α,α-difluoro-γ-iodo-β,γ-alkenyl ketones via radical difluoroacetylation of iododifluoromethyl ketones with terminal and internal alkynes was reported. This methodology provides a straightforward access to 3,3-disubstitued allylic difluorides.     

Enantioselective synthesis of benzomorphan analogues by intramolecular oxa-Pictet–Spengler cyclization

A new strategy toward biologically active enantiomerically pure benzomorphan analogues is described. The key steps in the synthesis are the l-proline catalyzed asymmetric α-aminooxylation of an aldehyde and the titanium tetrachloride promoted intramolecular oxa-Pictet–Spengler cyclization of (4R)-2-(bromomethyl)-4-(2,5-dimethoxybenzyl)-1,3-dioxolane. In the intramolecular oxa-Pictet–Spengler cyclization, cis-pyran 8a (71%) formed over the trans-pyran 8b (14%). Computational modeling studies provided an insight into the stereoselectivity of the products. Docking studies of benzomorphan derivatives indicated that compound 6c had the best binding efficiency, and that it formed extensive hydrogen bonding with TYR148 on transmembrane (TM) helix 3 and HIS297 on TM6 of the μ-opioid receptor, which belong to the G-protein coupled receptor super family.     

Enantioselective intramolecular cyclopropanation of α-diazo-β-keto sulfones: asymmetric synthesis of bicyclo[4.1.0]heptanes and tricyclo[4.4.0.0]decenes

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of some new chiral building blocks useful for natural product synthesis is described. The intramolecular cyclopropanation (IMCP) reaction of α-diazo-β-keto sulfones affording bicyclo[4.1.0]heptanes such as 9a-d is found to proceed with high enantioselectivity (93-98% ee). The yield is moderate due to the competing intramolecular C-H insertion reaction. As intramolecular C-H insertion reaction is not observed in the reaction of the substrates possessing a quaternary carbon at the allylic position, the reactions of 19a and 19b proceed with high enantioselectivity (95% ee) and yield. It was also found that the substrates possessing an ether group, such as 19a and 19b, could be used in this enantioselective IMCP reaction.     

Systematic approach to the chemical synthesis of arabidopyrones,the unique α-pyrones of Arabidopsis metabolites

Abstract

Total synthesis of two arabidopyrones, iso-arabidopyl alcohol (1) and iso-arabidopic acid (2) isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana was achieved for the first time using Claisen condensation and Wittig reaction as the key steps. In addition, arabidopic acid (4) was synthesized from the methyl ester of arabidopyl alcohol (3). Thus, chemical synthesis of the unique natural α-pyrones 1–4 was accomplished with a short synthetic route by a systematic approach from readily available substances.     

Enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydroprotoberberines and bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids from a deprotonated α-aminonitrile

Under controlled conditions, 6,7-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-1-carbonitrile can be quantitatively deprotonated in the α-position. Its alkylation directly furnishes 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines which can serve as starting materials for the preparation of various alkaloids. Here, the preparation of the benzylisoquinolines (+)-laudanidine, (+)-armepavine, and (+)-laudanosine as well as the tetrahydroprotoberberines (-)-corytenchine and (-)-tetrahydropseudoepiberberine using Noyori's asymmetric transfer hydrogenation are described. The dimeric alkaloids (+)-O-methylthalibrine and (+)-tetramethylmagnolamine were obtained from nonracemic precursors in Ullmann diaryl ether syntheses.     

Enantioselective synthesis of α,β-diamino ester derivatives: memory of chirality in imino-aldol reactions

A simple strategy for the synthesis of chiral α,β-diamino ester derivatives in good yields and ee (up to 92%) utilizing the ‘memory of chirality’ concept is reported. This methodology has been extended for the enantioselective synthesis of substituted aziridines with excellent ee (92%).     

Exploring the metal-catalyzed reaction of furans with alkyl α-diazomethanesulfonate and α-diazomethanephosphonate: synthesis of ω-acyl-substituted sulfono- and phosphonobutadienes

The metal-catalyzed reactions of neopentyl α-diazomethanesulfonate (DAMS) and diisopropyl α-diazomethanephosphonate (DIDAMP) with furan, 2-methylfuran and 2-methoxyfuran are reported. The products consist mostly of ω-acyl-substituted sulfono- or phosphonobutadienes and exo-cyclopropane derivatives. Treatment of the multicomponent reaction mixtures with iodine afforded exclusively the corresponding (E,E)-sulfono- and phosphono-ω-acylfunctionalized dienes, thus providing a short and efficient synthetic route to these hitherto unreported classes of compounds.     

Enantioselective synthesis of tertiary alcohols through a zirconium-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts alkylation of pyrroles with α-ketoesters

Chiral complexes of 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol-based ligands with zirconium tert-butoxide catalyze the Friedel-Crafts alkylation of pyrroles with α-ketoesters to afford tertiary alcohols in good yields and ee up to 98%. The reaction is also of application to 4,7-dihydroindole to give C2-alkylated indoles after oxidation with p-benzoquinone.     

Enantioselective intramolecular benzylic ch bond amination: efficient synthesis of optically active benzosultams

'Salen' along: The iridium(III)-salen complex 1 efficiently catalyzes the title reaction of 2-ethylbenzenesulfonyl azides to give five-membered sultams with high enantioselectivity. Other 2-alkyl-substitued substrates lead to five- and six-membered sultams with high enantioselectivity; the regioselectivity depends upon the substrate and the catalyst used. EDG=electron-donating group.     

Novel polyamides with pendant p-phenylenediamine and α-/β-substituted naphthalene: synthesis,characteristics, and effects of substitution sites on electro-switchable optical behaviors

Recently, electro-switchable optical materials have attracted much attention for their promising applications in optoelectronic devices and biological analysis. The structures of active optical moieties are dominant for the resulting performance, which raises the requirement of studying their structure-property relationship. In this study, two p-phenylenediamine–based polyamides (α-HPA and β-HPA) containing α-/β-substituted pendant naphthalene were designed and synthesized to investigate the effect of two substitution sites of naphthalene on their thermal, optical, electrochemical, electrochromic, and electrofluorochromic behaviors. Quantum chemical calculations were carried out to help the analysis of the experimental results. The as-prepared polyamides both exhibited excellent solubility, thermal stabilities (no weight loss before 300 °C in air), and optical switching stability (500 cycles). Because of the more twisted conformation and stronger charge transfer effect between diphenylamine and α-substituted naphthalene, the α-HPA exhibited higher glass transition temperature, higher coloration efficiency, weaker fluorescence quantum efficiency, red-shifted emission wavelength, and rapider switching speed than the β-HPA. This study not only presents a deep understanding of substitution sites of fluorophores on the electro-switchable optical behaviors but also demonstrates the tailorability of the electrochromic/electrofluorochromic characteristics through fine structure adjustment, paving a pathway for further development of high-performance electrochromic/electrofluorochromic materials.     

Enantioselective hydrogenation of pyrrolidine-2,3,5-triones over the Pt–cinchonidine system

1- and 4-Substituted pyrrolidine-2,3,5-triones 5, 6 and 9 have been synthesized and hydrogenated to 3-hydroxy derivatives 10–12 with 17–91% ee using a 5 wt% Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst in the presence of small amounts of cinchonidine. The influence of substituents on the enantioselectivity is discussed.     

Enantioselective synthesis of antibiotic (+)-rancinamycin III derivative and two protected carbasugars of the α-d-talo-series from furan

The synthesis of (+)-1, a carbasugar related to rancinamycin III, has been achieved from diene (+)-3 in two steps using as the key step the transformation of alkyne (−)-2, obtained by resolution of alcohol 6, into diene (+)-3 by treatment with Na/MeOH. Moreover, reduction of the carbonyl group in (+)-1 affords diol (+)-19, in which different protection strategies of the hydroxy groups allows one to obtain, selectively, protected derivatives of α-d-carbatalopyranose (+)-4a and its 6-desoxy derivative (+)-4b to be obtained selectively.