Functionalized esters as bis-electrophiles in a silicon-induced domino synthesis of annulated carbocycles

The reaction of silyl-substituted carbanion 1b with arene-1,2-dicarboxylates 6, 15 yields indenone derivatives 11, 16 in a domino process involving silyl C→O migration and elimination. However, in a competing pathway, the initial addition of 1b leads to lactone formation (8, 17). Substrates 26, 38 containing an ester group and a bromine substituent react with 1b under substitution of the halogen not allowing silyl migration. But desilylation with TBAF gives reactive carbanions providing benzo-annulated cycloalkanones 29, 40.     

Multicomponent synthesis of epoxy-tetrahydronaphthyridine and structural diversification by subsequent fragmentation

Three-component reaction of an α-isocyanoacetamide 7, an homoallylamine 8 and an aldehyde 9 in methanol at room temperature provides oxa-bridged tricycle 4 in good to excellent yield as a mixture of two separable diastereoisomers. In this one-pot multicomponent process, one C-N, one C-O and three C-C bonds are formed with concomitant creation of five asymmetric centers and three rings. Fragmentation of epoxy-tetrahydronaphthyridine 4 affords differentially substituted 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,7-naphthyridine (5, 6) depending on the reaction conditions, providing thus additional structural diversity. A one-pot three-component synthesis of 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,7-naphthyridine (6) from 7, 8 and 9 is also documented.     

Copper-catalyzed dimerization of chromium Fischer carbene complexes: synthesis of dialkoxytrienes and their Nazarov-type cyclization to 2-alkoxy-2-cyclopentenones

Fischer carbene complexes 1 underwent a clean ligand dimerization reaction yielding functionalized olefins and trienes 4 in the presence of copper (I) catalysts. If treated with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), trienes 4c, d, f undergo a cyclization process (Nazarov reaction) which furnishes cyclopentenone derivatives 6c, d, 7c, d and 8 in good yields. Finally, the Fischer aminocarbene 9 efficiently cyclodimerizes to the substituted arene 10 in the presence of CuBr.     

Synthesis of 5-alkyl(or aryl)pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalin-4(5H)-ones by denitrocyclisation of N-alkyl(or aryl)-1-(2-nitrophenyl)-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamides. Evidence of a Smiles rearrangement

An efficient method for the synthesis of hitherto unknown alkyl(or aryl)pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalin-4(5H)-ones 8a-g, 16 and 17 has been established. The method is based on the synthesis of the corresponding N-alkyl(or aryl)-1-(2-nitrophenyl)-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamides 3a-c and 7a-c,e which undergo denitrocyclisation with NaH in DMF in 4.5 or 2 h. When 3a was treated with NaH in DMF for 30 min the product of a Smiles rearrangement, 9, was isolated. Under similar conditions but for 4.5 h 9 was converted into 8a. This confirms the involvement of a Smiles rearrangement during the denitrocyclisation process. Conversion of 3b into isomeric pyrroloquinoxalinones 12 and 13 confirms a process involving two pathways, direct denitrocylisation of 3b and Smiles rearrangement of 3b followed by denitrocylisation, respectively. Furthermore, denitrocylisation of 7d into pyrroloquinoxalinones 16 and 17 suggests that similar cyclisation pathways are followed by N-arylcarboxamides.     

Towards the synthesis of osteoclast inhibitor SB-242784

Osteoclast inhibitor SB-242784 (1) was prepared from pivotal indol intermediate 4. A ‘Stille’ cross coupling of organotin 2c with bromo acrylate 11 afforded diene 12 which was also obtained via a reduction-isomerization process of enyne 16. Bromoamide 3 was prepared from the corresponding acid 7 which was readily obtained from bromopyruvic acid.     

Synthetic approach to analogues of betulinic acid

2-Methylcyclohexane-1,3-dione 14 was converted via the Wieland-Miescher analogue 15 into the 6-silyloxy-2,5,5,8a-tetramethyldecalin-1-one 21 by an efficient process. Several routes were examined to transform this compound into the pentacyclic triterpene skeleton of betulinic acid and its structural analogues. For example, the iodide 39, easily prepared from 21, was converted via a Sonogashira-hydroboration-Suzuki process into the E-triene 45. Photolysis of 45 using a benzanthrone sensitizer afforded the Z-triene 43. However, all attempts at effecting the cyclization of this triene 43 to the cyclohexadiene 47 (electrocyclic via photochemical or thermal means, metal-catalyzed processes, oxidative and radical cyclizations) failed to produce the key pentacyclic material.     

Synthesis of the novel conjugated ω,ω′-diaryl/heteroaryl hexatriene system with the central double bond in a heteroaromatic ring: photochemical transformations of 2,3-divinylfuran derivatives

New β,β′-aryl/heteroaryl 2,3-divinylfuran derivatives (9a-d) in which a hexatriene system is a part of heteroaromatic ring have been synthesized and their photochemical properties were investigated. The primary process observed was the isomerization to trans,trans-isomers 9a-d followed by photochemical rearrangement of the furan ring giving the phototransposition products (I-IV). Stilbenes (20, 21) and phenanthrenes (22, 25, and 26), formed as secondary products from the competitive intermolecular cycloadditions, were also observed.     

Novel tocopherol derivatives. Part 32: On the bromination of pyrano[3,2-f]chromenes related to γ-tocopherol

While bromination of γ-tocopherol (2) with elemental bromine affords 5-bromo-γ-tocopherol quantitatively (3), the analogous reaction of its truncated model compound, 2,2,7,8-tetramethylchromanol (2a) is known to be accompanied by side reactions and to produce hitherto unknown byproducts. These compounds originate from pyrano[3,2-f]chromene (6), a byproduct in the synthesis of model compound 2a, which affords bromochromene 7 as the major product. The reaction mechanism was shown to proceed via chromene 8 and its 1,2-dibromo addition compound 9, which eliminates HBr in an E1 process to finally afford 7. Analytical data including crystal structures of both 6 and 7 are reported.     

Synthesis and highly selective Diels-Alder cycloadditions of the new dienes N-substituted 2,3,5,6-tetrahydrobenzoxazol-2-ones

The synthesis of the new dienes N-substituted 2,3,4,5-tetrahydrobenzoxazol-2-ones 8a-8c is described, through a one-step convergent process from 1,2-cyclohexanedione (7a) and the corresponding isocyanates 2a-2c. The presence of electron-donor substituents in the aryl ring of the isocyanate gave rise to the exclusive formation of the captodative olefins 10. Diene 8a proved to be reactive and stereoselective in Diels-Alder additions with a cyclic olefin. The reaction with acetylenic dienophiles yielded the 2,3-dihydrobenzoxazol-2-ones 21 and 24, as the products of sequential [4+2] cycloaddition and retro-Diels-Alder reactions. Methyl vinyl ketone (22) underwent regio- and stereoselective tandem Diels-Alder and Michael additions to give propellane 29a. Evidence of an endo π-pyramidalization of the central double bond of adduct 19 would rationalize the exo stereoselection in the formation of 29a. The regioselectivity in these reactions has been rationalized in terms of FMO theory by ab initio calculations.     

Dipyrone approach toward the synthesis of the cytotoxic natural product auripyrone A

An approach to the synthesis of the cytotoxic natural product auripyrone A 1 via the cyclization of an alcohol onto a γ-pyrone in 3 is described. The bis(pyrone) alcohol 3 was prepared efficiently from the advanced aldolate 4 via silyl ether cleavage, oxidation, pyrone formation, and PMB ether removal. Instead of providing auripyrone A 1, the attempted cyclization of 3 gave the product of 1,5-acyl migration 8. Model studies show this to be a general process; therefore, cyclization of an alcohol on such a hindered γ-pyrone under normal conditions is very difficult.     

A stereo- and regio-controlled synthesis of bromothiophenyl C-nucleosides. Tandem bromination-ribosylation via halogen dance process

Metallation-ribosylation of 2-bromothiophene 1 when conducted at room temperature afforded the original glycosylated dibromothiophene 3b following a regiocontrolled halogen transfer-based halogen-dance process. Then, stereocontrolled reduction-cyclization of hemiacetals 3a-c allowed straightforward access to the halogenated thiophenyl-C-nucleosides 6a-c.     

Facile valence isomerization among bis(silacyclopropenyl), disila(Dewar benzene) and disilabenzvalene

Hybrid density functional theory (B3LYP) and ab initio (CCSD(T)) calculations were performed to explore the reaction energy pathways of the valence isomerizations among the disilabenzene isomers, namely, bis(silacyclopropenyl) (1), disila(Dewar benzene) (3) and disilabenzvalene (4). The computational study predicts that the interconversion of 1 to 3 and 4 occurs spontaneously. However, the interconversion between Dewar benzene (3) and benzvalene (4) analogs is a multistep process involving a new intermediate structure 2a, with energy barriers lying above 30 kcal/mol in energy compared to 3 and 4.     

An efficient synthesis of benzofurans and their application in the preparation of natural products of the genus Calea

The intramolecular cyclization of the β-substituted olefins methyl 2-aryloxy-3-dimethylaminopropenoates 3a-3f catalyzed by Lewis acids leads to a short and novel synthesis of benzofurans 2a-2f. When the olefins 4-dimethylamino-3-aryloxy-3-buten-2-ones 4a-4f were used, the cyclization process was faster and provided the corresponding substituted 2-acetylbenzofurans 1a-1f. Among the latter, naturally occurring compounds calebertin (1a), caleprunin A (1b), and caleprunin B (1c) were prepared in good overall yields. These benzofurans were also obtained by direct treatment under MW irradiation of the precursors 1-aryloxypropan-2-ones 7a-7c with DMFDMA, followed by addition of the catalyst, resulting in a route that was one step shorter.     

Rearrangement of the carbon skeleton in the intramolecular photoadduct of anthracene and benzene rings

The effectivity of optical switching between anthracene derivatives 3a,b and their intramolecular photocycloadducts 4a,b is impaired by traces of acid. The systematic treatment of 4a,b with an increasing excess of formic acid revealed that—apart from the normal enolether cleavage 4a,b→6a,b→7a,b—a cleavage with rearrangement of the carbon skeleton can occur: 5b→6b′. The driving force is a stability enhancement of the involved carbenium ions 5b→5b′. A further increased excess of formic acid leads finally to a competitive ether cleavage in the tetrahydrofuran ring 5b→8.     

One-pot syntheses of dihydro benzo[b][1,4]thiazepines and -diazepines via coupling-isomerization-cyclocondensation sequences

2,4-Di(hetero)aryl substituted 2,3-dihydro benzo[b][1,4]heteroazepines 7 and 9 (hetero=S, NH) can be readily synthesized in a one-pot process initiated by a coupling-isomerization sequence of an electron poor (hetero)aryl halide 4 and a terminal propargyl alcohol 5 subsequently followed by a cyclocondensation with 2-mercapto or 2-amino anilines 6 or 8, respectively. In addition, the structures were established unambiguously by an X-ray structure analysis of 9b.     

Selective lithiation of 1,6-dihalohex-1-enes and 1,6-dihalohex-1-ynes

The lithiation of 1-choro- and 1-bromo-6-chlorohex-1-yne (2, 3) with lithium naphthalene in the presence of benzaldehyde in THF at −78 °C leads after hydrolysis with water to the corresponding chloroalkynol (5) resulting from a regioselective lithiation at the alkynylic position. However, the lithiation of 1-chloro-6-iodohex-1-yne (4) under the same reaction conditions and using pentan-3-one as electrophile leads to the corresponding chloroalcohol (6) from the exclusive lithiation at the aliphatic carbon-iodine bond. Double lithiation of compounds 2 and 3 under Barbier conditions allows the isolation of diols (9), whereas the two-step process leads to differently substituted diols 13. The monolithiation of (E)-1-bromo-6-chlorohex-1-ene (14) under the above conditions and using pentan-3-one as electrophile affords a mixture of chloroalcohols 15 and 16, the process being not stereospecific. However, the lithiation of the same starting material with t-BuLi leads exclusively to a bromine-lithium exchange with retention of the configuration, so after treatment with pentan-3-one only compound 16 was isolated. Finally, whereas double lithiation of compound 14 under the conditions for compounds 9 gives the mixture of compounds 18 and 19, the tandem process involving the t-BuLi-promoted bromine-lithium exchange as the first step followed by lithiation under DTBB-catalysed conditions allows the isolation of (E)-diols 19 as the only reaction products isolated.     

Synthesis of pyrrolo[3,2-b]benzofurans and pyrrolo[3,2-b]naphthofurans via addition of a silyloxypyrrole to activated quinones

The uncatalyzed reaction of N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxypyrrole 3 with 1,4-quinones bearing an electron withdrawing group at C-2 has been studied. Use of 1,4-quinones 4, 5 bearing an ester group at C-2 provided an efficient synthesis of the respective pyrrolidinobenzofuran adduct 9 or pyrrolidinonaphthofuran adduct 10 whereas use of 1,4-quinones 6, 7 and 8 bearing an acetyl group at C-2 afforded silyloxypyrroles 11, 12 and 13 resulting from direct electrophilic substitution of the silyloxypyrrole by the electrophilic quinone. Addition of Eu(fod)₃ to the reaction of 2-acetyl-1,4-naphthoquinone 7 and 3-acetyl-5-methoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone 8 with N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxypyrrole 3 provided a method for obtaining the pyrrolidinonaphthofuran adducts 14 and 15 together with silyloxypyrroles 12 and 13. Oxidative rearrangement of pyrrolidinonaphthofuran adduct 15 to pyrrolidino pyranonaphthoquinone 16 using ceric ammonium nitrate in acetonitrile provided a novel approach for the synthesis of an aza-analogue of the pyranonaphthoquinone antibiotic kalafungin.     

Light-harvesting composites of directly connected porphyrin-phthalocyanine dyads and their coordination dimers

Directly linked porphyrin (Por)-phthalocyanine (Pc) heterodyads (H₂Por-H₂Pc and H₂Por-ZnPc) with an imidazolyl group at porphyrin’s meso-position were synthesized. Introduction of a zinc ion into the porphyrin afforded stable complementary dimers of the heterodyads. The heterodyads and their dimers gave extensive and strong absorption bands owing to the porphyrin and phthalocyanine components and induced an efficient energy transfer from porphyrin to phthalocyanine. Strong fluorescence from phthalocyanine was observed in the case of H₂Por-H₂Pc.     

(Fluorosilyl)ethylenediamines and fluorosilyl-1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopentanes

This paper presents the chemistry of ethylenediamines and fluorosilanes. The synthesis of thermally stable monosilyl (1-5)- and bis(fluorosilyl)ethylenediamines (6) is described. Starting with the dilithium salt of ethylenediamine and F₂Si(CMe₃)₂ the five-membered 1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopentane (8) is obtained. The reaction of tetra- and trifluorosilanes with dilithiated bis(silyl)ethylenediamines leads to the formation of 1,3-diaza-2-fluorosilylsilacyclopentanes (9-14). Fluorosilanes substitute 8 in 1 and 3 positions (15-28). A fluorosilyl-bridged five-membered ring (29) is isolated in the reaction of 1-trimethylsilyl-1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopentane, BuLi and MeSiF₃. In the synthesis of N-fluorosilyl-1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopentanes constitutional isomers were formed (30-33). Quantum-chemical calculations support the isomerisation mechanism. An iminosilane with an SiN double bond is the intermediate product of the rearrangement process.Crystal structures of 7, 13, 20 and 23 are reported.     

Revisiting diterpene lactones of Suregada multiflora

Phytochemical investigations on the organic extracts of the leaves of Suregada multiflora have led to the isolation of ten tetracyclic diterpene lactones 1-10, members of a rare class of abiatene diterpene lactones. Compounds 1-5 were found to be new. The structures of gelomulides F (11), D (12) and E (13) were revised on the basis of 2D NMR and X-ray diffraction evidences. Compounds 1 and 2 contain an epoxy linkage between C-8 and C-14, whereas compounds 3-5 were identified as 8,14-dihydroxy analogues of diterpene lactones. The stereochemical assignments in new compound 1 are based on X-ray diffraction analysis. Compounds 6 and 7 were identified as the known gelomulides A, G. The structures of compounds 7-9 were unambiguously confirmed by X-ray diffraction analyses.